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Foxx and Walberg Praise Passage of Legislation to Protect Sovereign Rights of Native American Businesses and Workers

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions, issued the following statement after the adoption of the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act within legislation passed by the House of Representatives:

“This is a long overdue solution to protecting the rights of Native Americans, and respecting their laws the same as state and local governments. The bureaucratic overreach by the NLRB costs Native American businesses significant time and money to fight the federal government’s arbitrary intervention in labor relations involving Native American tribes. Today’s bill strips unelected bureaucrats of the power they abused and reaffirms a respect for the sovereignty of Native American tribes. We wish to thank Rep. Rokita for his leadership on this legislation, and are pleased to see its passage.”  

Background: Passed within Section 3 of S. 140, the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act amends the National Labor Relations Act to clarify that the law does not apply to any enterprise or institution owned and operated by an Indian tribe and located on tribal land. The House passed the bill by a vote of 239-173.

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