Statement by Ron Paul on Labor Department Regulations Affecting Family Farms

LAKE JACKSON, Texas - Congressman and 2012 Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul issued the following statement regarding the Department of Labor's new regulations applying child labor laws to family farms.

Below find comments from Congressman Paul:

"The Department of Labor's plan to issue new regulations applying child labor laws to family farms is an outrageous assault on America's farmers. My parents were dairy farmers who required me and my brothers to help out on the farm. I certainly benefited from this experience, and, as a Representative of a congressional district containing a large number of farmers, I have had the opportunity to meet many farmers who learned about their profession by doing chores on their parents' farms. Working on a family farm also provides a tremendous opportunity to form a strong work ethic that these children will carry through the rest of their lives.

"Thanks to the Obama Administration, future generations of children will be deprived of these experiences.

"Now that the federal government is planning to, for all intents and purposes, outlaw chores on the farm, I wonder when the Department of Labor will forbid parents from requiring children to make their beds, clean their rooms, or set the table for dinner. The founding fathers would be outraged to see the federal government attempting to prevent children from helping their parents on their farms. If the American people select me as their next President, I will put an end to these regulations on my first day in office.

"Under my 'Plan to Restore America,' I will use my constitutional authority as President to impose a moratorium on any new federal regulations. My Plan also reduces spending by $1 trillion in the first year of my presidency and balances the budget by my third year, while providing much-needed tax relief to the American people. This will put more money back in the pockets of hard-working Americans, like those who provide vital goods by running family farms.

"Out of all the candidates seeking the presidential nomination of a major party, I am the only one with a record of consistently opposing all unconstitutional, job-destroying regulations. I urge all Americans who wish to free their businesses and their families from the grip of the regulatory state to join my campaign to Restore America Now."