Protecting Jobs from Government Interference Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the so-called ``Protecting Jobs from Government Interference Act.'' It's a nice name for a bad bill.

This bill is not about protecting American jobs or American workers. It's about protecting big businesses who want to move jobs out of American communities without consequence. It's about forcing American workers to accept the lowest common denominator rather than standing up for fair pay and safer working conditions.

For more than 75 years, federal law has guaranteed employees the right to organize without threat of retaliation. If workers decide to form a union, the company can't punish them by moving operations down the street or out of the country. But this bill would allow companies to retaliate with impunity by stripping the National Labor Relations Board of its power to enforce that law.

Today's legislation is a response to an ongoing dispute between the NLRB and Boeing. I understand that many of my colleagues have strong opinions on that issue, but it is not the business of this Congress to legislate on an individual case. It is not appropriate to dismantle the enforcement mechanism to secure a result for any party.

This bill makes sweeping changes to worker protections and would have severe consequences. Rather than creating a single job, it would give employers free rein to eliminate jobs or move them overseas to punish workers for exercising their rights.

Mr. Speaker, this bill strips fundamental protections from American workers, leaving them and their jobs less secure. It turns back the clock on 75 years of employment law. It is the wrong direction for America, and I urge my colleagues to reject it today.

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