The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration would be abolished in favor of state workplace regulation under legislation introduced by Rep. Andy Biggs.

Biggs, an Arizona Republican who is running for governor, earlier this month introduced the Nullify OSHA Act, or NOSHA, a bill that would abolish the government agency that since 1970 has set federal health and safety standards in U.S. workplaces.

Biggs, who is in his eighth year representing Arizona's 5th Congressional District. mentioned the bill Wednesday on Capitol Hill during a hearing about government spending, referencing his previous attempt to confront OSHA for mandating vaccines of government contractors during the COVID-19 pandemic, which he said led to the creation of the bill.

Biggs said during the hearing that the elimination of OSHA "will return to the states the authority to regulate workplace health and safety."

The bill, which lacks any cosponsors, would enact an unprecedented change to a core branch of the Department of Labor.

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OSHA's mission is to ensure American workplaces are safe and healthy

OSHA was founded in 1970 by Republican President Richard Nixon, and the agency's website described its mission to "assure America's workers have safe and healthful working conditions free from unlawful retaliation."

OSHA monitored and enforced safety standards in both the private and public sectors, created educational resources and established a system to protect workplace whistleblowers.

The organization was part of the Labor Department and under the leadership of the assistant secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, who answered to the secretary of Labor.

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Biggs believes state government can do a better job than OSHA

When asked for comment on the pending bill, a Biggs spokesperson provided a video that Biggs shared to YouTube on Tuesday, in which he said the motivation behind the proposed law is "in the spirit of President Trump's effort to reduce the size and scope of the government."

Biggs mentioned he was motivated by the 2021 OSHA mandate to coronavirus vaccines for private sector employees, a move that the U.S. Supreme Court later blocked.

In the video, Biggs also expresses frustration over an OSHA proposal to initiate an 80-degree threshold to force employers to enact further safety measures, which he said would limit the efforts of those working outside in the hot Arizona sun.

Biggs said he believed state governments would be more apt to handle the needs of workplace safety, citing Arizona's participation in a state-specific agreement with OSHA since 1985.

An OSHA spokesperson said the agency and the Department of Labor do "not comment on pending legislation before Congress."

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