Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman for yielding time, and I stand in support of this bill. Mr. Speaker, south Louisiana recently experienced historic flooding that damaged 12,000 businesses, leaving them struggling to survive. Recuperation is one thing, but survival is at stake right now for these businesses. The Department of Labor's overtime rule would effectively force a choice for these flood-affected employers: either delay the much-needed recovery efforts or rapidly deplete limited funds they have available for recovering, paying for higher labor costs, as dictated by this new rule. The consequences of this rule are real. They are having a real impact, a detrimental impact. That is why just last week, my home State of Louisiana joined 20 other States in filing a lawsuit challenging this rule. This rule will force many businesses to unfairly and substantially increase their employment costs. This rule will lead to higher unemployment, in many instances. Small businesses will be really affected in a big way by this, at a time when labor participation is at an all-time low in the workforce--at least, something we haven't seen since the seventies. We should be encouraging growth. I don't know why our colleagues don't understand the need for economic growth and progrowth policies. We should be encouraging growth of small business and development in the workplace. This rule, instead, would hinder opportunities for employees to move up the career ladder.…”