Commerce, Justice, Science, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2020

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. SMITH. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Ohio for raising these issues about the skills gap. This is something that is very important in Minnesota, as well, and I agree with him. I think this should be a place where we could find some bipartisan agreement. So I thank him for his words today.

Mr. President, today I rise to talk about another gap that I would like to ask my colleagues for help in filling.

For many Americans, the 35-day government shutdown during the last holiday season is a distant memory. The national parks have reopened with their usual programming; airports are running normally; and Federal employees are back on the job with the backpay they had lost through no fault of their own because of the Federal Government shutdown.

But for one group of workers, things are not back to normal. These are the low-wage workers employed by Federal contractors serving in cafeterias, providing building security, and keeping Federal buildings clean. These Federal contractors work shoulder to shoulder with Federal employees, and though they are often invisible, they play a crucial role in keeping the Federal Government working for Americans.

Thousands--potentially hundreds of thousands--of these workers at Federal facilities all across the country were not allowed to work during the Federal Government shutdown. They went without paychecks during the height of the holiday season. They skipped Christmas gifts. They missed tuition payments. And they even, in some cases, were unable to afford the insulin they need to stay alive if they live with diabetes.

Unlike Federal employees, these employees of Federal contractors didn't get backpay when the government reopened. They were ready and willing to work every single day of those 35 days of the shutdown, but they couldn't, through no fault of their own, and they paid the price. That is just not right.

Making ends meet in a low-wage job is hard enough, and making ends meet when you miss two paychecks--when those paychecks are taken away from you--is nearly impossible. Families who didn't get the income they were expecting were forced to borrow from friends. They were forced to rely on the help of others. They had to make difficult choices, and many of them are still in a financial hole that was not created by them and that they can't dig themselves out of.

So, colleagues, I rise today to ask you to help me in righting this injustice, and I am glad to be joined on the Senate floor by several of my colleagues who also have been strong advocates for these workers. Senator Brown from Ohio, Senator Van Hollen from Maryland, Senator Kaine from Virginia, along with many of my colleagues, have helped to try to right this wrong. In this way, we have introduced bipartisan legislation to provide modest backpay to these workers.

The House included our backpay language in the appropriations package that is on the Senate floor today. It is in the bill that the House passed. Unfortunately, Senator McConnell's substitute amendment strips out this critical provision that would provide backpay to these Federal contract workers.

Today, what I am proposing is that we come together in a bipartisan way and that we add back the backpay language--put it back in the legislation--and I have filed an amendment that would accomplish this.

I have talked with many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle here in the Senate Chamber, and I have to tell you, I have not found a single person who was willing to say--who even wants to say--that these Federal contractors don't deserve backpay. In fact, more often than not, when I talk to my colleagues, they will say: Didn't we take care of that?

Well, colleagues, we didn't take care of that, and now we have an opportunity to fix this gap. We have an opportunity to do something for these Federal contract workers who are proud Federal Government employees in almost every sense of the word.

Our proposal would allow contractors to fund backpay for their employees through a well-known and often-used contracting process known as equitable adjustment.

Often people will say: Oh, Tina, this is a good idea, but it would be so difficult to accomplish this.

Well, actually, there is an existing mechanism for accomplishing exactly what we need to do here, and it is called equitable adjustment.

I have also made clear to my colleagues who have asked questions about this that I am happy to work with anyone who has suggestions for what we can do to further improve this proposal. But we have been told across the board that this is a good way of accomplishing this--an equitable way, a way that would have good accountability--and that it would work.

Over the last 10 months, I have been proud to stand with Federal contract employees who have been fighting for this amendment and to stand with so many others around the country.

Tragically, in July, one of our strongest voices for these workers, SEIU 32BJ President Hector Figueroa, passed away unexpectedly at age 57. Hector was an amazing advocate for workers all over this country. He knew how important it is to solve this Federal contractor backpay problem, and he understood viscerally exactly what difference it would make in the lives of people who lost that income. It should not be lost forever.

Hector led 170,000 janitors, food service workers, and others in their efforts to secure decent wages and better working conditions, and he played a crucial role in making sure that these workers' voices were heard on Capitol Hill and in State legislatures. Hector was a source of inspiration for both workers and public officials, and I miss him as a partner in this effort.

Colleagues, recently we also lost another partner in this fight. Chairman Elijah Cummings from Maryland was a longtime champion for Baltimore workers, and he was the leader of the primary House committee on Federal workplace issues.

In March, Chair Cummings led a letter with 48 House Members saying that ``we must act to ensure . . . federal contractor employees are made whole.'' So I rise today to urge my colleagues that Federal contract workers should be made whole, as Chair Cummings worked so hard to accomplish.

Let's not forget Chair Cummings' message. Let's not forget the passion and the work of Hector Figueroa. Let's not forget about these workers. Let's follow on the advocacy of these people and so many others to pass backpay for Federal contract workers and make sure that these hard-working Americans get the backpay they deserve.

I am so grateful to be joined on the floor today by several of my colleagues, including Senator Chris Van Hollen, who has been such a strong advocate for Federal Government contract workers in making sure that they do not have to pay the price for this shutdown, which happened through no fault of their own. I am very glad to be here with Senator Van Hollen today.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source