Committee Statements

Today’s hearing is about work and pay. It’s the engine that drives the American Dream.

Republicans have long believed in the value and dignity of work, and the rewards that come from it.

Take welfare reform. Back in the 1990s, Republicans pushed to change a system that – for decades – gave money to people for not working.

Today, welfare recipients earn their benefits by working. Or training for a new job. Or taking classes to get the skills they need to join the workforce later.

They are no longer dependent on the government. Instead, government becomes dependent on them as recipients eventually earn a living on their own and pay taxes.

And, many years later, I’m happy to report that bipartisan welfare reform is still working. From 1996 to 2006, The Heritage Foundation says the number of people receiving welfare dropped by nearly 60 percent.

For these and all American workers, we have a duty to ensure that federal workplace laws are enforced. And that brings us to the subject of today’s hearing – “wage theft.”

Mr. Chairman, I’m not sure this is the best language to discuss the whole range of issues that need our attention in this area. The allegations we’re examining are not always “theft” as we know it.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is responsible for enforcing a whole host of workplace laws.

For instance, we’ll hear today about alleged violations of child labor laws. This isn’t a question of so-called “wage theft.” But it’s an equally important concern.

Rather than using politically-charged language, I think we should ease the rhetoric and focus on the serious issues at hand.

And with the seriousness of these issues, I can’t help but notice that no one from the Labor Department is testifying today.

That’s too bad.

Mr. Chairman, I respectfully submit that – in addition to the expert testimony we will hear from the GAO – it would have been helpful to have someone from the department here with us today.

A Labor Department expert could have brought a different perspective to the problems of so-called “wage theft.”

We have been told that a lack of political appointees within the Administration precludes the Department of Labor from testifying today. I certainly appreciate the fact that the Department – indeed, the entire Administration – is still in transition. However, that does not explain why career civil servants at the Department – many of whom have spent decades enforcing these laws – could not have testified today and offered their thoughts.

At a minimum, one of these long-time officials with responsibility for enforcement of our wage-and-hour laws might have offered an explanation for dereliction of duty alleged by the GAO.

More importantly, that expert could have offered possible solutions to this problem.

At our urging, I understand that the majority requested that a Department of Labor official testify here today. I’m told the Department declined. I’m not sure how persistent we were in pressing the Department on this point, Mr. Chairman. But personally, I don’t think we should have taken “no” for an answer.

If we’re serious about enforcing the law – and not just scoring political points – we should insist on bringing the individuals who are responsible for investigating wage-and-hour violations here to account for their actions. 

That said, the GAO has done extensive work in this area. I’m sure there are things we can learn from its investigation, and I welcome Mr. Kutz of the GAO back to the committee once again.

 

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