Tom Harkin: “there are just a couple of things I wish to bring up in response to some of the statements that have been made on the…”

“there are just a couple of things I wish to bring up in response to some of the statements that have been made on the floor. First of all, I wish to make it very clear that the NLRB has scrupulously followed all legal and procedural requirements for rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act, and by increasing the use of rulemaking, it has been the most inclusive and transparent Board in history--in history. This process has given all sides abundant opportunity to provide input to the NLRB. There was opportunity for written comments, written responses to other comments, and even a public hearing. I would like to point out again that there is no requirement in the Administrative Procedure Act to facilitate a dissent. Even though there isn't, the NLRB's traditional practice has given Member Hayes an opportunity to dissent. He was given that chance. But these practices do not allow him to filibuster or run out the clock to thwart the actions of his colleagues. The Board filed a notice of proposed rulemaking on June 22, 2011, provided 60 days for filing public comments, and received over 65,000 comments, of which, I might note, all but around 200 were form letters. There were 65,000 comments, and all but around 200 were form letters. But still there were 200 comments, ensuring a wide range of views and stakeholder input.…”