Virginia Foxx

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Indiana an additional 15 seconds.

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, this bill is an effort by Democrats to cave to big labor and special interest groups' demands at the expense of the American workforce and the economy. Once again, Democrats are attempting to ram through radical, partisan legislation. H.R. 842 is radical, backward-looking legislation, which will diminish the rights of workers and employers while harming the economy and providing a political gift to labor union special interests. I thank my Republican colleagues for their hard work in fighting for American workers and job creators. I urge all of my colleagues to consider the serious damage that the passage of this bill would do, and I urge a ``no'' vote. Madam Speaker, I reiterate, just before COVID hit, we had a booming, booming economy without this legislation. This will harm the economy, harm the American workers, and do great injustice to well-meaning employers who risk every day their capital and their energy to create jobs. Madam Speaker, this bill deserves a ``no'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the Democrat en bloc amendments. My Democrat colleagues are rushing a radical piece of legislation to the House floor without holding a single committee hearing or markup. Rushing sweeping, one-sided legislation to the floor without any prior debate or consideration this year silences Members of the minority. This is an outright assault on the legislative process and serves only to hide the Democrats' socialist agenda. There are 20 new members on the Education and Labor Committee on both sides of the aisle, not to mention the dozens of new Members of the House, and their constituents deserve to have their elected representatives examine this dangerous bill. Additionally, the last time the Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on any version of the PRO Act was July 2019. Since that time, a worldwide pandemic has devastated large sectors of the American economy. In light of this fact alone, Congress should hear from affected stakeholders before passing a radical sweeping bill. Even more concerning than the muzzle imposed by this sham legislative process on the minority party and business owners around the country is the underlying bill's silencing and disenfranchisement of workers. This far-reaching legislation is nothing more than a union boss wish list aimed at rewarding Democrats' big labor allies at the expense of American workers. Union membership in the United States has been decreasing for over 60 years, and continues to plummet due to the modern economy and unions' own failings. But instead of increasing transparency and accountability to serve their members better, labor union leaders are demanding House Democrats pass the PRO Act to tilt the scales in their favor. Democrats are doing exactly that, no matter the cost. Madam Speaker, I would like to remind my colleagues that Federal law already protects the right of employees to organize, and Republicans respect that right. But any reforms to U.S. labor laws should help workers flourish in the modern economy. Unfortunately, the extreme bill before us today helps union bosses at the expense of workers. The slate of Democrat amendments included in this en bloc amendment are ploys disguised as policy intended to provide political cover to the Democrat Members who are uncomfortable voting for the job- destroying underlying bill, and, in many cases, the amendments included make the bill even worse. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject this partisan en bloc amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, as the party that claims to champion the working class, Democrats have certainly missed the mark with this bill. H.R. 842 will force employers to hand over workers' private, personal information to union organizers without workers having any say in the matter or making sure their information will not be shared with others. This would make it even easier for union organizers to target, harass, and intimidate workers. H.R. 842 also overturns all State right-to-work laws. These 27 State laws allow workers to decide for themselves whether to join a union and pay dues. If the PRO Act becomes law, workers will be forced to take money from their paychecks and give it to labor unions even if they don't want to be represented by a union. This is astonishing since we know that from 2010 to 2018 unions spent $1.6 billion in member dues on hundreds of left-leaning groups such as Planned Parenthood, the Clinton Foundation, and the Progressive Democrats of America without consulting their members. The PRO Act will also undermine workers' right to vote by secret ballot by imposing a biased card-check scheme in which workers could be unionized without the union winning a secret ballot election. Every Member of Congress is elected by secret ballot, and House Democrats elect their own caucus leadership by secret ballot; yet they want to deprive American workers of that same protection by passing the PRO Act. The bill also deprives individuals of entrepreneurial opportunities, the ability to set their own hours, and the flexibility to care for children and family members by creating burdensome and discredited legal standards for determining joint employment and independent contractor status. The PRO Act means the elimination of the franchise industry and sharing economy as we know them. The bottom line is the underlying bill is shameful, and so is the process under which it is being considered. The Democrats' en bloc package of amendments does nothing to change that. H.R. 842 is radical, backwards-looking legislation which will diminish the rights of workers and employers while harming the economy and providing a political gift to labor union special interests. We are better than this. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote against this en bloc package, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Republican en bloc amendments. Madam Speaker, of the 58 amendments submitted by Republicans, unfortunately only nine were made in order, and I remind my colleagues that no committee markup was held on the bill, which prevented any amendments from being considered prior to today. The Republican amendments highlight the radical and flawed approach H.R. 842 takes which would completely unbalance American labor law in favor of unions while diminishing worker freedom. I will briefly mention several of the amendments which are included in this en bloc package: Mr. Allen's amendment strikes the provision that overturns 27 right-to-work laws which ensure workers do not have to join or pay dues to a union if they choose not to. Mr. Comer's amendment strikes the provision that would require attorney and consultants to disclose to the Federal Government the agreements they have with employers even if the attorney or consultant never has any contact with employees. Mr. Fitzgerald's amendment protects worker paychecks by requiring that unions receive express consent to spend their money on activities unrelated to collective bargaining, such as politics. Mr. Good's amendment highlights the often coercive nature of so- called neutrality agreements entered by an employer and union during an organizing drive. Representative Keller's amendment removes the provision that would allow intermittent strikes which would be incredibly disruptive to small businesses, and the amendment also removes the provision that would prohibit employers from replacing workers permanently to keep businesses open. Representative Walberg's amendment would give employers a reasonable amount of time to prepare for a free election hearing which is especially important for small businesses who have no HR personnel or in-house attorney. Mr. Wilson's amendment would ensure that workers across the country do not have to join or pay dues to a union if that is their choice. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen).

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Comer).

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Fitzgerald).

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller).

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, could I inquire as to how much time is remaining?

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my Republican colleagues for offering these thoughtful amendments, which would protect the interests and rights of workers and employers alike. They negate some of the worst aspects of the PRO Act. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle said that the PRO Act gives workers the right to form a union. That right has been around since the 1930s, Madam Speaker. Workers are already free to form a union, and Republicans do nothing to try to stop that freedom. What the underlying bill does, however, is take away the freedom not to belong to a union. That is a fundamental freedom in this country, and we ought not to be taking that away from the American workers. I urge a ``yes'' vote on the Republican en bloc amendments and a ``no'' vote on the underlying bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I was unable to attend votes on February 26, 2021. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 41; YEA on Roll Call No. 42; YEA on Roll Call No. 43; YEA on Roll Call No. 44; and NAY on Roll Call No. 45.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Ohio for yielding, and I completely agree with him on his comments. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 5, yet another harmful bill that has been rushed to the House floor without thorough bipartisan consideration. It claims to strive for equality, but, in practice, this bill undermines the constitutional religious freedoms guaranteed to all Americans. Once again, abandoning long-established House procedures, Democrats are pushing a conveniently titled bill without convening one hearing or markup during the 117th Congress to consider its vast implications for educational institutions and employers. This legislation would require our Nation's K-12 schools to treat gender as being fluid, subjective, and not tied to biological reality. H.R. 5 also threatens religious freedom protections for all Americans and Federal funding for religiously affiliated colleges and universities. Under this bill, student codes of conduct, hiring practices, and housing rules that reflect sincerely held beliefs about marriage and sexuality would be deemed discriminatory, eroding First Amendment rights. In addition, the definitions in this bill are vague and would subject employers and other covered organizations to increase litigation risks. The bill also fails to advocate for the unborn, which is why I urge support for my amendment that will protect anyone, including religiously affiliated groups and individuals, from being forced to perform abortions. Masquerading as a proposal to guarantee fundamental civil rights to all Americans, H.R. 5 is nothing more than a partisan ploy to destroy religious liberty and educational opportunities for girls. Shameful doesn't even begin to describe this bill. This is no way to legislate, but for House Democrats, silencing the voices of the minority and millions of hardworking Americans is business as usual.