Russ Feingold: “Mr. President, I voted ``no'' on the motion to proceed to consideration of the Labor-HHS appropriations. A number of…”

“Mr. President, I voted ``no'' on the motion to proceed to consideration of the Labor-HHS appropriations. A number of problems in this measure have been highlighted in the debate, but I would like to focus on one particular provision, the attempt to override the President's Executive order banning the use of permanent replacements for striking workers employed by Federal contractors. We had a long debate about this a few months ago, and I had a chance to speak at length. So I will be brief today. But this is an issue that I feel very strongly about, and I fully support President Clinton's efforts in this area to halt the erosion of workers' rights. I had a chance to work on this issue for many years when I was in the Wisconsin State Senate and tried to pass a Wisconsin law on this issue. But throughout the process it was very clear that what had happened in the early 1980's with the PATCO strike led to an avalanche, really, of the use of permanent replacement workers across this country in a way that had never happened before. It has had serious consequences for working people throughout Wisconsin and across the country.”