By Moira Warburton and Josephine Walker
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic U.S. Representative Greg Casar of Texas held a thirst strike at Congress on Tuesday to protest a new law signed by Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott blocking local ordinances that mandate water breaks for workers.
Casar, whose district includes parts of Austin and San Antonio, Texas, said would not drink water for eight hours while standing on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building, as temperatures in Washington rise to almost 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32°C).
A day earlier, over 100 Democrats signed a letter to President Joe Biden’s administration, asking for federal workplace heat safety regulations.
“It’s challenging and it’s hot, but it’s not as hot as it is in Texas,” said Casar, who was sweating in the sweltering humidity. Temperatures in Casar’s district were expected to top 100°F (38°C) on Tuesday.
Top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries called Abbott’s bill “unreasonable, unconscionable and un-American.”
Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The legislation blocks cities from writing local rules that go further than state laws, an attempt by Texas Republicans to limit the ability of local Democratic lawmakers to enact their policies.
The cities of Houston and Austin have sued the Texas government over the bill set to take effect in September.
Jasmine Granillo, whose family successfully pressured the city of Dallas to implement mandatory water breaks in 2015 after her brother died of heat stroke while working a residential construction job, said Abbott’s bill “is chipping away what my family has fought for.”
(Reporting by Moira Warburton and Josephine Walker; Editing by Scott Malone and Bill Berkrot)
