Rokita Comments on Obama Administration's Reversal on Youth Farming Regulations

Press Release

U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita (IN-4) today issued the following statement after the Obama administration announced that it would withdraw proposed Department of Labor regulations that would have restricted that ability of children younger than 16 to work on farms. Rokita and fellow House members had previously called on Labor Secretary Hilda Solis to reverse the proposed rules because of the harm the rules would cause to Hoosier farmers:

"This is a clear victory for Hoosier family farms and for all of our youth who are interested in agriculture," said Rokita. "Many concerned Hoosier farmers contacted me through the Red Tape Rollback initiative to voice their concerns about the burdens these regulations would have placed on them. The proposed rules were exactly what you'd expect from Washington bureaucrats who don't live in the real world, and I'm glad the administration listened to our objections and decided to reverse course."

According to a Labor Department press release announcing the proposal last year, the rules would have prohibited young people from doing most farm work involving animals, pesticides, tobacco and raw farm materials, and would have prevented them from working around country grain elevators, grain bins, silos, feed lots, stockyards, livestock exchanges and livestock auctions.

The Red Tape Rollback initiative was launched last year by Rokita and the Indiana Chamber of Commerce to identify and ultimately roll back or reform the federal regulations that do the most damage to Indiana's economy.

Through Rokita's official Web site, Hoosiers can report any existing, pending or proposed federal regulation that they believe is counter-productive, causes needless red tape or is hindering their firm's growth and market opportunities.

Here is a roundup of Rokita's efforts to stop the proposed Department of Labor regulations on youth farming:

On October 24, 2011, Rokita joined House colleagues in sending a letter to Labor Secretary Solis requesting an extended public comment period on the proposed rule.

On November 16, 2011, Rokita sent a public comment opposing the rule to Secretary Solis, and on December 16, 2011, Rokita joined House colleagues in issuing a joint public comment opposing the rule. Their letter stated that the rule would threaten the nation's food supply by discouraging youth from staying on farms and ranches and from participating in FFA and 4-H programs that provide hands-on experience in agriculture.

Rokita also personally encouraged farmers to issue public comments explaining their opposition to the rules.

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