Rep. John Kline (R-MN), the top Republican on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement today in response to the Obama Administration’s claims about job creation resulting from the so-called economic stimulus package enacted earlier this year: “The Administration’s rosy projections of jobs ‘saved or created’ by their near-trillion dollar government spending spree... Read more »
There are four ways for Congress and President Obama to create more jobs in America – and one of them is to “renounce” the Employee Free Choice Act. That’s what University of Chicago economics professor Steven J. Davis says in a recent essay for Forbes magazine. Davis writes that instead of extending unemployment benefits or pursuing other policies that would drive up the deficit, lawmakers should... Read more »
Rep. John Kline (R-MN), the top Republican on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, today cautioned that small businesses and their workers will be harmed by health care proposals that raise taxes and impose costly federal mandates. Kline reacted to today’s announcement from the Obama Administration regarding new proposals designed to benefit small businesses, arguing that expanding access... Read more »
Responding to today’s announcement from the White House that 250,000 education-related jobs have been saved or created as a result of the economic stimulus package enacted earlier this year, the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee’s top Republican, Rep. John Kline (R-MN), issued the following statement: “Once again, the Obama Administration’s promises are not matching economic reality. Even a... Read more »
We’re here today to examine economic opportunities for young Americans. Unfortunately, those opportunities seem to be few and far between these days. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that youth unemployment has reached a staggering 25.5 percent. That’s the highest level since we began tracking youth unemployment back in 1948. These figures are daunting. Although not all young people wish to ... Read more »
Has the House Democrat health care legislation become so toxic that members of the President’s own party are now denying its very existence? Apparently so. “During remarks this morning at the Finance Committee markup, there were references to the ‘House bill.’ Baucus quickly corrected the record. “‘There is no House Bill at this point,’ Baucus said. ‘There are committees looking at bills, I only s... Read more »
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has concluded that concern among states about prevailing wage requirements has delayed implementation of a $5 billion weatherization program enacted through Democrats’ economic stimulus package. According to the GAO report, issued last week, “many of the states we reviewed reported that Davis-Bacon Act requirements—which have been applied to DOE’s Weatheri... Read more »
We’re here today to examine the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009, a bill that would have major consequences for workplaces across the nation. As I understand it, H.R. 3017 is largely identical to legislation of the same name introduced in 2007. This panel considered the legislation two years ago, and eventually it was brought to a vote in the full U.S. House of Representatives before stal... Read more »
Voters use a secret ballot. Workers who want to create a union use a secret ballot (for now). So do prisoners of war. Most people probably aren’t aware of it, but POWs do have a right to the secret ballot – something that workers would not have if the Employee Free Choice Act becomes law. In addition to issues of treatment and medical care, POW voting rights are listed in the Third Geneva Conventi... Read more »
Arlen Specter made quite a splash yesterday with his declaration that a new version of the Employee Free Choice Act had garnered the 60 votes needed for passage in the Senate. Yesterday, the newly Democratic lawmaker appeared before the AFL-CIO convention. He announced that a compromise on EFCA has been “pounded out” and would pass by year’s end – to great applause. After his speech, Specter offer... Read more »
