Rosa DeLauro: “Every year, millions of hard-working Americans are injured on the job, men and women who do not have anyone looking out…”

“Every year, millions of hard-working Americans are injured on the job, men and women who do not have anyone looking out for them. They work two jobs, three jobs. Many do not have health insurance. Many make the minimum wage. They are meat packers, poultry workers, cashiers, assembly line workers, sewing machine operators. My mother was a sewing machine operator. They do the jobs that Members of Congress do not want to do. They are the face that the Republican leadership today does not want us to see. They are the ones who will pay with their livelihood when we roll back these workplace safety rules. In Connecticut, over 11,000 workers suffered workplace injuries in 1998. They were forced to miss one day of work. The cost to Connecticut's economy was $1 billion a year. The President, the Republican leadership have decided that these workers do not deserve basic protections. The Wall Street Journal told us why yesterday. They said that the big industries that bankrolled the Bush campaign have now lined up looking for, and I quote, a return on their investment. That is what this is all about today. That is why we are rolling back worker-safety laws. Stand with the people of America and not with the special interests. Vote against this bill today.”