Patricia Schroeder: “Mr. Speaker, I think what we have just heard in this colloquy is why we ought to vote against this rule and get this…”

“Mr. Speaker, I think what we have just heard in this colloquy is why we ought to vote against this rule and get this bill out of here. We hear about cruel and unusual punishment, but this is going to be cruel and outrageous legislation because it is made to sound so wonderful and soft, but let me tell my colleagues, every employer in America will be really stupid if, when someone came to get a job, they did not say, 'And by the way, when we have overtime, wouldn't you like to sign this little form saying that you really don't want to be paid for it, you'll just take comp time?' And then, of course, the whole thing is that they only get the comp time when the employer says they can have the comp time. Well, now, let us assume that things are so tough that the employer has to hire a few people who will not sign that. Well, what is he going to do when it comes time to hand out overtime? If they did not sign it, they are never going to get it. So this is really terribly disruptive. We keep pretending like employees have exactly the same leverage that Michael Jordan does when he is out negotiating with his employer, and anyone who has been in an employee situation knows that is not true.”