Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Kathleen Daley, a lifelong Riverside resident and a dedicated member of our community who passed away last week.

For more than a decade, I had the privilege of serving with Kathleen on the Riverside Community College District Board of Trustees. And though she was a conservative Republican, and I a progressive Democrat, never did our ideologies keep us from finding common ground when it came to serving our students.

She taught me what it means to work with people who have a different way of seeing things. Her deep understanding of budgeting was vital to lifting the college out of severe financial hardship. Through her service to the college, as well as to many local nonprofit organizations, Kathleen's commitment to our community improved the lives of people across the Inland Empire region.

My condolences go to Kathleen Daley's family and friends.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Maryland for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this legislation. After passing nearly a $2 trillion tax cut that gives 83 percent of the benefits to the wealthiest 1 percent, it is both shockingly hypocritical and morally indefensible to propose a balanced budget amendment that would force dramatic cuts to the programs that support America's veterans.

In the wake of the GOP's corporate tax cuts, balancing the budget every year would likely require cuts to the Veterans Health Administration, which serves 9 million veterans every year; or cuts to the GI Bill, which is a key recruiting tool to ensure military readiness; or cuts to benefits for disabled veterans who are injured in combat; or cuts to pensions that veterans earn through their service; or cuts to our national cemeteries, which ensure veterans are laid to rest with the dignity they deserve.

This legislation would undoubtedly require cuts to Medicaid, which serves 1.75 million veterans, and it would prevent us from expanding existing programs like caregiver benefits for veterans of all generations.

All of this would happen while the wealthiest people in this country enjoy a tax cut that they did not need.

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to our priorities, veterans belong in the front of the line and corporations belong at the back.

The majority believes that we can afford a corporate tax cut that costs $1.3 trillion, yet we cannot afford to extend caregiver benefits to every veteran, which would only cost $4 billion.

This vote is, indeed, about a country headed toward bankruptcy, but it is not so much financial bankruptcy as it is moral bankruptcy.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to reject this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, the Riverside National Cemetery is the final resting place for nearly 300,000 former military personnel and their family members. Each of them have a story that deserves to be told.

I rise today to applaud the University of California, Riverside, on a new grant that will be used to research and tell these stories.

With support from the Department of Veterans Affairs, UC Riverside faculty and students will document the lives of those who served and partner with K-12 schools to help teach young people about the value of service and sacrifice. Our duty to honor those who sacrificed for this Nation is not limited to Memorial Day or Veterans Day.

This project will help our community understand and appreciate the individuals whose service has kept this Nation safe and free. I am proud that UC Riverside has been selected for this important initiative and look forward to seeing the meaningful work it will produce.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Lew Vanderzyl, a dedicated educator; a veteran; and a devoted father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, who passed away last month.

Lew's lifetime of service included a deployment with the 40th Infantry Division during the Korean war, followed

by a half century as a teacher and administrator, and 17 years as a Riverside school board member.

As school board president, Lew demonstrated his moral courage by insisting that a local high school be named after Martin Luther King, despite a wave of protests and intense opposition. He will be remembered by the Riverside community as someone who cared deeply for his students.

Lew Vanderzyl, an avid reader, crossword puzzler, and traveler, and a constant source of wisdom and kindness, will be dearly missed by our community. May his memory be a blessing to the friends and family he leaves behind.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Waters for contriving this colloquy on Financial Services.

It is my distinct honor to join my colleagues in celebrating this milestone in recognizing Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur's remarkable record of service to her constituents, her country, and to every woman in every corner of this country. I would add, every man and every child.

On the long, dark road to equality, role models are the street lamps that light the path forward. For the last 35 years, Marcy Kaptur has been a role model and a source of light for millions of young women and young men. In other words, even after 35 years in this body, she is still woke, just like the ranking member.

Ms. Kaptur has championed progress on several important issues: protecting our water and our air from pollution, protecting consumers from predatory financial institutions, honoring the incredible sacrifice of our veterans--we have heard at length her work behind the World War II Memorial--and supporting working families so they have a fair shot in this economy.

But it is very much possible, and I would say very much probable, that her greatest accomplishment has not yet been realized. I am confident this Chamber will someday be filled with women--someday soon--who are inspired to run for Congress by the longest serving woman in history.

Marcy has taught me the value and the way to fight for the little guy. I remember this one moment on a Sunday evening when I was catching a few hours of a television show. I have very little time to watch TV, but I had a moment to watch the John Oliver show. I don't even think Marcy knew that she was the subject of that evening's broadcast. I will just briefly say that it was about John Oliver totally disgusted by the way little poultry farmers had been put at a disadvantage by the way we had rigged the rules here in Washington.

Marcy was the hero of the show when they showed her standing at a podium much like this in the Appropriations Committee room trying to unrig the law so it was not so unfair to these poultry farmers. I remember her so passionately standing there saying: All these people want to do is earn an honest living.

I felt that deep in my gut. Here was a Congresswoman standing up for the little guy against the big corporations.

John Oliver whipped the national audience into such a fervor, they were so angry when they saw this happen, and here was Marcy standing up for them. He then accused all the people who rigged the rules, who were defending the rigged rules, of having--I can't even speak about what he said on the floor of the House. I urge you to go see it for yourself. I think you will be quite entertained.

I was so excited, the next morning, on Monday, I saw Marcy on the floor and I said: Marcy, you were great on this show.

She said: What happened?

Then I explained to her. I said: You need to put this on your Facebook page. You are going to get hundreds of thousands of new followers. You need to put this on your website.

But her first concern was this. She said: Oh, I heard the John Oliver show uses bad language.

That typifies Marcy Kaptur: decent, collegial.

Marcy has taught me many important lessons about the value of this institution. I know she loves the Congress. I know she loves this House of Representatives and wants to uphold the mores, uphold the norms, norms that are so important in a democracy: it is important to be civil; it is important to speak in ways that are respectful.

Marcy serves as that example to me. It is not just the surface niceties, but the deep values of standing up for the little guy against the big corporations and defending the American Dream for everybody.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Marcy for her service, and I look forward to serving with her many more years.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support H.R. 4533, which designates the healthcare system of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Lexington, Kentucky, as the Lexington VA Health Care System.

However, it is two other designations in this bill that I wish to highlight because they honor the memories of two extraordinary Greatest Generation heroes from Kentucky: Troy Bowling and Franklin R. Sousley. H.R. 4533 names two campuses in the Lexington, Kentucky, healthcare system after these brave marines.

Seventy-three years ago this month, United States Marines landed on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima and engaged the Japanese forces in some of the most intense and costly fighting of World War II. Among them were Troy Bowling and Franklin R. Sousley, just teenagers at the time.

Bowling's unit was among the first to arrive on Iwo Jima. On the second day, he was critically wounded by mortars and eventually evacuated to the beach, where he received lifesaving care and witnessed the raising of the American flag atop Mount Suribachi. Lying wounded on that beach, Mr. Bowling made a deal with God that, if he survived, he would spend his life in the service of others.

He kept that promise over the next 72 years through more than 78,000 hours of volunteer service at the Lexington VA Medical Center. In his work with the Disabled American Veterans, he has held nearly every position possible, including state commander, among others; and he is the recipient of the Lifetime Service Achievement Award from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Now, upon his arrival on the island of Iwo Jima, Private Sousley was also involved in intense, concentrated fighting. Eventually, as we all know, American forces prevailed. Private Sousley was among the six marines proudly hoisting that flag. Tragically, less than a month later, he would be killed in action. Highly decorated for bravery, Private Sousley is now buried in the Elizaville Cemetery in Fleming County, Kentucky.

These two men are the personification of duty, patriotism, and self- sacrifice. It is entirely appropriate that the two campuses of the Lexington VA Health Care System be named in their honor.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I urge my colleagues to join me in passing this meaningful piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Congressional Black Caucus for holding this important discussion.

For the past 4 years, courts have held that public sector unions can charge a

small fee to workers that benefit from the collective bargaining agreements that unions negotiate and enforce. Reversing that precedent is not an honest shift in legal interpretation. It is a political attack against American workers and the organizations that represent them, and it has been years in the making.

For decades, a relentless, coordinated campaign supported by large corporate interests, advanced by political partisans, and funded by the Koch brothers has tried to rebrand union membership as a burden on American workers. Their campaign is as cynical as it is misleading.

For nearly a year, the United States Senate refused to give the highly respected Judge Merrick Garland even one hearing, then overruled at least 100 years of Senate tradition to steal a seat on the Supreme Court.

That seat is now the difference between a Court that upholds the rights of public sector unions and one that undermines their existence. Today, President Trump, the real estate billionaire who promised to be a voice for American workers, has pursued the most aggressive antiworker agenda in recent memory.

Thank you to my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus for holding this important discussion.

This evening I am speaking--not just as a strong supporter of public sector unions--but as a former union member myself. Throughout my 24 years in the classroom, I was a proud, dues-paying member of the California Teachers Association.

And here's why: Union membership means higher pay, better training, and safer working conditions. It means access to paid sick leave if you or a loved one gets sick. It means medical benefits, life insurance, and retirement security for families in communities across the country. It means a compassionate, humane workplace. And it means greater opportunities and a better future for the children of union workers.

At a time when income inequality is high. middle-class wages are stagnant, and workers' benefits are rapidly disappearing, collective bargaining is the last remaining source of leverage for American workers.

And now the conservatives on the Supreme Court are preparing to strip that leverage away.

For the past 40 years, Courts have held that public sector unions can charge a small fee to workers that benefit from the collective bargaining agreements that unions negotiate and enforce. Reversing that precedent is not an honest shift in legal interpretation. It is a political attack against American workers and the organizations that represent them . . . and it has been years in the making.

For decades, a relentless, coordinated campaign, supported by large corporate interests, advanced by political partisans, and funded by the Koch Brothers, has tried to rebrand union membership as a burden on American workers.

Their campaign is as cynical as it is misleading.

For nearly a year, the United States Senate refused to give the highly respected Judge Merrick Garland even one hearing, and then overruled at least 100 years of Senate tradition to steal a seat on the Supreme Court.

That seat is now the difference between a Court that upholds the rights of public sector unions and one that undermines their existence.

And today, President Trump--the real estate billionaire who promised to be a voice for American workers has pursued the most aggressive anti-worker agenda in recent memory.

In the White House, in Congress, and now in the Supreme Court, American workers are being deprived of the protections that built the middle class. And instead of accepting blame for exacerbating the challenges facing working families, Republicans are pointing the finger at immigrants and refugees in an attempt to divide and distract our nation from the true source of inequality.

The decision in Janus v. AFSCME must be the beginning of a new effort, supported by all my colleagues here this evening, to restore the respect and benefits that American workers deserve.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Scott for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to S. 140, which would strip protections from workers who are employed by a Tribally-owned business but are not Tribal members. This includes protection from harassment and discrimination in the workplace.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employers from discriminating against employees, does not apply to Tribal enterprises. A non-Tribal worker employed by a Tribally-owned casino, for example, cannot file a harassment or discrimination claim in Federal court or with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Instead, collective bargaining agreements fill the gap by including provisions that enforce their right to a fair workplace.

By stripping their collective bargaining rights, this legislation eliminates the only recourse that these workers have against discrimination and harassment. This is one of the many unacceptable consequences of this bill.

Now, I have two letters. One from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and one from the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, both of which raise strong objections to the majority's attempt to exclude workers from the rights enshrined in the National Labor Relations Act.

Mr. Speaker, I include these letters in the Record.

International Brotherhood

of Teamsters,

Washington, DC, December 6, 2017.

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Representative: On behalf of the 1.4 million members

of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, I am again

writing to

express our strong opposition to H.R. 986, the Tribal Labor

Sovereignty Act. This legislation would exempt all Tribally-

owned and -operated commercial enterprises on Indian lands

broadly defined from the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

We urge you to vote no when the House considers this

legislation.

If H.R. 986 were to become law, hundreds of thousands of

workers at these enterprises, including Teamsters, would be

stripped of their protections and rights under the NLRA,

including the right to organize and collective bargaining. It

would deprive both Tribal members and non-member employees of

the right to form or join unions and to bargain collectively

for better wages, hours, and working conditions. We should be

working to expand the rights and ability of workers to earn a

decent living for themselves and their families and to secure

a safe and healthy workplace.

While Tribal casinos have been the focus of discussion,

this legislation affects not just casino workers. Since the

1980's Tribes have expanded business interests beyond

casinos. They now operate many different revenue producing

commercial enterprises--construction companies, mining

operations, and power plants, to hotels, water parks and ski

resorts, to name a few.

In 2004, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) (in San

Manuel) ruled that Tribal casino workers should have NLRA

protections. Shortly after the San Manuel decision,

legislation, in the form of amendments, was twice offered to

block the NLRB from enforcing the San Manuel decision.

These amendments were rejected. Since then, the NLRB has

proceeded in a measured fashion asserting jurisdiction on a

case-by-case basis. The NLRB will not assert jurisdiction

where it would interfere with internal governance rights in

purely intramural matters or abrogate treaty rights.

Otherwise, the NLRB will protect workers' rights at tribally

owned enterprises by asserting jurisdiction. With its case-

by-case approach, San Manuel takes a careful approach to

balancing of tribal sovereignty interests with Federal labor

law.

It should be noted that other important federal laws that

protect workers apply to Indian businesses, such as the

Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Fair Labor Standards

Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and Title

III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Indeed, courts

have denied attempts to gain exemptions on numerous occasions

ruling commercial tribal enterprises should not be excluded

from such laws. NLRA rights and protections should not be

treated differently.

Proponents assert that they are seeking the same exemption

as state and local governments. However, this is inaccurate,

The NLRA only exempts actual government employees and not

private sector employees performing contracted out government

functions. Also, a substantial majority of workers at these

enterprises are not Indian or Tribe members, and thus have no

ability to influence tribal governance, since non-tribal

members are prohibited from petitioning a tribe.

The bill could also undermine enforcement of existing labor

contracts and the decision workers made to organize and

bargain collectively. When a collective bargaining agreement

expires, a Tribe could unilaterally terminate the

relationship with the union without consequence under the

NLRA. The employer's obligation. to bargain could be

eliminated.

Employees of tribal enterprises have no constitutional

rights to protect against employers. Only the NLRA gives them

free speech rights. Absent the NLRA they have no protection.

Workers cannot be left without any legally enforceable right

to form unions and bargain collectively just because they are

employed at tribally owned enterprise.

Finally, the United States requires its trading partners to

implement and abide by internationally recognized labor

standards, while H.R. 986 deprives workers at these tribal

enterprises of these core rights--the right to organize and

bargain collectively.

To focus solely on the NLRA raises the question of the true

motivation for this legislation. It is regrettable that the

principle of tribal sovereignty is being used to cloak an

attack on the basic rights of workers to organize and bargain

collectively. The Teamsters Union respects tribal

sovereignty. However, we do not believe that this principle

should be used to deny workers their collective bargaining

rights and freedom of association. We urge you to oppose the

Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act and to VOTE NO on H.R. 986 when

the legislation comes to a vote in the House of

Representatives.

Sincerely,

James P. Hoffa,

General President.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman, the ranking member, for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4323, the Supporting Veterans in STEM Careers Act.

I led this bill with the gentleman from Florida because finding ways to improve higher education for veterans is essential to our economy and critical to keeping our promise to those who serve.

This legislation advances the great work being done by the National Science Foundation by requiring NSF to develop a plan to help more veterans enter science, technology, engineering, and math fields.

In addition, it requires NSF to report available data on veterans participating in STEM fields.

NSF will also be required to recruit veterans for existing NSF programs, including the Noyse Teacher Scholarship program, and for cybersecurity-specific education and training programs.

Finally, this bill creates an interagency committee to help veterans and their spouses transition to STEM careers, including reporting on their progress.

All of us understand the challenges veterans face when trying to further their education, but we have also seen what happens when former servicemembers are empowered to success as civilians. After World War II, soldiers returned home to a GI Bill that sparked an era of innovation and economic growth.

By helping veterans enter STEM education and research programs, this bill will help build a workforce that is prepared to succeed in the modern economy. At the same time, it will drive some of our best and brightest into fields where they can make new discoveries and create new technologies that will redefine the world for future generations.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to work with my Republican colleague, Mr. Dunn, and I encourage all Members to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Daryl Busch, the former mayor of Perris, California, who passed away earlier this month.

As a U.S. Navy veteran, a small-business owner, and a pillar of the Perris community, Mayor Busch's commitment to public service was never in doubt. His professionalism, class, and compassion are just a few of the many reasons he was elected mayor of Perris for six consecutive terms.

During his tenure, the city emerged from serious financial challenges to become a stable and growing community, and his leadership was critical to completing the Metrolink extension, which now connects Perris to neighboring communities. The foundation he built during his 17 years of public service will benefit the city and its residents for years to come.

My thoughts are with Kay, his wife of 57 years, their son, Barry, and the rest of the Busch family.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, since 2014, the Veterans' Affairs Committee has held countless hearings focused on VA medical centers that were found to have covered up wait times or failed to consistently provide high- quality healthcare to veterans.

Many of these failures were first brought to light by whistleblower allegations and were later substantiated by Government Accountability Office studies and VA inspector general investigations. Solutions to these failures were only uncovered through multiple inspections of medical centers' facilities, their policies, and their employees.

Congress relies on the hard work of medical inspectors and investigators at the VA, the OIG, and the GAO to review allegations and issue recommendations regarding how VA and Congress should work to correct deficiencies at medical centers and hold VA officials accountable. With limited resources, the inspector general and the GAO have completed a staggering number of investigations and reviews that have led to significant reforms of the VA system. They should be commended for their excellent work.

The Enhancing Veteran Care Act gives the Secretary another tool for developing solutions to problems at VA medical facilities. The VA Secretary should be able to contract with nonprofit-nongovernmental medical inspectors or auditors when deemed appropriate.

However, I strongly believe that granting the VA Secretary the authority to contract with nongovernmental inspectors and auditors should not result in cuts to the IG's or VA's budgets. We need to ensure VA inspectors and the VA OIG have the resources to continue their thorough and timely investigations.

I am also concerned about these nongovernmental organizations not being required to follow Federal laws that require transparency. I believe these nongovernmental bodies should be held to the very same level of transparency as the IG, GAO, and VA investigators, including requirements to publish their methods for conducting audits and reviews alongside their findings and recommendations. Without transparency, Congress and the public will not have the same level of confidence in their findings.

If we had the opportunity to consider this legislation in committee, we could have received testimony from VA, the IG, and GAO on this legislation and done more to address concerns around transparency, while also ensuring that investigative efforts are not duplicated. I encourage the chairman to continue his inclusive approach by seeking to bring all veterans related bills through committee for due consideration.

However, these concerns will not prevent me from supporting the Enhancing Veteran Care Act. I trust the Secretary will execute this authority in a manner that supports and supplements government-led investigations.

Veterans should have full confidence that they will receive high- quality healthcare at VA facilities. Rigorous and transparent investigations and audits will help guarantee these high standards are met.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Hampshire (Ms. Kuster), my good friend and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in support of S. 1266, the Enhancing Veteran Care Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, today 9 million children are at risk of losing their access to healthcare and millions of parents are losing sleep as funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program expires.

Community health centers across the country are at risk of steep cuts, forcing them to lay off medical professionals and turn away thousands of patients as their funding expires.

DREAMers, who know no other home than America, are at risk of deportation as their DACA status expires.

Military families, who serve a nation at war, are at risk of going without pay as government funding expires.

But instead of passing legislation to ensure children have access to healthcare, to keep community health centers open, to protect our DREAMers, and to support military families, the majority is too focused on cutting taxes for the wealthiest individuals in America. This is a shameful failure to act in the best interests of the American people.

Mr. Speaker, most Americans would be outraged to learn that hundreds, if not thousands, of veterans have been deported after serving honorably in the United States military, but this is the shocking truth about our broken immigration system.

These unjust deportations of veterans are still occurring. Let me cite the case of Chong Hwan Kim, a South Korean immigrant who has lived in this country since he was 5 years old. In 2009, he was deployed to Iraq and was honorably discharged a year later. Legal permanent residents qualify for citizenship if they serve just one day on Active Duty during a time of war.

Suffering from PTSD and facing the same challenges that many veterans face reintegrating into society, Kim broke the law, and because he never completed the process of becoming a citizen, he currently awaits deportation.

Veterans like Chong Hwan Kim deserve better. They deserve the dignity and respect that we afford to all who serve, and they deserve to enjoy the rights they risked their lives to protect.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding and for his continued leadership on behalf of America's workers.

Mr. Speaker, more and more employees today are working for a company whose name is not on the front of their office building. Instead of hiring employees directly, companies are renting employees from staffing agencies. Let me say that again. Companies are renting employees from staffing agencies and then evading responsibility for upholding the rights of those workers, even as they profit from their work.

For decades, sensible joint employment standards under the Fair Labor Standards Act have ensured that workers can hold employers accountable for violating wage and hour laws.

Instead of refining those standards to reflect the complex relationship between workers and employers in today's economy, this legislation sets a dramatically and intentionally narrow standard so that no large corporation can be held accountable if their contractors violate workplace laws.

Mr. Speaker, I include a letter of support in the Record, a letter by the National Employment Law Project and signed by more than 200 organizations opposing H.R. 3441 because it opens the door to widespread wage theft and hurts law-abiding small businesses.

Hon. Paul Ryan,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Nancy Pelosi,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Virginia Foxx,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Robert C. Scott,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Speaker Ryan, Leader Pelosi, Chairwoman Foxx and

Ranking Member Scott: The undersigned organizations write in

opposition to H.R. 3441, the so-called Save Local Business

Act, which would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to prevent

workers from holding more than one employer jointly

accountable for wage theft, child labor, equal pay

violations, or unfair labor practices even when the employers

jointly exercise and share control over working conditions.

Under our nation's long-standing laws dating back as far as

the late 1800s, employers who share control with their

subcontractors over working conditions may also share

accountability as joint employers for violations of workers'

rights so that they will provide better oversight of working

conditions, and in so doing, ensure broader compliance with

basic labor and employment laws.

H.R. 3441 seeks to dramatically narrow the long-standing

definitions of ``employer'' in the FLSA and NLRA and it is

neither good for workers nor for law-abiding businesses.

H.R. 3441 opens the door to widespread wage theft and worker harms in

occupations across the economy, including in our nation's growth

industries

The bill would undermine protections for millions of

workers across the economy, especially in low-wage sectors

where subcontracting is common: construction, agriculture,

garment, janitorial, home care, delivery and logistics,

warehousing, retail, temp and staffing, and manufacturing,

just to name a few.

Wage theft and other workplace dangers are prevalent in

many of these jobs, and even under current law, millions of

workers today are no longer sure who their boss is--and

indeed, have no way to navigate the intricacies of companies'

contracting relationships to ascertain who is responsible for

workplace violations. When there's no clear line of

accountability, work conditions are more likely to

deteriorate: pay declines, wage theft increases, and

workplace injuries rise. In addition, outsourced jobs pay

less--sometimes as much as 30 percent less--than in-house

jobs, likely due to a lack of worker and subcontractor

bargaining power. In today's economy, we should be looking

for ways to increase workers' pay and economic security, not

laying the groundwork for more sweatshops.

When a subcontractor cannot pay, joint employer standards

ensure that workers have remedies against the contracting

company for the legal violations. Workers should be able to

recover when cheated out of wages, exposed to dangerous

working conditions, or otherwise treated unlawfully.

This bill would also impede workers from bringing equal

pay claims to close the gender pay gap. Because the Equal Pay

Act is a part of the FLSA, and uses the FLSA's definition of

an employer, H.R. 3441 would make it harder for subcontracted

workers to hold their employers accountable for gender-based

pay discrimination.

The bill actually hurts, not helps, law-abiding small businesses

Although framed as a bill to help protect the independence

of small businesses, including those that operate as

franchisees, the bill would in fact insulate corporations,

including franchisors, from liability. Unscrupulous

businesses that employ abusive labor contractors to cheat

workers would gain a competitive advantage over law-abiding

businesses. In addition, franchisees whose business practices

are all but dictated to them by larger corporations will be

hung out to dry for decisions that aren't their own, without

any indemnification from the entity that often all but forces

labor and employment violations on them.

Corporations that engage low-road contractors and then look

the other way gain an unfair advantage over companies that

play by the rules, resulting in a race to the bottom that

rewards cheaters. It's one reason why the job quality of what

were formerly middle-class jobs in America is suffering

today. Working people struggle enough in today's economy.

Don't let Congress make this worse by legislatively rigging

the system in favor of corporations that don't care about the

workers who build their businesses. Oppose H.R. 3441.

Sincerely,

9to5 Colorado; 9to5 Wisconsin; 9to5, National Assoc of

Working Women; A Better Balance; Advocates for Basic

Legal Equality, Inc.; AFL-CIO; American Federation of

State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME);

American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO; Arizona

Employment Lawyers Association; Asian American Legal

Defense and Education Fund; Barkan Meizlish LLP;

Bricklayers & Allied Craftsmen Local 3 MA/ME/NH/RI;

California Employment Lawyers Association; Center for

Law and Social Policy (CLASP); Center for Popular

Democracy; Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa.

Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc. (CDM); Centro

Legal de la Raza; Change to Win; Chicago Jobs Council;

Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center; Coalition for

Social Justice; Coalition of Labor Union Women;

Coalition on Human Needs; Colorado Fiscal Institute;

Columbia Legal Services, Washington State;

Communications Workers of America (CWA); Community

Labor United; Community Legal Services in East Palo

Alto; Community Legal Services of Philadelphia;

Community, Faith & Labor Coalition, Indianapolis;

Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good

Shepherd, US Provinces.

Congregation of Our Lady of the Good Shepherd, US

Provinces; Connecticut Legal Services, Inc.; Council on

American-Islamic Relations (CAIR); Democratic

Socialists of America; Demos; Disciples Center for

Public Witness (Disciples of Christ); Economic Policy

Institute Policy Center; Economic Progress Institute;

El Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas;

Employee Rights Center; Equal Justice Center;

Equal Rights Advocates; Fair Work Center; Fair World

Project; Faith and Justice Worker Center; Family Values

@ Work; Farmworker Association of Florida.

Farmworker Justice; Florida Legal Services, Inc.; Food

Chain Workers Alliance; Forward Community Investments;

Franciscan Action Network; Friends Committee on

National Legislation; Fuerza del Valle Workers' Center;

Fuerza Laboral; Futures Without Violence; Genesis

Masonry Contracting, LLC; Getman, Sweeney & Dunn, PLLC;

Good Jobs First; Good Jobs Nation; Greater Boston Legal

Services; Greater Hartford Legal Aid, Inc.

Greater Rochester Coalition for Immigration Justice;

Greater SE Mass Labor Council; Hardin & Hughes, LLP;

Head Law Firm, LLC; Hudson Valley Justice Center;

Immigrant Solidarity DuPage, Casa DuPage Workers

Center; Immigrant Worker Center Collaborative (IWCC);

In The Public Interest; Indianapolis Worker Justice

Center; Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice of

South Central WI; Interfaith Worker Justice;

International Brotherhood of Teamsters; International

Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers

(IFPTE); International Union of Painters and Allied

Trades District Council 35; IWJSD.

Jewish Community Relations Council, Milwaukee; Jobs With

Justice; Justice in Motion; Kansas City Workers' Rights

Board of Missouri Jobs with Justice; Kentucky Equal

Justice Center; Kids for College; Kids Forward; Labor

Justice Committee; Labor Project for Working Families;

Laundry Workers Center; Lebau and Neuworth; The

Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Legal

Aid at Work; The Legal Aid Society.

Legal Services of Central New York; Legal Voice; Local 3,

Bricklayers & Allied Craftsmen; Los Angeles Alliance

for a New Economy; Madison-area Urban Ministry; Main

Street Alliance; Maine Labor Group on Health; Maine

Women's Lobby; Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund;

Massachusetts Coalition of Domestic Workers;

Massachusetts Interfaith Worker Justice; Massachusetts

Law Reform Institute; MassCOSH (Massachusetts Coalition

for Occupational Safety & Health); Mechanic Law Firm,

Portland OR; Metrowest Worker Center; Miami Workers

Center.

Michigan League for Public Policy; Missouri Jobs with

Justice; Moms Rising; NAACP; National Advocacy Center

of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd; National Asian

Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF); National

Center for Law and Economic Justice; National Center

for Transgender Equality; National Council for

Occupational Safety and Health; National Council of

Churches; National Domestic Worker Alliance; National

Education Association; National Employment Law Project;

National Employment Lawyers Association; National

Guestworker Alliance; National Immigration Law Center.

National LGBTQ Task Force; National Partnership for Women

& Families; National Women's Law Center; National

Workrights Institute; NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social

Justice; New Haven Legal Assistance; New Jersey Citizen

Action; New Jersey Policy Perspective; New Jersey Time

to Care Coalition; New Jersey Work Environment Council;

New Labor; New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty; New

Mexico Voices for Children; North Carolina Justice

Center; NWA Workers' Justice Center; Oregon Center for

Public Policy.

Oxfam America; Patriotic Millionaires; Phillips Dayes Law

Firm PC; Pilipino Workers Center of Southern

California; Policy Matters Ohio; PolicyLink; Pride at

Work; Progressive Congress Action Fund; Project IRENE;

Public Citizen; Public Justice Center; Restaurant

Opportunities Centers United; Safe Harbor Law, LLC;

Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law; SE Mass

Building Trades Council; SEIU Local 888.

Service Employees International Union; South Central

Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO; South Florida AFL-CIO;

South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice; Southern

Poverty Law Center; St. Louis Workers Rights Board,

Missouri Jobs with Justice; Stephan Zouras, LLP;

Teamsters Joint Council 7; Teamsters Local Union 350;

Teamsters Local Union 469; The Commonwealth Institute

for Fiscal Analysis (Virginia); The Law Offices of

Gilda A. Hernandez, PLLC; The North Dakota Economic

Security and Prosperity Alliance; The Rhode Island

Center for Justice; The Stolarz Law Firm; The Warehouse

Worker Resource Center.

UltraViolet; Union for Reform Judaism; Union of Rutgers

Administrators, AFT Local 1766; Unitarian Universalist

Association; United Auto Workers (UAW); United

Community Center of Westchester, Inc.; United Food and

Commercial Workers International Labor Union; United

Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1445; United

Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing,

Energy, Allied; Industrial and Services Workers

International Union (USW); Washington State Budget &

Policy Center; Wayne Action for Racial Equality;

WeCount!; Werman Salas PC; West Virginia Center on

Budget and Policy; Winebrake & Santillo, LLC.

Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans; Wisconsin

Alliance for Women's Health; Wisconsin Coalition

Against Sexual Assault; Wisconsin Community Program

Association (WISCAP); Wisconsin Council of Churches;

Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice; Wisconsin Network

for Peace, Justice, and Sustainability; Women Employed;

Women's Law Project; Workers' Center of Central New

York; Workers Defense Project; Workers' Rights Center

of Madison WI; Workers' Rights Project, Main Street

Legal Services. Inc; Working Families Party; Working

Partnerships USA; Workplace Fairness; Workplace Justice

Project at Loyola College of Law Clinic; Worksafe; WV

Citizen Action Group; Yezbak Law Offices.

Mr. Speaker, from 2001 to 2013, Wal-Mart was contracting with three warehouses in my community, and those warehouses contracted out their staffing to a company that was accused of committing egregious wage and hour law violations.

Thanks to the FLSA joint employer standard, 1,700 warehouse workers were able to reach a $22 million settlement to collect the pay that they were owed from their employer. Under this bill, they would likely have gotten nothing.

The questions we face today are: Will millions of workers, like the warehouse workers in my district, lose what little power they have left to fight against wage theft; will organized workers lose the basic right to bring all responsible parties to the table to collectively bargain for better wages and workplaces; will shrewd corporations be allowed to claim immunity from the laws that protect employees; and, most of all, will the people's House stand with the people or stand with the corporations that continue to rig the economy against the American worker?

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 3441.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3562 requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide funding for home adaptations for severely disabled veterans within the Vocational, Rehabilitation, and Employment, or VR&E, program.

Currently, VA provides severely disabled veterans assistance to lead a more independent life through the VR&E program, which can include help with adaptive housing. However, as their name suggests, VR&E counselors are primarily trained to provide vocational and employment assistance, and they do not necessarily have the expertise to provide the best guidance on adaptive housing.

The agents and contractors who are part of VA's Specially Adaptive Housing program, however, do have this expertise. The SAH program is specifically geared towards helping severely disabled veterans with adapting their homes to be equipped for independent living.

Therefore, in order to better serve severely disabled veterans, this bill authorizes the SAH program to provide assistance to home adaptations for

VR&E-eligible veterans. The amount of assistance would be capped at the same level of funding that is currently provided to SAH-eligible veterans.

This is a solution that puts the right VA employee in charge of assisting a disabled veteran to adapt their home. This will also reduce the workload on VR&E counselors, allowing them to spend more time helping veterans with employment services.

Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 3562, and I yield back the balance of my time.