Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, in a few minutes I will offer a motion to recommit that would strike a misguided provision in the conference report that would exempt Tricare network providers from our labor protection laws. Section 715 of this conference report excludes the Tricare network health care providers from being considered subcontractors for purposes of any law. Section 715 is nothing but an attempt to override pending litigation and long-standing civil rights law under Executive Order 11246 of 1965, section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974. The civil rights protections contained in these laws have existed for decades, and they've served to protect millions of workers from race, sex, and other forms of illegal discrimination. Large Federal contractors are simply required to have an affirmative action plan to ensure that minority groups are not being discriminated against and that the Department of Labor reviews the records. The law currently exempts employers with fewer than 50 employees who do not meet minimum contract value requirements. The health care industry employed approximately 16 million workers in 2009. Hospitals and similar entities employ tens of thousands of minorities, women, veterans and low-wage workers, groups that historically and currently depend on the basic assurances of fair treatment.…”