The Senate voted Wednesday to reverse a U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule requiring employers to keep injury and illness records for five years.
In a 50-48 vote, the Senate overturned the Labor Department rule, which the Obama administration finalized in its final months and didn’t become effective until Jan. 18.
Republican leaders used the Congressional Review Act, or CRA, to overturn the new requirement. The CRA gives lawmakers the ability to undo regulations finalized in the final months of the previous administration.
Earlier this month, the House voted 231-191 to reverse the regulation, and Wednesday’s Senate action moves the bill to President Trump’s desk to sign into law, which is expected in the coming days.
Following the CRA vote on the OSHA regulation, the Senate planned to advance a bill to eliminate the Federal Election Commission’s Internet privacy rules that were passed under the Obama administration.
The privacy rules, which required Internet service providers, like Comcast and Verizon, to obtain permission from consumers before sharing browser history and other user information, are “economically harmful” resulting from the FCC’s overreach, according to Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who sponsored the bill to overturn them.
