Thomas Daschle: “The irony could not be more evident. As we praise the American workers' productivity, we take away their very right to…”

“The irony could not be more evident. As we praise the American workers' productivity, we take away their very right to fair and just compensation. We drive them into schedules that require even longer hours, away from their children, away from their families. We adopt resolutions lauding them--the American worker and the working family-- for the entire month of October. Yet we can't take 15 or 20 minutes on a Tuesday afternoon in September to say that we mean what we say in October--we are going to make sure you get the overtime you deserve when you work over 40 hours. How bitter of an irony is that? Then, perhaps the irony of ironies, as we turn our attention once again to the great tragedy of 2001, in just 2 days, we will come to the floor and we will speak with reverence for those who lost their lives. We will thank those who continue to put their lives on the line. We will express, in as heartfelt a way as I know everyone can, on Thursday, how grateful we are to the first responders, to the policemen and the firemen all across this country--in South Dakota, in Massachusetts, and every place else--and then turn right around and take away their overtime. How, in Heaven's name, can we say to any of them, with any credibility: We care for you. We support you. We are grateful to you.”