By a vote of 56-44 in the Senate and 223-206 in the House, Congress overturned the sweeping OSHA regulations passed by President Bill Clinton in his final days in office. The vote that ran on a party line to clear the Congress will receive the support of President George W. Bush, who has signaled he would sign it despite the protests of the Democratic Party and organized labor. The Senate used an obscure law called the Congressional Review Act to rescind the rules.

The regulations were expected to cover 102 million workers and cost about $4.5 billion per year. They were designed to protect workers from repetitive strain problems, such as carpal tunnel syndrome.