Bobby Scott

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, or Stronger CAPTA. One of the most basic responsibilities as public servants is to protect children from physical and emotional trauma of child abuse and neglect. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the last decade, we saw a disturbing rise in rates of child maltreatment, which coincided with the devastating opioid epidemic. Now the COVID-19 pandemic is not only reaffirming the urgent need to address the growing crisis, but also, across the country, families are coping with severe financial and emotional challenges. State child protective services agencies, which have been chronically underfunded, are also struggling to help families while keeping caseworkers safe. Stronger CAPTA is a bipartisan solution we need to prevent child abuse and neglect from happening in the first place and to provide better treatments to address child abuse when it takes place. This legislation provides States with the resources they need to expand locally driven prevention strategies, which will help strengthen families and improve child protective services. It also invests in child protective services so that they can ensure that caseworkers will have the resources to both help children and keep themselves safe. The legislation also streamlines communications between child protective services across the country so that critical information is not lost across State lines. Such a system would have likely saved the life of Heaven Watkins, an 11-year-old girl from my community, who tragically died because local child protective services had no way of knowing that her parents had a history of child abuse in another State. Finally, Stronger CAPTA builds on our bipartisan commitment to keeping families together when it is in the best interest of the child. Madam Speaker, we must do everything in our power to ensure that our Nation's children learn and grow in healthy environments. That is why, last Congress, both Democrats and Republicans worked together to pass Stronger CAPTA with broad bipartisan support. Our bipartisan effort to pass this bill again this year demonstrates that, no matter our party affiliations, we can all agree that Congress must do everything we can to support children and families. To that end, I thank the subcommittee chair, Ms. Bonamici; and ranking subcommittee member, Mr. Comer, for their leadership on this key priority for our committees. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, I, once again, want to thank Ms. Bonamici and Mr. Comer, as well as Ms. Stevens, Ms. Stefanik, Ms. Schrier, Mr. Johnson, and Ranking Member Foxx for their leadership in advancing this bill. Stronger CAPTA will make significant improvements in existing law by authorizing record levels of funding for prevention as well as treating child abuse, increasing accountability to make sure States are using the money effectively, and closing gaps in the law that will put vulnerable children in danger. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the American Rescue Plan Act. Passing this plan will give schools the resources they need to comply with the CDC guidelines to reopen safely and to remain open, and the resources needed to make up for lost time in the classroom. Passing this plan will help institutions of higher education weather this pandemic and provide urgent financial assistance to their students. It will help childcare providers to keep their doors open so working parents can rejoin the workforce. Passing this plan will prevent more than a million retirees from losing their hard-earned pensions and avert an economic calamity that would destroy countless businesses and cost taxpayers at least $170 billion. Passing this rescue plan will also improve access to affordable healthcare during the pandemic, and it will cut child poverty about in half. Passing this plan will protect vulnerable Americans across the country, including families facing financial hardships, older Americans trying to stay safe, and survivors of domestic and gender-based violence. Mr. Speaker, the American people have been calling on us to deliver relief and to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, we come together to send a resounding message that help is on the way. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the American Rescue Plan Act.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal) who is a distinguished member of the Committee on Education and Labor and is the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, how much time is remaining on each side?

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. DeSaulnier), the chair of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions of the Education and Labor Committee.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Torres).

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, during the last Congress we held three hearings and considered 35 amendments. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan), who is a member of the Committee on Education and Labor and the co-chair of the new Labor Caucus.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Tlaib).

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici), the chair of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 188, I call up the bill (H.R. 842) to amend the National Labor Relations Act, the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, and the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 842, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 842, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021, or the PRO Act. The American economy needs a strong middle class. Labor unions play an essential role in rebuilding our middle class and improving the lives of workers and their families. There is clear evidence that workers who organize a union have higher wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces. Regrettably, union membership has dropped over the last 50 years from nearly one-third of all workers in the mid-20th century to just over 10 percent of workers today. The decline of unions and workers' bargaining power are major reasons why income inequality has soared and wages have stagnated for hardworking people. But this decline in union membership is not a product of workers' choices. A recent survey by MIT found that nearly half of nonunion workers say that they would vote to join a union if given the opportunity. The gap between worker preferences and union membership is the result of an 85-year-old labor law that lacks the teeth to enforce workers' rights when employers unlawfully retaliate against them for organizing. The National Labor Relations Act, the NLRA, is far too weak to defend workers against intensifying antiunion attacks from special interests. That is why we must pass the PRO Act. The legislation strengthens workers' rights by making significant upgrades in the NLRA since it was enacted 85 years ago. First, the PRO Act provides new tools to protect workers from antiunion intimidation and retaliation. It then introduces meaningful penalties for companies that violate workers' rights and closes loopholes they use to exploit workers. Finally, the PRO Act strengthens safeguards to ensure that workers can hold free, fair, and safe union elections. Mr. Speaker, it is time for Congress to stand up for workers and ensure that they can exercise their right to join together and negotiate for higher wages, better benefits, and a safe workplace. I urge my colleagues to support the legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin), a distinguished member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Omar), a distinguished member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, could you advise how much time is available on each side?

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Mrvan), a distinguished member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano), a member of the Committee on Education and Labor and chair of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Wild), a distinguished member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Espaillat), a distinguished member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Bowman), the vice chair of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, reference was made to union officials at the UAW. They were caught and prosecuted under present law. The Trump administration that prosecuted them did not make any recommendations for changes in the law. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Titus).

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman's amendment was made in order, so we will be considering it. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Adams), the chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee.