John Conyers: “It especially discriminates against working people, who this Congress will not provide an increase in the minimum wage…”

“It especially discriminates against working people, who this Congress will not provide an increase in the minimum wage for. It discriminates against women, who might lose their reproductive capacity as a result of deadly injury brought on by irresponsible corporate behavior. So this is a one-way street of federalism, return power to the States, so long as it disadvantages consumers and the common folks. I reject that completely. Now, to make matters even worse, we are considering this override at the very same time that the Republican majority is proposing to gut the safety regulations and eliminate safety agencies like the Consumer Product Safety Commission. That is going on in another bailiwick. And if you do not think the threat of private lawsuits can help keep dangerous products off the market, just think about the history of personal injury litigation over the past decade or two. We know what has happened by the lawsuits brought by the parents of children who have been killed by wearing flammable pajamas. That was a direct result of personal injury litigation. Or the women who have been maimed by the copper 7 intrauterine device. There again, lawsuits, long and hard, that brought about a change in dangerous products.”