Protect America's Workforce Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Protecting America's Workforce Act, which will restore collective bargaining rights for more than 1 million Federal workers.

I thank Congressman Golden for all his work to bring this bipartisan bill to the floor and so many Members across our caucus who are supportive.

We know this bill is a historic win which overcame opposition from Speaker Johnson and certainly antiworker allies across the government.

In March, President Trump signed an executive order terminating collective bargaining rights for Federal police officers, firefighters, nurses, food safety inspectors, and so many more.

The nurses who care for our veterans, the flight safety inspectors at the FAA, nuclear power plant safety workers, and countless others lost their right to have representation in the workplace. This is unfair, and it is wrong. Workers deserve the right to make their voices heard with a union.

Mr. Speaker, I was the mayor of my city of Long Beach, California, before I came to Congress. I am so proud to partner with our city unions, always making sure that the city and services ran effectively. Our Federal unions are the same. They make sure that our civil service is independent and nonpartisan, serving the citizens and not whichever party is currently in power.

They make sure we attract and retain highly talented workers, and they make sure our agencies follow the law.

President Trump is targeting Federal unions to further his power grab and to continue to push an agenda which leaves working families behind and, instead, supports billionaires.

Unions make our middle class stronger. They make our government stronger, and they make our economy stronger. We should be working every day to strengthen the right to organize and not to undermine it. This bill is a historic victory.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GARCIA of California. Randall).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GARCIA of California. Titus).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GARCIA of California. Tokuda).

Mr. Speaker, like Chairman Comer, I also agree, and I hope that the American public is watching this debate right now. Certainly, what they would see if they are watching this debate is not just Democrats advocating for passage, but Republicans advocating for passage. In fact, this is a bipartisan effort to protect Federal workers in this country.

We have heard now from multiple Republicans from the chairman's party who have actually advocated with Democrats to ensure that our President doesn't strip basic protections from our Federal workers. We are talking about our Federal nurses, our firefighters, law enforcement, medical professionals, the men and women who are working across our airports, that are taking care of our nuclear reactors in this country. They deserve the right to organize.

I do agree. I hope the American public is watching and listening to our Republican colleagues and our Democrats support our Federal workers.

Tlaib).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GARCIA of California. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell).

Mr. Speaker, I will be brief.

Congress should be fighting hard for working people all over this country. We should be tackling the cost of living. We should be fighting to provide world-class government services, and we should be fighting for the unions which make all that possible. We should be working hard to expand the right to organize, not turning back the clock on working families. This bill is a huge win for the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Golden for his work, and I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 231, nays 195, not voting 7, as follows: [Roll No. 332] YEAS--231 Adams Aguilar Amo Ansari Auchincloss Bacon Balint Barragan Beatty Bell Bera Beyer Bishop Bonamici Bost Boyle (PA) Bresnahan Brown Brownley Budzinski Bynum Carbajal Carson Carter (LA) Casar Case Casten Castor (FL) Castro (TX) Cherfilus-McCormick Chu Cisneros Clark (MA) Clarke (NY) Cleaver Clyburn Cohen Conaway Correa Costa Courtney Craig Crockett Crow Cuellar Davids (KS) Davis (IL) Davis (NC) Dean (PA) DeGette DeLauro DelBene Deluzio DeSaulnier Dexter Dingell Doggett Elfreth Escobar Espaillat Evans (CO) Evans (PA) Fields Figures Fitzpatrick Fletcher Foster Foushee Frankel, Lois Friedman Frost Garamendi Garbarino Garcia (CA) Garcia (IL) Garcia (TX) Gillen Golden (ME) Goldman (NY) Gomez Gonzalez, V. Goodlander Gottheimer Gray Green, Al (TX) Grijalva Harder (CA) Hayes Himes Horsford Houlahan Hoyer Hoyle (OR) Huffman Ivey Jackson (IL) Jacobs Jayapal Jeffries Johnson (GA) Johnson (TX) Joyce (OH) Kamlager-Dove Kaptur Kean Keating Kelly (IL) Kennedy (NY) Khanna Krishnamoorthi LaLota Landsman Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Latimer Lawler Lee (NV) Lee (PA) Leger Fernandez Levin Liccardo Lieu Lofgren Lynch Mackenzie Magaziner Malliotakis Mannion Matsui McBath McBride McClain Delaney McClellan McCollum McDonald Rivet McGarvey McGovern McIver Meeks Menendez Meng Mfume Miller-Meeks Min Moore (WI) Morelle Morrison Moskowitz Moulton Mrvan Mullin Neal Neguse Norcross Nunn (IA) Ocasio-Cortez Olszewski Omar Pallone Panetta Pappas Pelosi Perez Peters Pettersen Pingree Pocan Pou Pressley Quigley Ramirez Randall Raskin Riley (NY) Rivas Ross Ruiz Ryan Salinas Sanchez Scanlon Schakowsky Schneider Scholten Schrier Scott (VA) Scott, David Sewell Sherman Simon Smith (NJ) Smith (WA) Sorensen Soto Stansbury Stanton Stauber Stevens Strickland Subramanyam Suozzi Sykes Takano Thanedar Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Titus Tlaib Tokuda Tonko Torres (CA) Torres (NY) Trahan Tran Turner (OH) Underwood Valadao Van Drew Van Orden Vargas Vasquez Veasey Velazquez Vindman Walkinshaw Wasserman Schultz Waters Watson Coleman Whitesides Williams (GA) Wilson (FL) NAYS--195 Aderholt Alford Allen Amodei (NV) Arrington Babin Baird Balderson Barr Barrett Baumgartner Bean (FL) Begich Bentz Bergman Bice Biggs (AZ) Biggs (SC) Bilirakis Boebert Brecheen Buchanan Burchett Burlison Calvert Cammack Carey Carter (GA) Carter (TX) Ciscomani Cline Cloud Clyde Cole Collins Comer Crane Crank Crawford Crenshaw Davidson De La Cruz DesJarlais Downing Dunn (FL) Edwards Ellzey Emmer Estes Ezell Fallon Fedorchak Feenstra Fine Finstad Fischbach Fitzgerald Fleischmann Flood Fong Foxx Franklin, Scott Fry Fulcher Gill (TX) Goldman (TX) Gonzales, Tony Gooden Gosar Graves Greene (GA) Griffith Grothman Guest Guthrie Hageman Hamadeh (AZ) Haridopolos Harrigan Harris (MD) Harris (NC) Harshbarger Hern (OK) Higgins (LA) Hill (AR) Hinson Houchin Hudson Huizenga Hunt Hurd (CO) Issa Jack Jackson (TX) James Johnson (LA) Johnson (SD) Jordan Joyce (PA) Kelly (MS) Kelly (PA) Kennedy (UT) Kiggans (VA) Kiley (CA) Kim Knott Kustoff LaHood LaMalfa Langworthy Latta Lee (FL) Letlow Loudermilk Lucas Luna Luttrell Mace Maloy Mann Massie Mast McCaul McClain McClintock McCormick McDowell McGuire Messmer Meuser Miller (IL) Miller (OH) Miller (WV) Mills Moolenaar Moore (AL) Moore (NC) Moore (UT) Moore (WV) Moran Murphy Nehls Newhouse Norman Obernolte Ogles Onder Owens Palmer Patronis Perry Pfluger Reschenthaler Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rose Rouzer Roy Rulli Scalise Schmidt Schweikert Scott, Austin Self Sessions Shreve Simpson Smith (MO) Smith (NE) Smucker Spartz Stefanik Steil Steube Strong Stutzman Taylor Tenney Thompson (PA) Tiffany Timmons Van Duyne Van Epps Wagner Walberg Weber (TX) Webster (FL) Westerman Wied Williams (TX) Wilson (SC) Wittman Womack Yakym Zinke NOT VOTING--7 Diaz-Balart Donalds Gimenez Nadler Rutherford Salazar Swalwell

Messrs. ALLEN, WEBSTER of Florida, CRAWFORD, STUTZMAN, RESCHENTHALER, EMMER, WALBERG, DAVIDSON, COLE, BABIN, ROUZER, CRANE, and GOSAR changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''

Mses. PRESSLEY, SCHAKOWSKY, OMAR, and Mr. DAVIS of Illinois changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''

So the bill was passed.

The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.

A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source