Joe Courtney

We are very optimistic this is the year to move forward on it.

I think we are--with this administration, I mean, we may be looking at a situation where there is no effort made to extend it.

I think that we can all agree that going to work shouldn't mean getting hurt at work.

I want to again thank Dr. McClain and Ms. Moon-Updike for coming here and really putting a human face on this issue.

And again, within that year period for an interim rule, which I think the data from GAO more than justifies...

Well, thank you, Madame Chairwoman. And again, I want to thank you for your leadership.

Front-line caregivers can't wait that long for a solution.

Congressman Courtney from Connecticut, who will be with us today, has introduced the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act.

Senator McCain...was the most adamant during the conference during the 2019 NDAA to make sure that the many recommendations actually are now a part of law and statute.

His loss still is a deep wound in the community.

I look forward to continuing the close and ongoing work between the two committees, Readiness and Seapower.

While crumbling schools are a visible risk to students, the effect of chronic underfunding on our teachers is equally, if not more, concerning.

An overwhelming majority of Americans understand the correlation between consistent nationwide failure to support public schools and inequality in educational opportunity.

School infrastructure must be part of that package when we consider it.

I joined Congressman Norcross and Senator Jack Reed, along with 180 Members of Congress, to introduce the Rebuild America's Schools Act.

I am just curious, can you describe how our legal framework has changed regarding those protections and supports for individuals in all aspects of society and how this does impact and necessitates the phasing out of 14(c)?

You have the chance to live up to the legacy of Adam Clayton Powell.

You have a chance here to live up to the legacy of Congresswoman Mary Norton.

Early votes on raising the minimum wage showed the national consensus on raising the wage and the importance of maintaining a decent floor of wages.

The reason the exclusion was so devastating to African Americans is that from 1930 to 1940, 40 percent of Southern Blacks were in agriculture.

Those original components in the 1938 bill had exemptions that, however, were not benign.

It is time for a raise.

I applaud the fact that week No. 1 of this committee we are taking up an issue which, again, I think restores the legacy of this committee in the past.

I mean, what I heard from your description is, it is still about a 5-year window, right? For total replacement by 2024, is that?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you to the witnesses for their testimony here today.