The Midnight Rules Scam: How Rouzer’s Vote Endangers Your Safety

David Rouzer wants you to think H.R. 77, the Midnight Rules Relief Act, is about cutting red tape, making government leaner, freeing businesses from the oppressive hand of regulation. The reality? It’s a battering ram against protections that keep workers from getting crushed in unsafe job sites, keep seniors from rotting away in profit-driven nursing homes, and keep corporations from treating drinking water like a chemical dumping ground. It’s about gutting public protections so the same corporate donors stuffing Rouzer’s campaign coffers can operate without consequence. This is deregulation by sledgehammer—smashing safeguards, clearing the path for reckless greed, and leaving everyday people to deal with the wreckage.

Under current law, Congress can repeal regulations, but it has to do it one at a time. There’s debate, public input, expert testimony—basic guardrails to prevent lawmakers from wiping out protections on a whim. H.R. 77 torches that process. Instead of reviewing individual regulations, Congress could bundle dozens, even hundreds, into a single vote and erase them all at once, no debate required. No evidence, no accountability, just a rubber stamp for corporate wish lists. Regulations that took years of research and public input to develop could be gone in an afternoon, all so businesses can save a few bucks at the public’s expense.

And make no mistake—this bill isn’t targeting obscure or outdated rules. It’s going after protections that keep people alive. Workplace safety standards? Gone. Protections against hazardous chemicals? Gone. Oversight on elder care facilities? Gone. The Midnight Rules Relief Act hands a loaded gun to industry and tells them to aim wherever they want. If this passes, the consequences will hit hard and fast.

Start with worker safety. The bill opens the door to repealing standards set by OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration—rules that exist because, without them, people die. Silica exposure regulations that protect construction workers from lung disease? Those took forty years to develop. They could be wiped out in minutes. PPE regulations ensuring workers have protective gear that actually fits and works? On the chopping block. In 2023, construction had the highest workplace fatality rate in the country. Instead of strengthening protections, Rouzer wants to make it easier to eliminate them.

Then there’s public health. This bill makes it easier for Congress to erase safeguards against toxic chemicals and pollution. Restrictions on asbestos, methylene chloride, and PFAS—the so-called "forever chemicals" linked to cancer and developmental disorders—could vanish in one sweeping vote. Drinking water protections? Flood prevention regulations? Environmental safeguards that keep North Carolina’s air and water from turning into industrial waste dumps? All vulnerable to the axe. North Carolina, a hurricane-prone state with a long history of corporate pollution scandals, cannot afford this kind of deregulation free-for-all.

And let’s not forget the most vulnerable—seniors, low-income families, people who rely on Medicaid and nursing homes to survive. H.R. 77 puts those protections on the chopping block, too. Medicaid access rules ensuring home care workers are paid fairly—so seniors and disabled individuals don’t end up in underfunded, overcrowded facilities—could be erased. Minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes, designed to prevent elder neglect, could disappear overnight. If this bill becomes law, expect worse conditions, higher costs, and fewer options for the people who need help the most.

Rouzer will tell you this is about cutting bureaucracy. That’s nonsense. This is about cutting protections for people so corporations can increase profits. And it fits perfectly into his pattern of siding with industry at the expense of North Carolinians. He’s taken over $208,000 from fossil fuel companies while voting against environmental protections. He co-sponsored legislation blocking North Carolina from using climate science in development policy, even as hurricanes get stronger. He voted against the Inflation Reduction Act, which would have funded storm-resistant infrastructure. Now, he’s backing a bill that makes it easier to erase worker protections, environmental regulations, and public health safeguards in one move, with zero accountability.

If H.R. 77 passes, the damage will be immediate. More workplace injuries. More pollution in drinking water. More seniors in understaffed, neglected nursing homes. More corporate giveaways disguised as "regulatory reform." This isn’t about making government work better. It’s about making it easier for corporations to operate without oversight, no matter the cost to workers, families, and communities.

Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Cumberland, New Hanover, Pender, Robeson, and Sampson counties deserve better than a representative who treats their safety, health, and future as collateral damage for corporate profits. Rouzer wants to make sure businesses can cut corners, pollute freely, and dodge responsibility—no matter who gets hurt. That’s what H.R. 77 is really about. And if we don’t stop him, we’ll be the ones paying the price.

Hold Rouzer accountable. Call 910-395-0202 and DEMAND ANSWERS!