Kay Bailey Hutchison: “Mr. President, this act is long overdue. This is going to free the hourly employees of our country to have the same…”

“Mr. President, this act is long overdue. This is going to free the hourly employees of our country to have the same flexibility that Federal workers now have, that most State workers now have, that salaried employees now have. Only hourly employees are not able to walk into their employer and say, ``Could I take off at 3 o'clock Friday afternoon to go to my child's soccer game and work 2 extra hours on Monday?'' The hourly employees of this country are not allowed to walk into their employer and say, ``You know, I don't ever work overtime, but I'd like to be able to work some extra hours and bank those so that when I am able to go on a camping trip with my child, I will have those hours to do it.'' An hourly employee is not allowed to walk in to his or her employer's office and say, ``I would like to know if it would be possible for me to work maybe 9 hours everyday for 2 weeks and take every other Friday off.''”