Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009--Continued

Floor Speech

OMNIBUS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2009--CONTINUED -- (Senate - March 10, 2009)

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Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, if amendment No. 673 is adopted, State attorneys general could still enforce the Truth in Lending Act, they can still hire outside counsel, they just could not do so on a contingency fee basis.

Contingency fee contracts offer three hazards in this context that are not presented with more traditional fee arrangements. First, there is a serious risk of overcompensating the lawyer at a loss to taxpayers, since typically they work on 30 percent up to 50 percent of whatever is recovered goes to the lawyers and not to the taxpayers, as should be the case.

Second, the proposed prospect of contingency fees actually creates an incentive for trial lawyers to encourage litigation that State would not otherwise bring. State attorneys general could initiate this litigation when it is in the public interest. With contingency arrangements, too often the lawyer decides who should initiate the case because, of course, of the profit motive. And this undermines the current regulatory regime.

Third, contingency fee agreements have been proven to be a temptation for corruption.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.

Mr. CORNYN. For that reason I ask my colleagues to support the amendment.

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AMENDMENT NO. 674

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be 2 minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote in relation to amendment No. 674 offered by the Senator from Texas, Mr. Cornyn.

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, my amendment would protect workers' paychecks and promote transparency. Currently, the NLRB permits an employer and union to enter into a contract that requires all employees in a bargaining unit to pay union dues as a condition of employment whether or not the employee actually is a member of the union.

In a Supreme Court case recently, Communication Workers v. Beck, the Court ruled that nonunion workers could get a refund for that portion of their dues which would be used for political action or other purposes other than collective bargaining. President Obama has now changed the rules by Executive order, and now Federal contractors are no longer required to post signs in the workplace informing workers of their rights regarding union dues. President Obama's Executive order does not change the law, for workers are still entitled to the refund. It is just that now, under the Executive order, employers don't have to tell the workers of their rights, which they should.

My amendment prohibits omnibus funds from being used for this provision of the Executive order. I ask my colleagues for their support.

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