Joe Courtney

Mr. COURTNEY

Mr. COURTNEY. I now yield to the gentlelady from California (Ms. Speier) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. COURTNEY. I now yield to the gentlelady from California (Ms. Matsui) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. COURTNEY. I yield to my neighbor and good friend, the gentlelady from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. COURTNEY. I now yield to the gentlelady from Florida (Ms. Frankel) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, if I could be given the time remaining, I'd appreciate it.

Mr. COURTNEY. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COURTNEY. I now yield to the gentlelady from California (Ms. Bass) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentlelady from New York (Ms. Slaughter) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. COURTNEY. I now yield to the gentlelady from New Hampshire (Ms. Shea-Porter) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, it is now my honor to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to an outstanding colleague on the Education and the Workforce Committee, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews). (Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I now yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney).

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, again, as someone who was a private sector employer for over 25 years, there is nothing under existing law that prevents an employer from giving an employee paid time off. I did it many times. Now it is my privilege to yield 1 minute to my colleague from the State of Florida, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), a champion for working families and my neighbor.

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I now yield 1 minute to my colleague from the State of Texas (Mr. Green).

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Bishop), my colleague from the Education and Workforce Committee.

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, can I inquire as to the time left?

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, at this time I'd like to yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield now to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Meng) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, it's now my privilege to yield 1 minute to my colleague from the State of Maryland (Ms. Edwards).

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, if I could just inquire through you, again, we have no further speakers, so I'm prepared to close.

Mr. COURTNEY. Could the Chair give me one last update in terms of how much time remains?

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. We've probably reached the point where enough has been said where the full 4\1/2\ minutes maybe isn't necessary, but again, I would just like to reiterate a few points. And again, as somebody who was an employer in the private sector for over 20 years, and, again, the notion that somehow existing labor law makes it impossible for employers to respond to their staff's family emergencies, to vacations is really just a myth. The fact of the matter is that over the last 75 years under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which protects the 40-hour workweek, employers in tens of thousands of workplaces all across America have always made accommodations for their staffs with paid time. What is different about this bill is it's basically tying that flexibility to sacrificing your right under the Fair Labor Standards Act to time and a half for every hour earned over 40 hours. Given the fact that we're living in a time right now where the median income of this country has basically been as flat as a pancake for the last 30 years, that is basically tipping the scales once again against working families in an unacceptable fashion. If you read this bill closely, you have to execute a written agreement every time you want to set up a comp time arrangement. Can you imagine small employers out there, basically, and their workers have to sit down and write like a mini labor agreement every time they want to come up with one of these arrangements? It doesn't allow for emergencies when you have a system like that. The enforcement mechanism, which would be through the State Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division--if anybody has ever dealt with them before, they know that is mission impossible. There is no way that that unit--which, again, today benefits from a bright line system where you just check the payroll hours. If you hit 40 hours, you've got to pay the time and a half. Nobody has the time to go through and examine that agreement to see if it was free and voluntary and whether or not the exercise of comp time was done in accordance with it. You're basically creating a labor relations board in every State, in every workplace across America. Careful what you wish for as employers if you read this bill closer. But the fact of the matter is that at the end of the day, it does not empower employees or workers in terms of giving them the ability to basically support their family and have time to deal with the important family issues, whether it's the birth of a child, making sure you're there on important school dates, or making sure that they're there when they're ill or in need of family and parental assistance. The fact of the matter is paid sick time is the way that you do that. That's the way you empower people. And that is what exists in the public sector. That's why comp time works in the public sector. Paid sick time is something that is part of every collective bargaining agreement in all 50 States in the public sector. Small employers, is that what the majority really wants to impose on every private employer in this country? The fact of the matter is that we need to scrap this bill which is before us for the fifth time since 1996 and go back and have a real dialogue in a real bipartisan collaboration in terms of coming up with real solutions for working families. I actually am an optimist and believe we can do that. I respect the chairman. I respect my chairman of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. But the fact is we can do far better than this recycled, rehashed bill which, again, has been rejected by over 160 organizations which represent working families and women. Again, let's vote this bill down, go back, and as a real body, deliberative body, come up with a better solution for working families. I yield back the balance of my time.