The Employee Free Choice Act could provoke a constitutional challenge if it becomes law. That’s what University of Chicago Law School professor Richard A. Epstein concludes after reviewing the proposal from a legal perspective. Writing in Regulation magazine, Epstein finds there are several constitutional problems with the act, also known as card check. For example, Epstein finds that because it f... Read more »
Thank you Madam Chair, Ranking Member Dreier, and members of the Committee. I appreciate the opportunity to provide testimony in support of my amendment to the American Clean Energy and Security Act. Our economy is changing, and so too must our workers. All Americans – whether they are just entering the job market or have been working for years – must be able to adapt to a greener, more technologi... Read more »
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 »
