John Joseph Moakley: “Mr. Speaker, my colleague can be outraged but the fact of the matter is that with this piece of legislation, this is a…”

“Mr. Speaker, my colleague can be outraged but the fact of the matter is that with this piece of legislation, this is a repeal of the 40-hour workweek. Make no mistake about it. It is a reward to the rich special interests. That is what this piece of legislation is about. Wages for working Americans in this country have been stagnant for too long, and what this bill will do is to cut workers' incomes by billions of dollars. That is right, billions of dollars. This bill makes radical changes in our Nation's laws. Under the bill, the employer can deny an employee overtime pay and can coerce the worker into taking time off. The burden of proof is on the worker to find that memo, which will be nonexistent, that says they intended to cut their wages. They are never going to find that memo. It will be a silent action. It can deprive working families of the change to earn overtime. Today that is one of the very few tools that working Americans have in their struggle to keep their families together in our current economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that average hourly pay has fallen by 11 percent over the past 17 years, and despite working longer and longer hours and throwing every member of their family into the work force, Americans, working families, are falling further and further behind. What was the response of this Republican-led Congress? Stall the minimum wage.”