The proposal to conduct union organizing through a public card signing process is surely the most infamous provision of the so-called Employee Free Choice Act. In fact, it’s where the bill gets its better-known nickname, “card check.” The provision has come under fire because of its obvious potential to harm workers by denying them the privacy and protection of a secret ballot election. It’s a wel... Read more »
Republicans proposed comprehensive reforms to improve retirement savings opportunities for workers today, arguing that workers need access to understandable and meaningful information about their 401(k) and other retirement savings vehicles. Congressional Democrats rejected the GOP proposals, instead advancing partisan legislation that Republicans warned could drive up costs for workers while redu... Read more »
Led by Rep. John Kline (R-MN), Republicans on the House Education and Labor Committee today raised alarm about new grant funding being offered under the economic stimulus package enacted earlier this year, arguing that the Administration is unnecessarily limiting opportunities for workers by providing funding only to union-affiliated recipients. “If the Administration is serious about economic rec... Read more »
Rep. John Kline (R-MN) was elected today to serve as the top Republican on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee. Kline was recommended for the post last week by members of the House Republican Steering Committee and received the endorsement of the full GOP Conference in a vote held this morning. “It is a privilege and an honor to be selected to lead Republicans on the Education and Labor C... Read more »
Thank you, Chairman Miller and good morning. We’re here today to look at a bill that could have widespread consequences for millions of current and future retirees. It deserves a serious debate, and I hope that’s what we’ll give it. As I understand it, H.R. 2989 is a combination of two bills we looked at in subcommittee last week, with the notable addition of some limited defined benefit reforms f... Read more »
Rep. John Kline (R-MN), the top Republican on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, today called Democrats’ partisan health care overhaul a huge missed opportunity and repeated his calls for a bipartisan approach to reforming American’s health care system. Kline and his fellow Republicans have pressed for a commonsense plan that will improve health care affordability, accessibility, and av... Read more »
For months, we’ve heard from politicians, pundits, and the press about the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as card check. Ever wonder what ordinary people think about the plan to replace secret ballots with a public sign-up and put federal bureaucrats in charge of workplace contracts? Check out these letters to the editors of newspapers across America … From Pennsylvania: “Just as bad, the Ca... Read more »
The ranking members of the House Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Budget committees today sent a letter to Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Elmendorf asking for his office to analyze the cost of the House Democrats’ health care bill released on Friday. “Before Congress changes health care as the American people know it, we must know the likely consequences of ... Read more »
I would like to begin by thanking our distinguished panels of witnesses for appearing today. We appreciate that they have taken time out of their busy schedules to share their expertise and experiences with us. As a physician, there is one certainty I hear from my former colleagues – the status quo in health care is unacceptable. So today, we are at a crossroads. Our broken medical delivery struct... Read more »
America is facing a crisis in our health care system. Costs are spiraling out of control, leaving families, employers, and taxpayers to shoulder the burden. Health care spending today accounts for approximately one-sixth of our economy — more than any other industry. That’s up from 13.8 percent of GDP in 2000 and 5.2 percent in 1960. Millions of Americans have limited coverage or no coverage at al... Read more »
