"Young Ag" Rule

Statement

In late 2011, the Department of Labor proposed a rule prohibiting children under the age of 16 from working on farms as well as preventing those younger than 18 from working in feed lots, grain bins, and stockyards. As a person who grew up in agriculture and started working cattle at age nine, I felt that this was another inappropriate overreach by unelected and unaccountable Washington bureaucrats. My office also received many phone calls, letters, and emails opposing this proposed rule. Last December, I along with 152 other Members of Congress signed a letter to Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis expressing our opposition to the rule. I also am a cosponsor of the Preserving America's Family Farms Act, H.R. 4157, which would prohibit the Secretary of Labor from finalizing a proposed rule.

On Thursday, the Department of Labor withdrew this proposed rule. I was very pleased to hear this news, as family farms often depend on the contributions of youth for their successful operation. It is great to see that our youth will not be denied the opportunity to gain knowledge and firsthand experience of the agriculture industry.

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