On the recordApril 12, 2013
I thank the chairman. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be in the battle for the middle class of Michigan's great Seventh District, as well as the middle class of the United States. Today, Michigan's unemployment rate is nearly 9 percent, and the actions of this dysfunctional Board have only hindered Michigan's attempts to grow and develop a healthy economy and have more people able to climb to the middle class. For our State to recover and thrive, we need Michigan to be open for business. What our employers need now, more than ever, is certainty. Unfortunately, this Board has done little to help foster their success. In fact, the NLRB has been a chilling factor to economic success for employers and employees. In January 2012, President Obama attempted to make three unconstitutional recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board. However, a year later, on January 25, 2013, they were found, indeed, to be unconstitutional by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. In that year, the Board made numerous decisions, oftentimes with significant consequences for job creators and for employees. They made it more difficult for employers to investigate employee complaints or misconduct and undermined employee rights to not engage in partisan political activities of their union bosses. In spite of the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals, the Board has continued to issue rulings and decisions.…
