Continuing his national role opposing proposed government rules restricting the ability of young Missourians to consider agricultural-related careers and limit farmers’ options when hiring young people, U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-9) is calling on a congressional committee to prohibit funding for those rules.

Luetkemeyer, who has been challenging the proposed Labor Department rules for months, today sent a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies requesting that funding for implementation of the proposed rules be restricted as the committee moves forward on the Fiscal Year 2013 appropriations bill.

“For our nation’s rural heartland to succeed in the global economy we must lessen government regulation of American agriculture, and I believe stopping the Labor Department for implementing this rule is one vital step we can take to protect rural America,” Luetkemeyer said. “As a farmer, I know firsthand how dangerous agricultural work can be, and I believe that the parents, grandparents and other caregivers are more concerned about the safety of our youth on the farm than the government.”

After hearing significant objections from Luetkemeyer and other members of Congress, the Labor Department in February agreed to revisit the parental exemption regulation. The Labor Department proposal now will have broader exemptions for children whose parents own or operate farms, or have a substantial interest in a farm partnership or corporation.

Last September, the Labor Department indicated its desire to revise the Fair Labor Standards Act as it relates to young workers employed in agriculture. The latest proposed rules still ban children younger than 16 from using most power-driven equipment and prevent those younger than 18 from working in feed lots, grain bins and stockyards.