From Your Representative
Our country is built upon a foundation of law. From the U.S. Constitution to federal law and regulation, to state, county, district and town/city laws and ordinances, we have a huge amount of law to deal with, every day.
I believe that the ever-increasing number of laws and regulations we generate are choking the life out of business enterprises and grinding our economy to a halt. Let’s take a look at one of the latest proposals out of our U.S. Department of Labor: a proposed regulation which would bar children under 16 from operating tractors and other machinery and from working with livestock!
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 gives the Labor Secretary power to determine both what is suitable and hazardous or detrimental labor for children. The current Labor Secretary, Hilda L. Solis, announced the Labor Department’s proposal (referenced above) in the fall of last year. Secretary Solis, a former congresswoman from Los Angeles, came from a non-agricultural background, and because of which has a drastically different viewpoint of the world than your common Montanan. Had she been around our rural farms and environment in Montana, her views may have been different, but here’s what she had to say:
“Children employed in agriculture are some of the most vulnerable workers in America... [e]nsuring their welfare is a priority of the department, and this proposal is another element of our comprehensive approach.”
After acknowledging the obvious – that children are precious and invaluable – I like to check the accuracy of premises, like the one made by the Labor Secretary. I start with understanding that parents I know who work with their children on farms love and cherish those children. Also, children learn so much through the practiced hands and experience of their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and neighbors. Family legacies are born this way. Life lessons are learned this way.
When the secretary says children employed in agriculture are some of the most vulnerable, I wonder how she is able to make that statement, when child injuries on farms decreased by 59 percent from 1998-2009 according to the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety in Marshfield, Wisc.
Everything in life is dangerous. Everything comes with some sort of risk. But why not allow our farm parents to parent and leave them be? There are tons of laws on the books already which prohibit child neglect or abuse, so is one banning children from working on family farms even necessary?
The proposal calls for new penalties and fines as a means of enforcing these new regulations. It would even alter the way our beloved 4-H programs are run, as local 4-H children would have to obtain federal exemptions in order to participate.
I say enough is enough. It’s time to return to plain old common sense and to stop this onslaught of micromanagement by bureaucrats.
Always remember that I work for you. Call me at 849-6096 or email jannataylor@montana.com.