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Floor Statements

Kline Statement: H.R. 30, the Save American Workers Act

It was noted not long ago that the president’s health care law will “destroy the foundation of the 40-hour workweek that is the backbone of the American middle class. Those aren’t my words. Instead, those are the words expressed by leaders from some of the nation’s largest labor unions, including the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Echoing these concerns, members of the AFL-CIO endorsed a resolution that warned ObamaCare will lead to a “new underclass of less-than-30-hour workers.”

Let me repeat that: Members of the AFL-CIO have said ObamaCare will lead to a new underclass of less-than-30-hour workers.

We have all seen the headlines in recent years, headlines describing how employers are left with practically no choice but to cut workers’ hours in order to avoid the health care law’s punitive employer-mandate. Put simply: the law punishes employers who provide workers with full-time jobs.

A small business owner and constituent of mine from Savage, Minnesota wrote earlier this week that the president’s health care law is “wreaking havoc on the American workplace.” No doubt many Americans agree.

Unfortunately, the law is wreaking havoc in schools as well. According to a recent report, Louisiana school administrators are being forced to cut staff hours and hire more part-time teachers to avoid federal penalties. Schools in New Jersey and elsewhere are facing similar tough choices. One superintendent described the costs associated with the health care law’s mandates as “an unbelievable drain on school systems.”

Don’t America’s teachers and students deserve better? Don’t we owe it to our employers, workers, and families to enact a responsible solution? I believe the answer to both questions is a resounding yes and that is why I strongly support this bipartisan legislation.

Mr. Speaker, let’s tell our nation’s school leaders that we won’t sit idly by while ObamaCare makes it more difficult to provide students the quality education they deserve. Let’s tell our small business owners that we want to help make it easier – not harder – to create full-time jobs. Let’s tell the country’s union leaders that we share your concerns and are prepared to do something about it.

Finally, let’s tell workers that we won’t let a flawed law deny them the wages they need to provide for their families. I urge my colleagues to stand with the American people by supporting this commonsense, bipartisan legislation.

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