Lawmaker Pledges to Block 'Secret Rule'

Washington Post Staff Writer A congressional leader pledged this morning to introduce legislation that would block an eleventh-hour effort by the Labor Department to make it more difficult to limit workers' exposure to chemicals on the job. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, said he was determined to stop a "secret rule" that he described as a Bush administration effort to block the next president from trying to reduce worker deaths and illness caused by workplace toxins. The Labor Department has refused to discuss or release the proposal, a copy of which was obtained yesterday by the Post. The proposed rulemaking would require that the department allow a new round of challenges to the risk assessments used to determine how much exposure to certain chemicals is unsafe, adding... [read full story]