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Floor Speech

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Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Speaker, this bill once again demonstrates the long and proud tradition of bipartisan work by the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee. Our members have shared the great responsibility to keep America's land and air forces the best in the world.

I especially want to recognize our ranking member, Mrs. Hartzler, for her contributions to this bipartisan bill. Many of us know that this will be her final defense authorization bill in this Chamber, and I thank her for her hard work. Her efforts have made America stronger.

Mr. Speaker, this bill supports the investment of resources necessary to equip and modernize our military while continuing the necessary oversight to ensure responsible execution and accountability for Department of Defense programs.

The bill includes:

Aggressive oversight of strike fighter aircraft programs, including the most expensive, the F-35.

Particular attention to and management of risk associated with the Department's manned and unmanned ISR systems.

Continued oversight of the Army and Marine Corps modernization strategies.

And of particular importance to me and Mrs. Hartzler is the bill's support for the resources required to reduce risk to our defense industrial base.

Mr. Speaker, I express my strong support for the pro-worker provisions included in this bill that I championed that would boost domestic manufacturing and guarantee Federal contractors a $15 an hour minimum wage.

Finally, to the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee staff who have done a great job, both majority and minority: Bill Sutey, Heath Bope, Carla Zeppieri, Liz Griffin, Kelly Repair, and certainly our clerk, Payson Ruhl.

I also thank my personal staff who have done a great job: Katie Lee, Lucy Perkins, and Kevin Seger.

I also take a moment of privilege to thank the ranking member and chairman for setting the tone for this great bill. I urge everybody to support this.

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Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman is correct. We all want an open, competitive, and fair contracting process. The Department of Defense, as we know, is the largest government contractor--over $400 billion a year in contracts--60 percent are by the Department of Defense.

This amendment would ensure that the DOD contractors are not violating labor law--things that we all agree on. They do not have the privilege of receiving taxpayer dollars if they are violating this. These taxpayer dollars should go to companies that are helping to build and strengthen our country, not tear it down.

American workers are why we are the greatest country in the world. It is their strength that makes us a reality.

Under this amendment, unfair labor practices are more than just an accusation, they are to be found in violation of the NLRA. The idea of having this, it has been proven you have violated--you still have an option--you settle the problem and then you can get on the bid list. Right now the Department of Defense does have that issue.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this very important amendment.

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Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Once again, we are talking about our most valuable asset in this country, its workers, and the ability to treat them with fairness and giving them the ability to achieve the American Dream; that starts with their ability to go after contracts through their company. However, if their company is not playing by the rules, they are flooding their ability to have a voice in the workplace, to vote for a union, this is where the issue begins and where the amendment addresses.

Very simply, it says: Play by the rules, have a neutrality agreement, and you should be given a preference, a preference for the American worker.

That is just so incredibly important given the challenges of the supply chain. At a time when we are challenged throughout the globe of getting the parts and the supplies we need to build the greatest defense in the world, we are being challenged because of something we have control over--our workforce and treating them well and fairly under the rules of the government are incredibly important.

That is why this amendment is just so important. It says that to be a responsible contractor, treat your employees fairly, level the playing field, and let them have the choice.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this amendment.

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Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Speaker, this is something I know quite a bit about because I was one of those young electricians in an area hoping to get a job, and then I see somebody come from hundreds of miles away with their company and undercut by literally cutting their wages and kicking back to their employers.

Now, I am not suggesting that happens everywhere. But there is nothing more frustrating than to have a job in your local community that goes to outsiders who travel from very far distances to replace the workers who live there.

Each of us understands how much we care about our districts. Each of us understands that on a level that is proven every November. We love our districts. We want to help those in our districts.

This is why I find it so surprising that we wouldn't want to fight for a local hire agreement, a 60-mile radius. Take any point in this country, in 60 miles, you will find qualified workers. If, God forbid, that is not available, there are waivers allowed here for the Department of Defense.

That is the important part to understand. There are qualified people throughout this country who do construction work on an annual basis, who do specialized work. They are the ones who live in that community. They are the ones who pay the taxes in that community.

To have somebody come in from distances outside the State, who don't pay the taxes, and take that money back to their area, God bless them.

Where we have the ability to fight for our constituents in our districts through local hire, this is the smart thing to do. It is not only smart for the local people, but they are good workers who have been trained well.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote for their districts and vote for this amendment.

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