Save American Workers Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. I thank the gentleman.

It is really a pleasure to be with you tonight.

Representative Young's piece of legislation, H.R. 2575, is really something that I think that perhaps if more of us who serve in this body were actually people who experienced what it was like to be in the private sector, more of us would understand.

I was very fortunate to have a family business, and I can tell you, from an employer standpoint, that one of the greatest thrills you have in your life is to sit across the desk from somebody who has come in and applied for a job and to be able to say to them: you're hired, we need you on board, we need you to be part of our team to make the business successful.

You can see in their eyes, at that moment, that they look at this opportunity as: my goodness, now I can put a roof over the head of my family, I can put food on the table, and I can put clothes on their back, and I can plan for a future.

Now, why in the world would we all of a sudden say: You know what? We are going to change that dynamic because it is no longer going to be a 40-hour week; we are going to dial it back to 30 hours a week.

You say to yourself: How did anybody come up with those numbers? Why would they come up with those numbers, and what is the benefit of those numbers?

The answer is that it helps make the Affordable Care Act work. It doesn't help America work. It helps a piece of flawed legislation work. It is about the dynamics of the math.

It is not about the dynamics of allowing men and women to go to work and be able to go home at night and say: I went to work today for you, I went to work to make your life better.

You look at some of the numbers, Mr. Young. The 30-hour rule puts 2.6 million workers with a median income of under $30,000 at risk for losing jobs or hours. Eighty-nine percent of these workers impacted by the rule do not have a college degree. 63 percent of these folks are women, and over half have a high school diploma or less.

When I look back at my district, District Three in Pennsylvania, they are hardworking good American people. I have no idea how they are registered. I have no idea how they vote. I have no idea what they think about at night and what they pray for at night before they lay their head on the pillow.

I do know who they are, basically, because they are all of the same ilk. They are the same people. The blood that courses through their veins is pretty much the same. They believe in America. They believe in paying their fair share. They believe in lifting the load and helping out.

Barb Wilson works for the Arc in Mercer County, Pennsylvania. This is a phenomenal organization that assists people with developmental disabilities. Barb is a part-time employee who used to work 30 to 35 hours a week.

Her employer recently informed her and her coworkers that all part-time employees will be having their hours cut to around just 20 hours a week because of the Affordable Care Act's employer mandate.

Barb tells me that she was shocked when she heard this news. Because of her hours being cut, she says she will no longer be able to afford the cost of living.

I have more people in my district that come to me and talk to me. One of the things--and I think you found the same thing in Indiana, and I am sure Mr. Barr has in Kentucky--I have people that say: You can use my story, but you can't use my name.

Now, that is a very chilling effect to think that, in this country, the United States of America, people are afraid to be identified with their story because they are afraid of a retribution from the government. That is just totally unacceptable.

One of those people is in the fast food business. How about this?

In 2012, 92 of its 993 employees worked more than 30 hours a week. Think about that. All of these 92 employees have had their hours cut to less than 30 hours.

On top of that, more than 30 employees have had access to their health insurance plans ended. Even though their plans made sense for them, they did not meet ObamaCare's standards, and so the company could not afford to keep them.

This doesn't make any sense. At a time when we want to get America to work, when we want to increase jobs, why would we make it harder for those people to accomplish those goals? It just doesn't make sense.

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Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. I agree with you. In my district, Butler Area School District has had to implement procedures to keep all of its part-time employees working less than 30 hours. This hurts education.

In New Castle, Lawrence County, their local government has reduced all of it employees to just 28 hours.

So we talk about these things. You and I just got here 3 years ago. You look at a government that is supposed to be a citizen government--a government that works for the people and does things in the people's best interest--and then you look at this piece of legislation and say: My goodness, how did we come up with this?

The answer is always: There are unintended consequences.

I understand that there are unintended consequences, but they are not always painful consequences. If we are going to do anything here, we better start responding when we hurt the people we represent.

We also better understand that these unintended consequences are also fixable. They are not unfixable. Why wouldn't we fix it if you know it is hurting someone, if you know it is taking away opportunity?

I talked about being in the private sector. When we bring people on board, it is mutually beneficial. It is to share in success.

I can tell you that the gap right now has widened between those who own businesses and run them and those associates who work there. We have put them at odds with each other because now it becomes: well, you know what? The people that employ you really don't care enough about you. And you say: my goodness. No, no, that is not true. That is not true.

I can tell you from the position that I have been in from a business that my dad started in 1953 after being a parts-picker in a Chevrolet warehouse and coming back after the war and starting a little Chevrolet dealership and watching it grow into something where we have 110 people that every 2 weeks get a check, I know that when they are successful, the business is successful; and when the business is successful, the community is successful, because we all participate at every level.

Now, why would you destroy a model that is so perfect? Why would you destroy something that is so fundamentally strong? Why would you take apart the American Dream in order to have a flawed piece of legislation meet the metrics that this is looking for? It just doesn't make sense.

In a town that you and I have discussed many times is devoid of common sense, we need to take a look at it, because if our real concern is the next election and not the direction that we are going in, then we are here for the wrong purposes.

So I want to thank the gentleman. I have got to tell you, we talked long and we talked at great length about the effects this was having.

H.R. 2575 corrects a flawed idea. It just makes sense what you are doing, sir. And I would just tell you that, for all of those thousands and thousands and millions of workers who have been hurt by this law, our ability to fix it, which is what some of our colleagues say--I know you don't like it; I know you don't agree with it, but help us fix it--we need to fix it, not so much for a political agenda but for the people we represent.

I thank you for what you are doing. I think that this piece of legislation is timely and is needed, and your dedication to the American worker and to the American families is to be heralded.

Thank you so much.

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