During a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Thursday, Rep. Josh Harder (D-CA) questioned Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer about child labor law enforcement funding.
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00:00Chair now recognizes Representative Harder.
00:03Thank you. Madam Secretary, I've heard you and President Trump repeatedly state, even today,
00:09that you support putting the American worker first. That's great. Which is why I'm struggling
00:15to understand some of the actions by your department recently. Under your leadership,
00:20the Department of Labor eliminated funding for several critical worker protections.
00:25One of the most alarming decisions was defunding the wage and hour division,
00:28the team responsible for enforcing basic child labor laws. You didn't trim this office,
00:34you erased them completely. Let's be clear about what that means. This division enforces the laws
00:40that protect kids from working dangerous jobs. Laws that say a seven-year-old doesn't belong
00:46in a coal mine. These are no-brainer protections for kids. You cut this division knowing that child
00:53labor is actually getting worse, not better. In just the last few years, child labor violations
00:58have skyrocketed 88% across the United States. In 2023, your own department found 13-year-olds
01:06cleaning razor-sharp saws and handling toxic chemicals in a meatpacking plant. It's terrifying
01:11stuff. You and Elon Musk labeled this enforcement waste, fraud, and abuse. So, simple yes or no
01:19question, do you stand by labeling child labor law enforcement waste, fraud, and abuse?
01:24We did not erase any of the wage and hour division, so I'm not exactly sure what you're referring to
01:29there. And as far as the... You've eliminated the funding for it.
01:34Not a wage and hour division. We have not. And as far as if you're talking about... Child labor is so
01:39important to me, and it always has been. We will not tolerate any child labor violations, and we will
01:44crack down and actually double down on any practices where there is child labor violations. And we will
01:51fulfill the mission of the Department of Labor to do so. I think the rhetoric that I'm hearing is not
01:55at all matched by the budget or the work that we've seen from Elon Musk and Doe's that have
01:59eliminated funding for enforcement of basic child labor laws. I'd recommend that you take a look at
02:05what your department has done over the last couple months, because the reality is the enforcement for
02:09child labor has gone down in the name of saving waste, fraud, and abuse. It doesn't feel like waste,
02:14fraud, and abuse to actually make sure that our kids are being protected. What does seem like waste,
02:19fraud, and abuse is some of the other actions that we've seen happening at your department. For
02:23instance, a taxpayer-funded birthday party that you had recently. A bash complete with wine,
02:29big screen TVs displaying your face. I imagine the cake was pretty good. Are you planning on
02:34investigating that birthday party as waste, fraud, and abuse? That is fake news. I don't know where
02:40you get your information from, but that is fake news. You didn't have a birthday party? I did not have
02:45a birthday party. There was no wine or big screen TVs at the Department of Labor? I am here as an
02:50appropriations to talk about appropriations, and you want to talk about fake news. That is
02:55appropriations. That is dollars from taxpayer-funded accounts going to your birthday party.
03:00Congressman Harder, that is not a true statement. I did not have a birthday party.
03:06So we had a swearing-in party, an official swearing-in party for me and my deputy secretary.
03:10And that wasn't funded by taxpayer dollars? It was not a birthday party. It was a swearing-in
03:16party, and it was welcoming the Department of Labor, and that's who was there. Well,
03:20are you going to be investigating the folks that actually put that wine and put that cake in those
03:24screens on TV in the midst of cutting labor protections for kids? Well, Congressman Harder,
03:31I appreciate that maybe we didn't have the conversation to work together. I do look forward
03:35to working with you on the issues of the Department of Labor that matter, and that's the workforce
03:39development that I'm here to discuss today at the direction of the president, and work with the
03:44entire committee here to move forward to honor what the mission is, and we will fulfill our mission
03:52with the proposed, right now is a proposed skinny budget. I cannot speculate on the full budget,
03:57but we will deliver on that. Madam Secretary, the hypocrisy that I think I've seen so far from this
04:02department is breathtaking. Eliminating protections for vulnerable kids, then using taxpayer money to
04:08celebrate yourself. So I hope that we're able to see some change. I'd love a chance to work
04:13together, but so far the actions that I've seen are not at all matched by the rhetoric. I understand
04:19that sometimes this is important to do. I sat on the other side of the dais. I never had the
04:23disrespect for my colleagues this way. I hope to work with you, and we'll build a relationship so
04:28that this doesn't go back and forth. Let's talk about the issues at hand. I think that that's important
04:32to do. Rather than this attack mode, it doesn't make sense to me. I wouldn't do it to you, and I don't expect
04:37that you to do it to me as a secretary, nor as a former colleague. Well, I wouldn't have a taxpayer
04:40funded birthday party. So thank you, and I yield back.