Bobby Scott

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), the chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, before I yield to the gentleman from Rhode Island, I would like to remind our colleagues that just yesterday a Federal court ruled that the Department of Education must provide full relief for 7,200 defrauded Massachusetts student borrowers who attended Corinthian Colleges. Unfortunately, there are still borrowers around the country still waiting for relief. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline), a member of the House Judiciary Committee.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Porter), a member of the Financial Services and Oversight and Reform Committees.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot about $11 billion. Let me tell you exactly what that is. That is $11 billion that students who have been defrauded will now have to pay if this resolution fails. According to the fraud formula from the Department of Education, even those who can prove fraud can expect relief, on average, to go from about 50 percent of their debt down to 3 percent of their debt. Many, because of that formula, will get absolutely nothing. Mr. Speaker, now is the time that we have a choice. We can give relief to students, especially veterans who have been defrauded by predatory colleges, or make them pay student loans even though they received a worthless educational experience. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to side with the students and vote ``yes'' on this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Americans have been protesting ever since the nation witnessed the murder of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement last month. Today, the House of Representatives is taking action to address problems in our broken policing and criminal justice systems by passing The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The bill has many important provisions-- It bans chokeholds, ends no-knock warrants in drug cases and prohibits racial profiling. It creates national standards for policing policies, such as training, body cameras and use of deadly force. It provides for data collection. It removes barriers that make it difficult to hold police officers accountable for misconduct. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass this bill as quickly as possible, and to begin the next step in the process: investing in our communities.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the HEROES Act. The bill confronts the unprecedented pandemic that we are facing by first directing significant funding to State and local governments. Without this funding, they will have to make devastating cuts, especially in education, public safety, and basic services. Then it funds education to address the unique challenges created by the pandemic. K-12 funding would be available for technology, summer programs, special education, and initiatives to reduce the achievement gaps. It funds higher education to support students and maintain their institutions. It provides relief for student loans, continuing the present relief from payments, as well as interest accrual, and extending that relief to virtually all student loans, both Federal and private. That relief goes to virtually all student loans. Then we target additional relief to students most in need of relief. Mr. Speaker, this bill supports families by continuing the enhanced and expanded unemployment benefits, increasing SNAP benefits, and delivering another round of stimulus checks. It also protects healthcare insurance, so that under this bill, when you lose your job, you do not have to lose your health insurance. The bill helps contain the pandemic by funding contact tracers so that those who have been in contact with those who test positive can be identified and they can isolate themselves. Finally, the bill makes our workplace safer by requiring OSHA to promulgate and enforce clear standards to protect workers from COVID- 19. For our front-line workers, it authorizes premium pay for their heroic work. This bill is a necessary response to today's health crisis. It enables workers and families to survive the pandemic. If States don't get this money, the public will be inflicted with drastic cuts. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I say to the majority leader that the hard work that we have done is, to a large extent, due to the hardworking staff who have been up late at night doing this work that usually takes months. It has just been in days that they have been able to put this bill together. Mr. Speaker, I rise with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support the CARES Act. As a result of the significant changes made over the past few days, this legislation now takes important steps to give students, workers, and families the support they need during this public health emergency. Many of the provisions of the bill fall within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Education and Labor. For example, one of our most important challenges is to help workers maintain their income because losing a paycheck exposes workers and families to so many other problems. Yesterday, the new unemployment claims soared to over 3 million, and that is four times more than the previous record. The CARES Act responds to our challenge by dramatically increasing unemployment insurance by an additional $600 a week for up to 4 months. The emergency unemployment insurance program also extends to self- employed workers, so-called gig employees, many of whom are not currently eligible for unemployment compensation because they are often misclassified as independent contractors rather than employees. And to my colleagues who have expressed concern that these benefits are more generous than paychecks earned by many low-income workers, I would say that the problem is not with the bill; the problem is with the Federal minimum wage, which has not been increased for more than a decade. The CARES Act also maintains access to healthcare. The bill specifically makes a $200 billion investment in hospitals, health systems, and health research. It also includes a requirement that all insurance policies cover the full costs of future vaccines within 15 days of the vaccines being officially approved. It also helps people maintain their insurance, if they are laid off. Finally, the bill maintains students' access to education. The CARES Act now has more than $30 billion in relief for students, educators, schools, and institutions of higher learning. For institutions of higher learning, it will provide financial relief to colleges and universities and also support grants to displaced students. For K-12, it will provide help to educators to adapt to long- term closures, fund purchases of education technology for online learning, and provide equitable access to education for students with disabilities. The CARES Act moves us in the right direction, but it is important to recognize that the legislation is only a down payment on the relief that our communities will need in the weeks and months ahead. We must immediately start work on a fourth package that reflects the unprecedented scale of this crisis. The next package must include safety protections for frontline healthcare workers and emergency responders who are risking their lives every day. The next package must expand emergency paid sick leave and paid family and medical leave without exceptions so workers can take care of themselves and their loved ones without having to sacrifice their paychecks. The next package has to ensure that Americans who are fighting the disease are not hit with costly medical bills afterwards. In the second response package, we established universal, no-cost COVID-19 testing. The next package that we have should expand the coverage to COVID-19 treatment as well. Mr. Speaker, it is critical for all of us to understand that the CARES Act is not a stimulus package; it is a disaster relief effort which must continue for as long as it takes to ensure that students, workers, and families can survive this crisis. Mr. Speaker, I call on all of my colleagues to support the legislation.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, the spread of COVID-19 will present increasingly severe challenges for students, workers, and families. Communities across the country are counting on this Congress to deliver a bold, immediate, and targeted response. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act--which is the result of careful bipartisan negotiations--is an important step toward providing the American people the support they need to confront this national emergency. This bill ensures that all Americans can access cost-free COVID-19 testing. It provides states and schools the flexibility they need to ensure that students do not go hungry during school closures. It also provides child and adult care providers additional support to make sure people are getting the nutrition they need. It provides women, infants, and children with the flexibility to access WIC food benefits and infant formula without the need to make unsafe visits to clinics. It provides workers 14 days of emergency paid sick leave, so they are not forced to choose between their paycheck and their health. And it also provides enhanced unemployment compensation and paid family and medical leave so that workers can take time off to care for themselves and their loved ones without losing their jobs. By passing this legislation, we protect the health and financial security of millions of students, workers, and families. But we must recognize that this package alone is not sufficient. In the coming weeks, we must be willing to take further action to address the consequences of this epidemic. For example, I am particularly concerned that this bill does not include important safety protections for our front-line health care workers, who will be called upon to perform heroic work in the months ahead. I will continue to work with my colleagues to pass necessary legislation to protect their safety. Additionally, at the last minute, provisions were inserted into the bill that regrettably denied some workers paid leave benefits. But millions of workers will have access to paid leave that is not available to them today. So, I urge all Members to support the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, on Monday morning, our Nation lost a truly brilliant mathematician and pioneer, Ms. Katherine Goble Johnson. While I knew Katherine and her family personally for many years, like so many Americans, I never fully appreciated her work until her untold story was revealed in the book and movie, ``Hidden Figures.'' She had a long and illustrious career at NASA, but also had a tremendous impact on the Hampton Roads community that she called home. She was president of Lambda Omega Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, and she sang in the choir and served as a trustee at Carver Memorial Presbyterian Church in Newport News. She served as a role model for countless children; and while she did not reach the stars like the astronauts whose trajectory she calculated, in her career, she did. We remember her as a true American hero, and I send my deepest condolences to her family and all who were inspired by her remarkable life and work. Mr. Speaker, I ask that all Members join me and Congresswoman Luria, who represents the Hampton area, the Virginia delegation, and others in a moment of silence in honor of Ms. Katherine Goble Johnson.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of equality and the principle that our Constitution was designed, not to shore up the dominance of the historically powerful, but to ensure the rights of all and to foster a society in which each of us is free to shape our future based on our abilities. The resolution today removes the deadline Congress put in place for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. While ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment is imperative to enshrine equal rights for women, I do not believe it is necessary to strike the deadline for ratification. By voting on this legislation we may imply that it is necessary for Congress to lift a self-imposed deadline. I do not prescribe to this view. Congressional authority to propose Amendments to the Constitution and the mode of ratification is absolute. The language of Article V of the Constitution represents the Founders intent to create a stable government designed for change. Article V requires two-thirds of the House and Senate to propose an amendment. Congress can choose ratification through three-fourths of the state legislatures or state ratifying conventions. Once the amendment is proposed to the states, there is no Constitutionally imposed time limit on the ratification process. Article V of the Constitution is silent with regard to when a state must consider and ratify an amendment. For example, the ratification process for the 27th Amendment took more than two hundred years. Historically, Congress has ratified amendments without specific time limitations. The first amendment to contain a time limit was the 18th Amendment which established the prohibition of alcohol. The text of the 18th, 20th, 21st, and 22nd Amendments each contained language limiting the time frame for ratification. In contrast, the text of the Equal Rights Amendment ratified by the states does not contain a time limit. It is the proposing clause sent to the states for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment which contains a seven-year time limitation. The language of a proposing clause is not binding. The current ratification process of the Equal Rights Amendment is properly before the states and is reasonable and sufficiently contemporaneous. Having been ratified by Virginia, according to Article V, the ERA has become part of the Constitution. Furthermore, if the deadline is binding, then passage of this resolution, without passage in the Senate, does not cure the defect. Because the deadline is not binding, this resolution is not necessary, but also not harmful. Women continue to face additional hurdles in the pathways to success. On average, women still earn less than men for the same job functions. Pregnant women often lack basic protections and reasonable accommodation in the workplace. Perhaps most concerning of all, violence against women is still widespread and undermines the educational and social potential of women and young children in this country. I am proud to have worked with my Democratic colleagues in the House to pass legislation to remedy these inequalities. The House recently passed the Protect the Right to Organize Act (H.R. 2474) which protects workers who are trying to form a union. In most of America, women earn less than men, but women and men working under a union contract receive equal pay for equal work. We have worked to fill the gaps in the patchwork of existing laws governing how and when workers take time off to care for themselves and their families. Expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act to cover more working parents and low wage workers who are currently excluded from leave policies is a top priority. Nearly two thirds of minimum wage workers in the United States are women. The House has successfully passed the Raise the Wage Act (H.R. 582). This will raise the income levels of the most economically insecure households and is a step in the right direction towards pay equity. The Pregnant Worker's Fairness Act (H.R. 2694) is an important piece of legislation that will provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant women in the workforce. The House also passed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (H.R. 1585) which expanded protections and provides critical funding for victim services, law enforcement training, and data collection. However, even if all this legislation were to become law, it would not be the same as amending the Constitution to guarantee women equal rights. Discrimination in the workplace, violence in the home, and institutional barriers require systemic legal and cultural change. Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment provides an additional legal tool for combatting discrimination on the basis of sex. We will continue the fight for equality and work towards a more inclusive and equitable society.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

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 insert extraneous material on H.R. 2474, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chair, throughout their history, America's labor unions have enabled millions of American workers to secure their place in the middle class and receive their fair share of the profits they produce. When workers have the power to stand together and negotiate with their employer, they have higher pay, better benefits, and safer working conditions. Unions not only benefit union members, but also nonunion members benefit from the higher wages that union members enjoy. And even the children of union members also do better. And under union contracts, pay gaps disappear because union members get equal pay for equal work. But union membership, which peaked at around 30 percent of the workforce during the 1950s, is just at 10 percent today. That is the lowest level since just after the National Labor Relations Act was enacted in 1935. It is not a coincidence that as union membership has decreased, income inequality has increased. This decline in union membership is not a function of workers' choices. A recent study found that nearly half of nonunion workers would join a union if given the chance. The gap between worker preferences and union membership is the product of intensified antiworker attacks and labor laws that fail to address unfair labor practices. The lesson from the last 40 years is clear: That it is our current labor laws that are too weak to defend workers' rights to join a union and to collectively bargain with their employer. H.R. 2474, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or the PRO Act, is the most significant upgrade in U.S. labor laws in 80 years. This comprehensive proposal makes sensible reforms to protect and strengthen workers' rights. The PRO Act would put teeth in the Nation's labor laws by authorizing the NLRB to assess meaningful civil penalties when companies violate their workers' rights to organize and bargain. It will close loopholes that the corporations use to misclassify workers as independent contractors instead of employees; thereby evading their obligation to bargain, as well as evading their obligation to pay minimum wage and overtime; provide Worker's Compensation, unemployment compensation, and employee benefits. It ensures that workers can decide whether to form a union without interference. Democracy in the workplace should be a right, not a fight. Too many Americans are now working too hard for too little. And while corporations are enjoying record-level profits, workers and their families are struggling to keep pace with rising costs of housing, childcare, education, and other essentials. So I urge my colleagues to support the PRO Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, low-income workers are being better paid because of State minimum wage laws that most Republicans opposed. And jobs created in the 35 months of the Trump administration are fewer than the jobs created in the last 35 months of the Obama administration. I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wilson), chair of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, 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. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan), the co-chair of the Progressive Caucus.

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

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Judy Chu).

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

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

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Mrs. Trahan), a distinguished member of the Committee on Education and Labor who knows that union members make more than nonunion members.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal), the co-chair of the Progressive Caucus and distinguished member of the Committee on Education and Labor, and a lady who knows, by every measure, that economic progress was better under Obama than President Trump.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished majority leader of the House of Representatives.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Cartwright), who is the co-chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee). She is someone who has read the bill and knows that civil fines in the bill are paid to the U.S. Treasury, not to the unions victimized by unfair labor practices.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, can you advise how much time is remaining on each side?