On the recordSeptember 12, 2017
Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Chair, as my colleagues have made clear, this amendment would impose a 45 percent cut on the NLRB budget. The NLRB would expect that these cuts could lead to the closure of regional offices in 17 States, but it is really the American workforce and our economy that would suffer. We benefit from a worker's right to exercise freedom of association. These cuts will delay NLRB-conducted representation or decertification elections and delay democracy for workers who deserve a timely vote. In the past 3 years, the NLRB has reinstated 7,000 workers who were unlawfully fired by their employers, and the NLRB has awarded over $191 million to workers in backpay or fees. Mr. Chairman, justice delayed is justice denied. Delayed justice is what this amendment would inflict. Mr. Chairman, I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment.
