Amended. Without objection. Mr. Bilirakis i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Bilirakis i rise today in support of h. R. 3705, the veterans fair debt notice act of 2017 introduced by representative pingree of maine. This bill would help ensure that beneficiaries who have received an overpayment from v. A. Clearly under v. A. s current practice, when the department determines that a beneficiary may have received an overpayment, it sends a letter to the beneficiary that explains why the debt was created and how the veteran can dispute or mitigate the debt. But if v. A. Doesnt have the veterans current address, the veteran may miss important dead linals. For example, if the beneficiary intends to request a full waiver of their debt, but does not request that waiver within 30 days of the date of the letter, v. A. May take action to withhold benefits until the waiver request is adjudicated. Sounds confusing, it certainly is. We cant have that for our veterans. Another issue is that some veterans find the language used in the letters to be unclear and confusing. Im sure thats true too. Its unfair, its only fair that the veteran understands why the department believes he or she owes the money. Its the least we could do. H. R. 3705 as amended would require v. A. To develop a new notification letter that explains in plain language how the alleged debt was created and what actions a veteran can take to dispute or mitigate the debt. In addition, the bill would direct v. A. To study and report to congress on its current Debt Collection process, including how many veterans are not receiving Debt Collection notices because of incorrect addresses. The report would also describe the v. A. The steps the v. A. Will take to reduce the number of incorrect addresses in the departments databases. With that, mr. Speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from florida reserves. The gentleman from minnesota is recognized. Mr. Walz thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield myself as much time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Walz and i feel like were on a roll, mr. Speaker. We should stay here all day. Bipartisan, commonsense legislation improving the lives of veterans. Kind of feels like what we came here for. And again, i rise in strong support of another one of those. H. R. 37035, as amend, the veterans fair debt notice act, introduced by the gentlelady from maine, ms. Pingree. Again, you heard it from the vice chairman, if a veteran incurs an overpayment in benefit, the v. A. Send out a series of letters knowifying him or her of this debt and the steps that can be taken to address the issue. The letter is time stamped when mailed and if what the v. A. Is asking for is not received within a specific timeline, the veteran loses the ability to take certain action toward addressing or disputing the debt. Many veterans come turnover one of our offices reporting never receiving these letters. I know all of us have heard that story. And these are people that i know and trust and it got sent to the wrong address, something happened, they never got it. Further, the letter the v. A. Is sending is full of complicated legal terms and citations of public law. We know these letters alarm, confuse veterans unnecessarily. I have personally had them come in, show them to me and as the Ranking Member of the v. A. Committee, and its a v. A. Letter, and i dont understand what theyre asking for in this. From a veteran who receives it out of nowhere. The bill before us today represents a real bipartisan effort to ensure that veterans get timely notice of overpayments or debt, and these notices are respectful, informative, helpful and collaborative. It does it in three ways. First h. R. 3705 as amended developthe secretary to a way to receiving notices. Imagine that in 2017. Second, it directs v. A. To conduct a study of the problem of veterans not receiving debt letters and to provide a description of the nonlegislative actions the secretary could take to reduce the number of incorrect addresses. Particularly by using other v. A. Databases. At this point in time i would also note we taking steps in our committee to make sure now when you leave the service, that were able to capture emails. Were able to capture alternate addresses to make sure, because a lot of times veterans are in transition, theyre moving those types of things theyre moving, those times of things are happening. Most importantly, the bill requires that in the future, debt notices provide a clear explanation, in understandable language, for why the debt is owed and what process options a veteran has available. C. B. O. Has estimated the cost of this measure to be insignificant. The approaches in the bill are the first steps to remedying a longstanding problem, make a positive change for thousands of veterans who receive overpayment notices. I want to thank dispayment Memorial Committee chairman, Elizabeth Esty for working together on this legislation, in addition to dr. Roe. And were also going to hear from the author of this piece of legislation. Certainly i encourage the support of h. R. 3705 and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from minnesota reserves. The gentleman from florida is recognized. Mr. Bilirakis ill reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from florida reserves. Mr. Walz thank you, mr. Speaker. Its my pleasure now to yield four minutes to the gentlewoman, the author of this good, smart, overdue piece of legislation, the representive from maine, ms. Pingree. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from maine is recognized. Ms. Pingree thank you, mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Ranking Member for yielding me the time and for all those wonderful compliments. I dont know that ive had that ive ever had that said about a bill i submitted. As youve heard this bill offers a commonsense fix to the frustrations that veterans in my district and across the country have experienced with the v. A. s Debt Management system. Veterans in maine have called my office shocked to find out that they owe the v. A. Money. Some are confused by the letters they receive. Others are told by the v. A. That theyve missed important deadlines to dispute, to seek forgiveness, or to create a payment plan for the alleged debt. Regardless of whether the debt is real or a mistake by the v. A. , we shouldnt make it so hard for veterans to know their rights and obligations. Weve seen single moms who cant get a home loan and newly transitioned Service Members who struggle to reintegrate with their garnished pay. Recoup tax returns, and reduced disability payments. All because of a of assigned debts they knew nothing about after notifications got sent to the wrong place or, quote, lost in the mail. In response, h. R. 3705 directs the v. A. To work with veteran Service Organizations to develop a standard notification letter that is written in plain language. It also directs the v. A. To explore how to inform veterans of debts more quickly by sending notifications electronically, like an email, in addition to standard mail. And it requires the v. A. To study why so many veterans have not received notifications in the mail, as well as steps the v. A. Can take to improve its address database and cost using certified mail. I thank chairman roe and boast and Ranking Members walz and esty for bringing this legislation to the house floor and i urge its passage. Thank you, and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. The gentleman from minnesota is recognized. Mr. Walz were prepared to close. Mr. Bilirakis im prepared to close as well. I have no other speakers. Plead proceed. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. Mr. Walz thank you, mr. Speaker. I thank the gentlelady from maine. Good piece of legislation. As ive said, herb who serves in this house has everybody who serves in this house has received veterans in their office either carry being this letter or talking about a letter they never received. This makes it much better. It gives the benefit of the doubt back to the veteran. Makes it easier for them to get this solved in the right manner. Please join me in support of h. R. 3705 and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from minnesota yields. The gentleman from florida is recognized. Mr. Bilirakis thank you, mr. Speaker. Lets pass this good bill. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h. R. 3705, as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rule mr. Bilirakis mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from florida. Mr. Bilirakis i request the yeas and nays. The speaker pro tempore the yeas and nays are requested. All those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. A sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this uestion will be postponed. For what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition . Mr. Bilirakis mr. Speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h. R. 3949 as amended. The clerk Union Calendar number 294, h. R. 3949, a bill to amend title 38, United States code, to provide for the designation of state approving agencies for multistate apprenticeship programs, for purposes of the Educational Assistance programs of the department of Veterans Affairs. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from florida, mr. Bilirakis, and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. Walz, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. Mr. Bilirakis thank you, mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on h. R. 3949 as amended. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Bilirakis thank you. Mr. Speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Bilirakis mr. Speaker, i rise today in support of h. R. 3949, as amended. The veterans apprenticeship and labor opportunity reform act or valor act. Mr. Ill, introduced by khanna, mr. Arrington and mr. Orourke, would help streamline the approval of national atrenitiesship programs for apprenticeship programs for the use of g. I. Bill funds, which is very important. Once a national aprinciplitiesship is g. I. Billapproved, veterans are eligible for tiered payments that help them complete the program that leads to a successful career. This bill also helps eliminate an outofdate requirement that created unnecessary paperwork for a veteran to complete before they could get paid for work completed during the apprenticeship. Mr. Speaker, this is another commonsense, bipartisan bill that will help employers become approved under the g. I. Bill and ensures a student veterans placement in apprenticeship programs that lead to employment. With that, mr. Speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from minnesota is recognized. Mr. Walz thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield myself as much time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Walz mr. Speaker, h. R. 3949 allows multistate apprenticeship programs to go through g. I. Bill approval in just the state theyre headquartered in. Streamlining the approval process so programs have a lower administrative hurdle to jump over before being able to provide training to veterans. Currently nonfederal apprenticeship programs that have locations in multiple states must go through the approval process with the state approving agency in each of the states where it operates, before it can be approved by g. I. Bill benefits in the state. In order to encourage more highquality apprenticeship programs to obtain approval for g. I. Bill benefits, so that they can serve more veterans, this bill would allow these multistate programs to simply seek approval from the stateapproving agency in the state where theyre headquartered. Once again, theyve atained the states approval, the program will be approved in all of the other states in which it operates. Were encouraging apprenticeships. Theyre a great way for our veterans to use their earned benefits to get into wellpaying, longterm careers. We should encourage more companies and industries to do that. This piece of legislation is smart and does that and in just a moment well hear from one of the authors of this explaining how it will do that. With that, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from florida. Mr. Bilirakis mr. Speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. Arrington. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas is recognized for three minutes. Mr. Arrington thank you, mr. Speaker. Today i rise in strong support of h. R. 3949, yet another piece of bipartisan, commonsense legislation. That will serve our veterans. And the transition from deployment to employment, apprenticeship programs have proven to be extremely successful. Roughly 20,000 veterans are actively training or participating in these programs and their Employment Outcomes are nothing short of impressive. According to v. A. Data, over 90 of veteran apprentices are employed after completing their programs. With an average starting wage of over d 60,000. 60,000. Apprentices see an increase in compensation over 300,000 as compared to their peers. These programs arent just a win for our veterans, theyre a win for taxpayers. Every dollar invested in apprenticeship programs seize a return in benefits of 35. While its clear to see the advantages of apprenticeship programs like, in many parts of the v. A. Like in many parts of the v. A. , this program is hampered by needless burden and bureaucracy. Currently private employers who offer these programs in more than one state have to register with each state individually. Burdened by the difficulty and trail of paperwork that this create, Many Employers only choose to participate in a limited way or just they dont offer them altogether. H. R. 3949, the veteran apprenticeship and labor opportunity reform or the valor act, authored by my good friend and colleague, congressman khanna, streamlined the registration process for employers, which in turn encourages them to participate and leads to more opportunities for our veterans. Given the tremendous sacrifice our veterans have made for our country, we should do everything we can to ensure that they have access to good jobs and the valor act, mr. Speaker, does just that. Id like to thank mr. Khanna again for his hard work and his leadership on this legislation and i urge all of my colleagues to support it. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from florida is recognized. Mr. Bilirakis i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from minnesota is recognized. Mr. Walz mr. Speaker, at this time its a real pleasure for me to yield three minutes to not just a national but a global voice on manufacturing, entrepreneurs and apprenticeships, one of the authors of this piece of legislation, the gentleman from california, mr. Khanna. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Khanna thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise in support of the bipartisan bill, h. R. 3949. I want to thank the Ranking Member. I was in his committee or in his office early on and he really gave a freshman member of congress the guidance on how to get this through. And i want to thank chairman arrington for coauthoring this legislation and for his leadership. Thank you, congressman bilirakis, for your kind words about the legislation. The legislation is very, very simple. Right now if youre a veteran and you want an apprenticeship, you want to offer a veteran an apprenticeship, you have to register in 50 different states. And as a result, Small Businesses or mediumsized businesses say, well, we cant do that. We cant fill out paperwork in 50 different states. So they dont offer these apprenticeships. Our bill says very simply, the only place that you should have to register is the state that youre headquartered and this is the type of commonsense legislation that isnt partisan. Its going to give more opportunities to the people who really have earned them by serving our country, veterans. I want to just recognize a few other people who have made this possible. Of course, chairman roe, whose leadership was critical in addition to chairman arrington, Ranking Member orourke and the staff, kathy yu, kelce baron and john clark. I want to particularly recognize the senate, aaron murphy and tony mcclain in senator testers office and a Companion Senate bill with senator cotton and senator tom tillis as well as their staff, jake bakely and bill. I realize theres one person more than members of congress or staff who often gets things to move in this committee and hats dr. Joe westcott, part of the National State association of approving agencies. Joe and i have become friends. Hes become a voice of innovation and really is the reason this bill has moved in the house and hopefully in the senate. With that i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california yields back. The gentleman from florida. Mr. Bilirakis i reserve. I am prepared to close as well so i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from minnesota. Mr. Walz i want to thank the gentleman and his coauthors. Bringing innovation, coming to the Veterans Committee, looking at ways that we can process. Mline this i encourage my colleagues to support it and with that i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from florida is recognized. Mr. Bilirakis yeah, i want to thank representative khanna and all of the sponsors, chairman arrington, as well, for recognizing the problem and solving it. So this is the way congress should work. So i encourage support for this particular bill, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from florida yields back. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 3949, as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition . Mr. Bilirakis mr. Speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h. R. 4173, as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 4173, a bill to direct the secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a study on the Veterans Crisis line. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from florida, mr. Bilirakis, and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. Walz, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. Mr. Bilirakis mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and tend their remarks and include extraneous materials on h. R. 4173, as amended. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Bilirakis mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Bilirakis thank you. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of h. R. 4173, as amended, the veterans isis line study act of 2017, offered by my friend and Committee Member representative jim banks of indiana. Mr. Speaker, the vicious crisis line, or v. C. L. , was established in Veterans Crisis line, or v. C. L. , was by the National Suicide prevention hotline. According to the Government Accountability office, as of may, 2016, the Veterans Crisis line has answered over 2. 3 million calls. Over 55,000 text and dispatched ergency services over 61,000 times. As these statistics show, the Veterans Crisis line is an incredible resource for veterans. However, while the v. A. Tracks and evalue waits statistics such as these for quality and access metrics, it does not currently process them through any meaningful form of data an litics as it relates to the effect analytics as it relates to the effectiveness of the program. This bill would direct the secretary to evaluate the efficacy of the v. C. L. With the respect to continuity of v. A. Mental Health Services using the same anonymous data points as our currently collected by the v. C. L. Research and Data Analysis of these anonymous data points would utilize the growing National Availability of statistics regarding sue sides to better e suicides to better evaluate and hope for outcome improvements. Mr. Speaker, i believe evaluating the v. C. L. Effectively requires a focus on the full continuum of mental Health Services provided by v. A. Once a veteran first contacts the v. C. L. Or establishes the need for mental Health Services. Again, it is important to note that under this legislation the privacy of the caller is to be honored, and the v. C. L. Is directed to continue collecting data points in exactly the same manner as they currently are. With that, mr. Speaker, i ask my colleagues to support this great bill, and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from florida reserves. The gentleman from minnesota is recognized. Mr. Walz thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Walz i, too, rise in support of 4173. Id like to thank the gentleman, mr. Banks, for your work on this. This is a piece of legislation very near and dear to my heart. One of the first pieces of legislation i worked on when i got to this house in 2007 was the joshua Suicide Prevention act which was dealing with the loss of a warrior in iowa and one of the pieces of legislation that came out of this was the Veterans Crisis line with the idea that we needed a place. That was a good piece of legislation. With you as time has gone by, mr. Banks has improved ways. I am grateful for the support. I am grateful for the thought you put into this. I am grateful for the gentleman from floridas recognition that we may never know with absolute certainty how many lives we save but i think each of us know this has been an invaluable service. Its one we need to try to continue to make better. With that i am full support. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from minnesota reserves. The gentleman from florida is recognized. Mr. Bilirakis mr. Speaker, i want to yield three minutes to representative banks, whos the main sponsor of this particular bill, a great bill thats saved lives, and i appreciate also representative walz for sponsoring the bill. I remember when you did it, we came in together. I thank you very much. I yield the three minutes to mr. Banks. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from indiana is recognized for three minutes. Mr. Banks thank you. Let me first thank the gentleman from florida for your continued efforts to support our veterans, and as a proud member of the house Veterans Affairs committee, its great to work on such a Bipartisan Committee with you, Ranking Member walz, and others on the committee who care deep will he about our american veterans. Mr. Speaker, sadly every single day 20 veterans take their own lives. In one year the total is nearly as many people who live in my hometown of columbia city, indiana. Veterans account for 18 of suicides, even though they are only 8. 5 of the total population. Mr. Speaker, our female veterans are 2 1 2 times more likely to commit suicide than civilian women. We cant allow this to continue. Just one veteran suicide a day is a horrible tragedy, let alone 20. Our veterans work vigilant in fighting for our freedoms. We must be vigilant in fighting for their needs. Mr. Speaker, the bill before us today seeks to enable the v. A. s Veterans Crisis line, the v. C. L. , to be even more effective in this fight. As already been mentioned, since 2007, its fielded nearly 2. 8 million calls and 67,000 text messages. But theres no overarching approach to ensure the v. A. Knows, one, the effectiveness of the v. C. L. In preventing future suicide attempts after the initial phone call or how well the crisis line connects veterans to the Mental HealthCare Services of the v. A. Thats why with this bill we can harness the power of Data Analytics to improve the functionality of the v. C. L. And the v. A. s Mental HealthCare Services. The v. C. L. Is a critical tool and we must do everything that we can to help it play as large of a role as possible. We must ensure that our veterans who seek further care can access it so they can find a longterm solution to their difficulties. Mr. Speaker, we must ensure our veterans know they are not alone after the phone call. I have spoken with veterans Service Organizations throughout this bills process. I thank them for their feedback and for looking out for our veterans. Id like to thank congressman moulton who is my lead on the other side of the aisle for his work as a partner on this bill as well and for his dedication to our veteran population. And id like to thank the entire indiana delegation from both sides of the aisle for cosponsoring this bill and showing the Hoosier States strong commitment to preventing veteran suicide. I ask my colleagues to support the passage of h. R. 4173 and thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from florida is recognized. Mr. Bilirakis reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from florida reserves. The gentleman from minnesota. Mr. Walz i have no further speakers, mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from minnesota reserves. Mr. Bilirakis mr. Speaker, i yield the speaker pro tempore the gentleman from florida is recognized. Mr. Bilirakis i yield two minutes to the gentleman from colorado, mr. Coffman. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from colorado is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Coffman thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the suicide report revealed an average of 20 veterans a day committed suicide. A year later our nation is still faced with this epidemic. While the v. A. Is seeing high rates and calls to the Veterans Crisis line, there is no overarching approach to ensure the v. A. Is effectively preventing future suicide attempts and integrating the hotline information the v. A. Into v. A. s mental Health Services. H. R. 4173, the Veterans Crisis line study act, would address that critical gap in oversight. This bill would require the v. A. To study the outcomes of the v. A. s veteran crisis line while protecting the privacy and anonymity of the veteran callers. As a proud cosponsor of h. R. 4173 i believe it is critical that congress ensures this emergency resource for our veterans struggling with ptsd or other Mental Health conditions is working as it should. Mr. Speaker, i encourage my colleagues to support the passage of h. R. 4173, and i yield back the remainder of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from colorado yields back. The gentleman from florida is recognized. Mr. Bilirakis ill verve. Ill ill verve. Ill reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from florida reserves. The gentleman from minnesota is recognized. Mr. Walz ill reserve, mr. Speaker. Mr. Bilirakis we have one additional speaker. Mr. Speaker, id like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from iowa, mr. Young. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from iowa is recognized for three minutes. Mr. Young i want to thank my colleague from florida. I want to thank my colleague from minnesota as well who has a history on this important issue. The genesis going back to 2007, like my friend from minnesota said, with a predecessor of mine. Former congressman Leonard Boswell who misses this institution and gave Great Service and i know he sends his best. And i want to thank my colleague, mr. Banks from indiana, for making sure we always are continuing with oversight of these important programs to help our veterans. You know, in 2015, the v. A. Did an o. I. G. Report, Inspector General report, and found there were some failures in the Veterans Crisis line, and so there were informational failures. Sometimes the people answering the phone at the v. A. Who are good people and want to help our veterans didnt have all the information they may need. Theres a lack of timely responsiveness at some points. So the v. A. Committee here, the Veterans Committee here in the house did some oversight and found out we need to fix this. I introduced a bipartisan bill with my colleagues that passed unanimously in 2016, the no Veterans Crisis line call should go unanswered act, to work with the Veterans Affairs department to make sure we knew what they needed to get the job done, working in partnership across the aisle and with the vafment. The bill passed v. A. The bill passed unanimously. President obama signed it into law. We know that with a stroke of a pen it doesnt just fix things, right . You have to have constant oversight, demand transparency and accountability. I went down to one of the Veterans Crisis line centers in atlanta and visited with those that ran it and those responders who picked up the phone every day to talk to a veteran to see how things were going. Great improvements. Great challenges, still, but theyre making headway and its with the partnership where we can make sure this works. Oversight, transparency, accountability is what this is about. But most importantly, this is about keeping our promise to our veterans. Those who have donned the uniform to protect our rights, the rights of our family members and our loves ones who keep this Great Republic going. So, i want to thank my friend from florida, my good friend from minnesota, and mr. Banks from indiana and glad to support this legislation and i urge others to as well. Thank you. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from iowa yields back. The gentleman from minnesota is recognized. Mr. Walz were prepared to close at this time if the gentleman has no more speakers. Mr. Bilirakis yes, i reserve and im prepared to close as well. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. Mr. Walz over the last two days we have passed 14 bills out of this committee, the Veterans Affairs, the house Veterans Affairs committee. Affecting everything from suicide and Suicide Prevention to transplants to the delivery of g. I. Bills to the streamlining of the bureaucracy inside the agency. All with a bipartisan effort on what can we do as a nation to best deliver on our promise of the earned benefits that we so deeply owe to those who served us. Its appropriate that were doing it the week of veterans day. But i want to remind people, this is whats possible, mr. Speaker. This summer, the New York Times wrote a story and it said, if you really want to know how congress is supposed to function, look at the v. A. Committee. And they were pointing out, these are not easy things. If people, mr. Speaker, may think, well, everybody supports veterans. But its hard to get policy right. Its hard to find funding. Its hard to agree on the best way to deliver it. But i would have to say the last two days are proofpositive of it. We can do it. We must do it. Were obligated to do it. And when people think of veterans day, ways that you can observe veterans day, im always of the belief that the best way to honor veterans is to attempt to live our life in a manner that reflects the dignity and the sacrifice that they gave in their service. And as we sit here today, it may be easy to take for granted and the public gets frustrated of what happens or what doesnt happen here. The idea that there are billions of human beings on this planet that dont get the chance to selfgovern, that dont get the chance to openly and freely debate, to try and craft a society we want to live in, and we do it here because of the sacrifice that was given to keep this nation free. So, the work we do here, and its often said, you shouldnt get a pat on the back for doing what youre supposed to do. Thats not what this is about. This is about a recognition that this nation cares deeply about the daughters and sons who will serve us. This nation expects the congress to make sure that they are cared for in a manner that reflects their sacrifice. And they want us to do it in a bipartisan manner that celebrates the idea of selfgovernance. So with that i would say, mr. Speaker, i am proud to support this piece of legislation as the final piece of this package. Im proud of the work and to call my friend from florida a dear friend, someone who i know that between you and your father have given decades of service to our nations veterans. There are reasons to be optimistic, there are reasons to believe that we can get through this. Theres reasons to believe that come veterans day, that our better days lie ahead of us. So i support 4173 and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from minnesota yields back. The gentleman from florida is recognized. Mr. Bilirakis thank you, mr. Speaker. Im prepared to close. First of all, i support this great bill and see how were doing this . This was set up the crisis line was set up a few years ago. Were improving upon that. And hopefully were going to save lives. Again, i appreciate im really proud to serve on this committee. And i have served on the committee, weve served on it together. We came in together. Weve made our veterans, our true heroes, a priority. And i appreciate you, sir. You take the politics out of it. Chairman roe takes the politics out of it. Id like to think i do too and all the members of the committee do. And we put our veterans first. This is a model committee, as you said. Its a model committee. I hope the children are watching this right now. Because theres not a lot of theres a lot of gridlock in washington. But we work together. Theyre not highprofile bills but theyre very important bills to our heroes. , so again, im very proud so, again, im very proud to manage these bills today and i thank you, mr. Speaker. And yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from florida yields back. The question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the as, as amended 4173, as amend. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative the gentleman from florida. Mr. Bilirakis i request the yeas and nays. The speaker pro tempore the yeas and nays are requested. All those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. A sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on the uestion will be postponed. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from North Carolina seek recognition . Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. Pursuant to House Resolution 607, i call up h. R. 3441, as amended, and i ask for its immediate consideration in the house. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk Union Calendar number 278, h. R. 3441, a bill to clarify the treatment of two or more employers as joint employers under the National Labor relations act, and the fair labor standards act of 1938. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to House Resolution 607, the the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee of education and work force printed in the bill shall be considered as adopted and the bill as amended shall be considered read. The bill shall be debatable for one hour, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee of education and work force. The gentlewoman from North Carolina, ms. Foxx, and the gentleman from virginia, mr. Scott, each will control 30 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from North Carolina. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h. R. 3441. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Foxx mr. Speaker, i rise oday in strong support of h. R. 3441, the save local business act, and yield myself as much time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. The premise of this legislation is simple. Its about protecting the ability of entrepreneurs in this country to start and run their own business. And its about ensuring opportunities within reach for all opportunity is within reach for all americans. Every day men and women across the country work hard to earn a paycheck and provide for their families. And every day local Business Owners work hard to keep their doors open and hire employees. Meanwhile, bureaucrats in washington are busy setting policies that have a widespread impact on every workplace in the country. As we learned during the Obama Administration and from rulings made by the previous National LaborRelations Board, too often these policies do far more harm than good. When it comes to rules and policies governing our nations work force, theres never been a greater need for congress to clarify areas of the law, they shouldnt be left up to boards and federal agencies to decide. Thats especially true regarding the joint employer issue. In 2015 when the Obama Administrations nlrb unilaterally redefined what it means to be a joint employer, the results was mass the result was massive confusion and uncertainty. The committee on education and the work force has heard from countless individuals on how the vegas and vague and unworkable new joint employer standard threatens job creation, creates new road blocks for entrepreneurs, and upends successful Business Models and relationships. H. R. 3441, the save local business act, will deliver muchneeded relief by providing legal clarity under the National Labor relations act and the fair labor standards act. The legislation simply restores a commonsense, joint employer standard. And it does so in a way that upholds vital Worker Protections and ensures all employers know their responsibilities to their employees. I want to thank my colleague, representative byrne, for introducing and tirelessly championing this proposal. Along with the democrat cosponsors. I urge all members to vote in favor of h. R. 3441, so we can protect local jobs, opportunity and entrepreneurship. With that, mr. Speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. The gentleman from virginia is recognized. Mr. Scott thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise to yield myself as much time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Scott mr. Speaker, i rise in opposition to h. R. 3441, so the called save local business act. Mr. Speaker, in recent years employers have increasingly moved away from direct hirg of employees for the use of perma temps and subcontracting to reduce labor costs and liability. Many works, the name on the door of the building where they work may not be the name of the company that technically signs their paycheck. In situations like these, where more than one entity controls or has the contractual right to control the termination and conditions of employment terms and conditions of employment, the National Labor relations act and the fair labor standards act hold both entities responsible for violations as joint employers. The joint employment standard under the nlra ensures that workers can negotiate with all parties that control the terms and conditions of employment. Similarly the joint employment standard under the flsa ensures the appropriate companies can be held accountable for wage theft, equal pay, overtime pay and child labor violations. H. R. 3441 rewrites both the nlra and the flsa by establishing a narrow definition of joint employer that effectively eliminates accountability for some of the entities that are actually calling the shots. Under this bill, an entity may be a joint employer only if it, quote, directly actually and immediately, unquote, exercises control over nonessential terms of conditions of employment such as hiring, firing, determining rates of pay, and scheduling. However, an entity could have control over all nine of the essential terms and if it indirectly exercises control through an intermediary, such as a subcontractor, then the entity would not be an employer. Because its control is not direct. This loophole would allow joint employers to evade liability for child labor or wage theft and undermine workers ability to bring all of the entities to the bargaining table that actually control the terms and conditions of employment. Alternativetively, if an entity controls only eight of these nonessential terms nine essential terms and outsources the ninth, it may be deemed not an employer under this legislation. Thats just a loop home in this legislation, an employee could have no employer liable for a violation. This would arise when each of the joint employers raises the defense that theyre not liable because theyre not an employer. Because they dont control all nine of the essential terms and conditions of employment. This bill provide noes guidance over how many terms of the giant how many of the essential terms the joint employer must control. They have to control two, a majority, all nine . The consequence is that a court could find an employee is owed overtime, but nobody owes them money. Because nobody qualifies as an employer under the definition of the bill. This bill opens the door for potential chaos and one things for sure, h. R. 3441 does not provide the clarity that its proponents advertise. Today were debating legislation that is based on a misplaced criticism of the National LaborRelations Boards 2015 decision in browning industries where nlrb held that the client employer, b. F. I. , and its Staffing Agency, ledpoint, where joining employers at a recycling facility and had the duty to bargain with the union. They b. F. I. Capped wages, reserved the right to overrule hiring decisions. And if it was only the Staffing Agency ledpoint as employer, collective bargaining would have been a waste of time because ledpoint was contractly limited in its ability to bargain without b. F. I. s permission. B. F. I. s decision reinstated the common law definition of an employer, a precedent that had been in place at the nlrb for decades prior to 1984. Critics contend that the b. F. I. Case threatens the independence of franchisees. Well, first, b. F. I. Decision states that it does not cover franchising. And second, there are no decisions where a Franchise Owner has ever been held to be a joint employer with its franchisees under either law. Despite the claims that h. R. 3441 will protect the independence of franchisees, legal experts point out that under this bill, the bill actually insulates franchisers from liability, which leaves the franchiseors free to exercise greater control over the franchisee relations without liability. Under this bill, if a franchiseor directs actions that could violate wage or labor laws, then the franchisee is forced to accept the shared control without shared responsibility. Suppose they designate all the employees as managers and refuse to pay him overtime. Court comes in and says, well, overtime was owed. Well, the franchisee is stuck with the bill because the franchiseur is not covered under this bill. Its not fair to franchisors or franchisees. It rewards low Road Construction contractors who compete to drive down cost by stealing wages, not paying overtime and other violations. The National Coalition of Construction Contractors has warned that h. R. 3441 would, and i quote, further tilt the field of competition against honest, ethical businesses. For those reasons, mr. Speaker, i urge a no vote and reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from virginia reserves. The gentlewoman from North Carolina is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield three minutes to the chief sponsor of this bill, mr. Byrne. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from alabama is recognized for three minutes. Mr. Byrne i thank the gentlelady for her leadership on this committee. Mr. Speaker, today is a big day today is an opportunity for this house to stand up for our nations workers and to protect the small local businesses which form the backbone of the American Economy. Today is about restoring decades old labor law. Ultimately today is about giving clarity to workers and job creators all across our country. I heard from my friends across the aisle that someone can be an employee without being an employer. I call that the immaculately conceived employee. There is no such thing under the law nor has there ever been. This bill does not change the definition of employer. It simply takes the definition of joint employer back to the way it was a few years ago. Its a shame we even have to have this bill. But the National LaborRelations Board in 2015 issued a decision that fundamentally upended labor law as we knew it. This change didnt come through the democratically elected congress but instead from a panel of unelected bureaucrats. The nlrbs decision have caused deep uncertainty among job creators. For workers, they are left to wonder who their boss really is. That is an incredibly confusing situation to be in. Under the new joint employer standard, what does it mean to have, quote, indirect, or potential control over an employee . I practiced labor and Employment Law for decades and i do not know what that means so i can only imagine the confusion main street businesses have faced due to this standard. Currently there are at least nine different legal tests nationwide to joint determine joint employer status and more to come. This patchwork of standards creates regulatory uncertainty, especially for job creators doing businesses in multiple states. So despite what some on the other side want to believe, this is not an abstract issue. I visited numerous local businesses in my district and i know they are very worried about this scheme. I heard from workers who want to remain an employee of a locally owned business with an want to become another employee in another corporation. This legislation is cosponsored by 123 of my colleagues, including members from both sides of the aisle. This is a bipartisan issue because it isnt about politics. Instead, its about saving jobs and supporting locally owned businesses. And let me make something crystal clear. This bill does not remove a single protection for todays work force. Despite the scare tactics being used by big labors, bosses and their trial friends, the same important protections exist under this legislation and any irresponsible employer can be held accountable. So mr. Speaker, i urge all of my colleagues to take the side of our locally owned businesses, to take the side of our Small Business job creators and take the side of our Small Business workers. Lets pass the save local business act, and i yield back my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from virginia is recognized. Mr. Scott thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, i yield myself 30 seconds to state that i agree with the gentleman the speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for 30 seconds. Mr. Scott i agree with the gentleman that says no rights are reduced. The only problem is you cant have anybody that is liable to fulfill your benefits under whatever those rights are. If somebody if youre owed overtime, youre owed overtime. Thats not reduced. Its just that nobody is there to pay it. I yield two minutes to the gentlelady from cleveland, ohio, ms. Fudge. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from ohio is recognized for two minutes. Ms. Fudge thank you very much, Ranking Member scott. Mr. Speaker, h. R. 3441, the save local business act, would fundamentally redefine the relationship between employers and employees. Mr. Speaker, corporate profits and income inequality are at an alltime high. Yet, we are debating a bill that would strip workers of their right to hold employers accountable. Allowing corporations to further stifle wage growth and undermine collective bargaining. This is yet another republican attempt to make the rich richer and the working people poorer just like their tax bill. What we should be fighting for is a living wage and employee rights. My republican colleagues say the law is ambiguous, and we must act to save Small Businesses. The law is not ambiguous. They just dont like it because it holds businesses responsible and forces them to bargain with unions. This bill is an assault on workers. Mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent to enter into the record a letter from the Economic Policy institute outlining how h. R. 3441 will ensure Small Businesses are left with sole responsibility for Business Practices often dictated by large corporations and in addition a letter from the International Brotherhood of teamsters opposing this bill in support of workers protections. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Fudge thank you, mr. Speaker. I urge my colleagues to vote no on h. R. 3441. Lets get back to fighting for the people we were sent here to serve. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The gentlelady from North Carolina is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you very much, mr. Speaker. I now yield three minutes to the distinguished gentleman from michigan, mr. Walberg. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from michigan is recognized for three minutes. Mr. Walberg i thank the chairman. Mr. Speaker, i rise today in support of h. R. 3441, the save local business act. For hardworking men and women in this country, one of the most important relationships they develop in the workplace is the relationship they have with their employer. This relationship is paramount to every workers success. Its a relationship that impacts their paycheck, their schedule, their benefits, and the future of their career. Unfortunately, under the Obama Administration, we repeatedly saw government bureaucrats pursue regulatory policies that harmed workers and Small Businesses. And the National Labor relation s board in browning v. Ferris it was simple. They placed themselves squarely in the middle of the employeremployee relationship by redefining what it means to be a joint employer. The education and Work Force Committee has been fighting to roll back this extreme joint employer scheme since it first took effect. And for good reason. It discarded labor policy and blurred the lines of responsibility for decisions affecting the daily operations of local businesses across this country. Quite simply, the scheme is a threat to jobs. Its a threat to entrepreneurship, and local employers across the country. I heard from Small Businesses and franchises across my district about how the new joint employer scheme will spend will upend Small Businesses, undermine their independence and put jobs and livelihoods and dreams at risk. Its time to settle once and for all what constitutes a joint employer. Not through arbitrary and misguided nlrb decisions and rulings by activist judges but through legislation. The save local business act will roll back this unworkable scheme and restore the same straightforward joint employer test that workers and job creators relied on for decades. The save local business act is about providing certainty for job creators in each and every one of our districts. Its about keeping the American Dream within reach. And so i urge, mr. Speaker, my colleagues to vote in support of h. R. 3441, and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from virginia is recognized. Mr. Scott thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new york, mr. Espaillat. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Espaillat thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise in opposition to h. R. 3441, the socalled save local business act. This bill virtually eliminates joint Employer Liability under the National Labor relations act and under the fair labor standards act. As my colleagues have highlighted, there are numerous unintended consequences presented by this bill. I want to highlight the impact on an often overlooked segment of our work force, our nations farm workers. Farm workers are among our nations most vulnerable workers. Farm workers work long hours in poor conditions for low pay. Many farm workers are undocumented and subjected to severe abuse. The migrant and Seasonal AgriculturalWorker Protection act, or awpa, is the principal labor statute protecting workers, it establishes Record Keeping standards for both seasonal and temporary farm workers. Joint employment standards under this law and the fair labor standards act are vital to protecting the rights and protections afforded to these workers. Oftentimes, farm workers are recruited, hired, supervised or transported by intermediaries, sometimes referred to as farm labor contractors. Farm operators utilizing farm labor contractors maintain control of a working the working conditions, seeking to ensure the Financial Success of their operation. Despite this shared responsibility, farm operators may argue that the farm labor contractors engage they engage their farm workers sole employer responsible for compliance. The farm labor contractors are often thinly capitalized. This means if a farm worker seeks has a violation, he or she may not be able to collect from the farm labor contractors. Under the migrant Seasonal Agricultural workers protection act, joint employers liability helps ensure covered workers can also hold liability from farm operators and their shared responsibilities. By amending the fair labor standards act definition of employee and creating a new extremely narrow definition of joint employer, h. R. 3441 up ends the fair labor standards joint employer framework upon which we rely on. Mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent to enter into the record a statement from the farm workers justice in opposition to this bill, and i yield back my time. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman yields back. The gentlelady from North Carolina is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. Before i yield to the gentleman from texas, representative cuellar, i want to take just a minute to express my deepest sympathy to him as the representative of the people of Sutherland Springs for this sundays tragic events. Hes here today to do the job they sent him here to do but we all know his heart is very much back in that community. I thank him for being here and i hope he knows that so many people are praying for him and the people he represents. I now two minutes to representative cuellar. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Cuellar thank you, mr. Speaker. Thank you, madam chair, for your condolences and your prayers for Sutherland Springs. I also want to thank mr. Byrne and of course chairwoman foxx for the work on this particular bill. I want to thank mr. Lieu correa and other lou correa and other supporters. The standards used by the nlrb made it easy to understand who is and who is not a joint employer. For decades, joint employer relationships existed when one company had direct and immediate control over another companys work force. Wever, as you know under the industries, this established a new expanded joint employer standard. This standard could trigger Employer Liability by a company exercising a vaguely defined indirect control over employee. We heard from local businesses from my district and across the state of texas, and it is clear this decision is costing them significant confusion. In my district, lets say laredo, texas, there is a local Restaurant Owner who says his restaurant currently employees close to 1,000 local employees. This expanded joint employer standard has limited his investment in his by in the number of workers he has. Reverting back to the former joint employee standard that we had for so many years will allow him to hire the employees he needs to hire and reinvest money. This new standard makes it hard for local franchises like this one in laredo to offer the employer relationship for the fear this benefit could be used against them in a joint employer lawsuit. This fear is wellfounded. The Progressive Policy Institute known for its pragmatic ideals says the expansion of this joint employer doctrine may, quote, may do more harm than good. This is why i am supporting this legislation. Were asking they revert back to the standard legal we used for many years. Mr. Speaker, i yield the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields the balance of his time. The gentleman from virginia is recognized. I now yield three minutes to the gentleman from california, the Ranking Member of the subcommittee on work force protections, mr. Takano. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Takano thank you, mr. Speaker. I thank the Ranking Member for yielding and his continued leadership on behalf of americas workers. Mr. Speaker, more and more employees today are working for a Company Whose name is not on the front of their office building. Instead of hiring employees directly, companies are renting employees from staffing agencies. Let me say that again. Companies are renting employees from staffing agencies and then evading responsibility for upholding the rights of those workers even as they profit from their work. For decades, senseable joint employment standards under the fair labor standards act have ensured that workers can hold employers accountable for violating wage and hour laws. Instead of refining those standards to reflect the complex relationship between workers and employers in todays economy, this legislation sets a traumaticcally and intentionally narrow sets a dramatically and intentionally narrow standard so they cannot be held accountable if employers violate workplace laws. I ask unanimous consent to insert into the record a letter signed by more than 200 organizations opposing h r. 3441 because it opens the door to widespread wage theft and hurts lawabiding Small Businesses. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Takano thank you, mr. Speaker. From 2001 to 2013, walmart was contracting with three warehouses in my community. Those warehouses contracted out their staff to a company that was accused of committing egregious wage and hour law violations. Thanks to the flsa joint employer standard, 1rks700 warehouse workers were able to reach a 2 million settlement to collect the pay that they were owed from their employer. Thunder bill, they would likely have gotten nothing. The question we face today is, will millions of workers like the warehouse workers in my district lose what little power they have left to fight against wage theft . Will organized workers lose the basic right to bring all responsible parties to the table to collectively bargain for better wages and workplaces . Will corporations be allowed to claim immunity from the laws that protect employers and most of all, will the peoples house stand with the people or stand with the corporations that continue to rig the economy against the American Worker . I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose h. R. 3441 and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentlelady from North Carolina is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. I now yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from ohio and the chair of the Small Business committee, mr. Chabot. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Chabot thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of h. R. 3441 and i want to commend our colleague, mr. Byrne, for sponsoring this legislation and i also want to commend chairwoman foxx for her leadership on this very important issue. Im proud to be an original cosponsor myself. As chairman of the house Small Business committee, i had the opportunity to see firsthand how the National LaborRelations Boards new joint employer standard threatens the ability of small Business Owners to remain independent and responsible for their own employees. At a Small BusinessCommittee Hearing last year, an Army Combat Veteran and the Small Business owner testified that, and i quote, local Business Owners may effectively be demoted from entrepreneur to middle manager as they are gradually forced to forfeit operational control of their stores and clubs an inns and restaurants that they built, unquote. At the same hear, another Small Business owner testified that, and ill again quote, i would cease to be an independent Small Business owner. Ultimately i would become a de facto employee of the corporate brand. Unquote. These are merely two examples of the consequences real american small Business Owners face because of the decisions that washington bureaucrats and activist judges. The obama era joint employer scheme threatens Small Businesses. The engines of American Economic growth. Small businesses, after all, create the majority of the new jobs in this nation. They spur innovation. Enacting this legislation would help ensure continued freedom for americas best job creators. I urge my colleagues to support h. R. 3441. Passage of this legislation is necessary to restore certainty to americas small Business Owners and their employees so that they can continue to operate their businesses locally and independently. Mr. Speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from ohio yields back. The gentleman from virginia is ecognized. Mr. Scott i now yield three minutes to the gentleman from virginia, mr. Norcross. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Norcross i ask unanimous consent to enter into the record the rs against this from International Brotherhood of carpenters. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Norcross i rise in opposition to this bill which is falsely called the cey local businesses act. The new name should be crush local workers act. Im happy to work with my colleagues on the other side of to forward tolook helping Small Businesses and helping them wage wages. But this does neither. Employees rely more and more on permanent temporaries. Staffing agencies employ about three million people, about one fifth of all the new jobs created since 2009. Ive fought to raise wages for over two decades for workers this bill lets corporations keep wages low by subcontracting out heir work. They are subcontracting their conscience to put profits over other people this makes it nearly impossible for workers to hold temporary Staffing Agency responseable for unfair wage practices. It denies employees a voice in the workplace. It prevents workers from joining unions, collective bargaining which go ultimately to help raise wages. We should be lifting workers workers wages up, not trying to crush them. Ill remind our colleagues that from 1930 to 1984 the courts were the ones making these joint employers decisions and it was Ronald Reagans administration who first made this change. It was the Reagan Administration who first made this change. The Obama Administration brought it back to where it was. Yet aparaphernalialy people are forgetting those very important facts. Thats why i urge my colleagues to vote against this crush local workers act. I thank you and yield back the remainder of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new jersey yields back. The gentlelady from North Carolina is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield now three minutes to the distinguished chair of the Veterans Affairs committee, dr. Phil roe. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from tennessee is recognized for three minutes. Mr. Roe thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise in support of h. R. 3441, the save will call business act. Mr. Speaker, this debate boils down to whether we want local entrepreneurship and Community Engagement to the franchise model tore one size fits all topdown model. When i served as chairman of the Health Subcommittee we herd testimony about the effect of this new employment standard who runs a brad di burger restaurant. Several of the men he hires have been in the correctional system and soverl the women have been on government assistance. He hires people to give them a chance at the better life. Thehis if this proceeds, Burger King Corporation will have responsible for these decisions. Shouldnt we assume the corporations will be more risk averse and unlikely to give people a second chance. Mr. Brad didropped out of high school in 11th grade when his life was headed in the wrong direction, according to him he joined the Baltimore Police department. He began working in a burger king. After the first burger king he owned closed he ultimately rejoined burger king and purchased his current store. Whats remarkable is when baltimore experienced unrest several years ago, mr. Brad dis store was at the epicenter and his neighbors stood outside to protect it from being destroyed. His one his one his was one of the only restaurants open for business the next day. If this is not the American Dream i dont know what is. On a recent trip that our conference took there, including the chairwoman, the dined with mr. Brady at his restaurant in baltimore. He was a wonderful host, i might add. Joint employer isnt just about restaurants. Hotel owners, fitness companies, movers, tutoring service, janitorial services, and the list goes on and on. Anyone who franchises their business is affected by this ruling. Im pleased the Labor Department is reviewing this standard, but this cant be a constantly changing standard while longterm damage is done to local entrepreneurship. I urge my colleagues to support the joint employer standard that protects workers and allows the franchise mod tole flourish. With that, mr. Speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from tennessee yields back. The gentleman from virginia is recognized. Mr. Scott could you advise us how much time ve maining on both sides . The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from virginia has 13 1 2 minutes. The gentlewoman from North Carolina has 15 minutes. Mr. Scott mr. Speaker, i yield myself 15 seconds just to enter into the record page 50 of the Committee Report which outlines he exchange with mr. Brady which suggests that the Franchise Owners would actually not be able to would do not become joint employers under the present law. Mr. Speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from connecticut, the Ranking Member of the laborhhs appropriations subcommittee, ms. Delauro. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. Ms. Delauro i rise in strong opposition to this bill which would overturn the national ray boar Relations Boards joint employer decision. It will make it harder for working people to hold employers accountable for abuses, including making it harder to bring equal pay act claim. 2015, the National LaborRelations Board ruled in the brown and ferris decision that a company can be held liable for labor violations by other employers they contract with. This definition of joint employers reflects the reality that subcontractors in the work force face today. In fact, according to the Economic Policy institute, and i quote, the most rigorous recent estimates find that the share of workers being subcontracted out was 15. 8 in the late 2015. In todays labor market that translates to roughly 24 million workers. The bill were debating today would fly in the face of the 2015 decision. Undermining employee protection. This bill would create a more narrow, restrictive definition of joint employer, it would limit workers ability to hold employers responsible for violations under the National Labor relations act, such as atempts to stop collective bargaining. Or the fair labor standards act such as wage theft. Equal pay violations. Let me talk about what this would mean in just one area, pay discrimination. Pay discrimination in the workplace is real. It is happening everywhere. Pay inequity does not just affect women, it affects children, family, and our economy as a whole that is because women in this country are the sole or cobread winners in half of families with children. The biggest problem facing our nation today is is that families are not making enough to live on, theyre not being paid enough in the jobs that they have. Closing the wage gap would help to address that problem. Can i get mr. Scott i yield the gentlelady an additional minute. Ms. Delauro why would we further undermine a workers ability to bring pay discrimination cases against their employer . We must stand with workers, defend the current definition of joint employers. For those who claim joint employer status is burdensome or confusing for companies, let me just ask you, what about the burden on millions of american whors experiencing pay disparity and pay discrimination . I urge my colleagues, reject this bill, take the stand for equal pay for equal work. Mr. Speaker, i would like to submit a letter from our labor leaders rejecting h. R. 3441 into the record. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Delauro with that, i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The gentlelady from North Carolina is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. I now yield one minute to our distinguished colleague from kansas, mr. Estes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from kansas is recognized for one minute. Mr. Estes i rise in support of the save local business act. Under the previous administration, radical policy shifts were taken by unelected bureaucrats and activist judges. An example of this was in 2015 when the nlrb decided to unilaterally change the long standing definition what constitutes an employeremployee relationship. They changed the definition from joint employer to a employer that has actual direct or immediate control over the terms and conditions of employment to someone who has potential or indirect control. It should be obvious to you who your employer is. Its the one that hired you and who signs your paycheck. As chairwoman foxx said in a recent oped, when you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Thats so true for so many in washington. I encourage my colleagues to support this bill because it defines joint employer in a commonsense way in order to do away with the current convoluted status. This bill prevents future overreach from bureaucrats and allows Business Owners to manage their own business. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from kansas yields back. The gentleman from virginia is now recognized. Mr. Scott mr. Speaker, i yield one minute to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Boyle. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. Mr. Boyle thank you. Mr. Speaker, this bill 3441 cripples the right to bargain for better wages and conditions when workers have joint employers. By narrowing the definition of a joint employer, this bill deprives thousands of workers of their right to negotiate with the parties that really exercise control over their wages and conditions. And by undermining collective bargaining, this bill suppresses wages. You know, one of the biggest problems, if not the biggest problem in the Economy Today has been the lack of wage growth over the last decade to two decades. This bill will not improve that problem. It will take an existing problem and make it worse. Today, workers are under direct threat from reckless, misleading legislation like this and that ultimately will do nothing to improve their wages, improve their benefits, or improve their working conditions. Lets reject this bill and instead discuss and debate and craft legislation that can improve workers wanges. I yield workers wages. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentlelady from North Carolina is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield one minute to our colleague from florida, mr. Rooney. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from florida is recognized for one minute. Mr. Rooney thank you, mr. Speaker. Thank you chairwoman foxx, for bringing forward the save local businesses act. Over six million employees, 650,000 employers, creates over 1 trillion of construction every year. Building a project involves the complex web of subcontractors, vendors and consultants all working together in a spirit of teamwork to accomplish a difficult task. Ive been in this business for 40 years. The general contractor has absolutely necessary has to put in control terms in its subcontracts and purchase orders to make sure their subcontractors and vendors execute the work safely, on schedule and in coordination with the other trades on the project. Lastly, they have to follow all the fitness for duty provisions to make sure they pass drug tests and dealing with smoking and Health Safety issues and stuff like this and this runs nto this browningferris standards. You cant have the argument made to you that all these subs and vendors are now part of a common enterprise. Now myself and my employees are left in a big quandary under browningferris under the obama rule. I can see a scenario where a batch plant located clear across town from a construction project could have a Hazardous Waste problem. Because of this ridiculous rule, my job or someone elses job using that batch plant could be linked to them. How perverse is that . So the save local business act will be beneficial not only to the American Economy but to the safety and wellbeing of merican workers. How about two minutes . I thank chairman byrne for introducing this legislation. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from florida yields back. The gentleman from virginia is recognized. Mr. Scott thank you, mr. Speaker. I now yield one minute to the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. Kaptur. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from ohio is recognized for one minute. Ms. Kaptur i thank the gentleman for yielding and rise in opposition to the bill which says companies should be protected, not workers. Imagine when a firm is jointly owned and operated by the chinese or the mexicans or the el salvadorans where workers rights are never protected. Workers protections have long accounted to the reality that the company that writes the checks dont always control workplace conditions but as they share control of workplace conditions they should be held in jonathan responsibility. I want to enter into the record a letter from the auto workers. Couldnt be a more dangerous industry to work in. You want to put some of these Foreign Companies in charge of some of those places . Not i. I have seen too many mangled bodies around the world that tell me no. I am for workers being protected as well as the interest of corporations. Todays action eliminates 80 years of safeguards on joint employer responsibility. What does that mean . It means a company that subcontracts franchises work to save a buck can shield itself when workers arent paid fair wages or denied basic employment rights. May i ask for an additional 10 seconds . Mr. Scott an additional 130ekds. Ms. Kaptur i thank the gentleman for yielding. Large corporate interests escape accountability. Mr. Speaker, its time we pass laws that help American Workers. Wouldnt that be a sea change in this country . I urge my colleagues to oppose his legislation. And yield back any remaining time. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the letter will be made part of the record. The gentlewoman from North Carolina is recognized. Ms. Foxx i now yield one minute to our distinguished lleague from michigan, mr. Mitchell. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from wisconsin from michigan is recognized for one minute. Mr. Mitchell i rise to urge support of h. R. 3441, save local business act. I spent my career in business so i know how damaging uncertainty is for Small Businesses. They need a clear understanding of the rules otherwise businesses and employees suffers and our economy suffers. And yet an instance of overreaching bureaucrats, nlrb redefined the rules of joint employers which had been in place for 30 years. Unfortunately i was not surprised. The nlrb created a maze of uncertainty. Basic Business Decisions managed between employers and employees are now put in place for the nlrb redefining what this is. It would restore a commonsense definition of employee and protect workers and employees who are most likely to be impacted by yet another confusing federal rule. I urge support of the bill and i yield back the balance of my ime. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from virginia. Mr. Scott i yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from illinois, ms. Schakowsky. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from illinois is recognized for two minutes. Ms. Schakowsky the republican majority are introducing a bill that will harm hardworking families. It wont help local businesses, Small Businesses. It limits workers rights and taking away worker wages. Between 2005 and 2015, 95 of net job growth was in alternative work like temporary contract and on call jobs. This isnt our parents workplace anymore where one employer sets the rules and pays the wages. Today a corporation can set workplace rules while a temp agency or subcontractor pays the wages. Todays workers needs to bargain with both and to hold each accountable for labor law violations. Instead, this bill moves us backwards. It would prevent working men and women from bargaining for better wanges and benefits and safer working conditions with the corporations that have decisionmaking power over their workplace. It would allow corporations to rob working women and men of their earned wages without giving those workers the right to recover. The annual cost of wage theft is estimated at 50 billion this year. It would immunize bad corporate actors and put small and big businesses who respect their workers at a competitive disadvantage. This bill is a bad deal. And workers know it. I ask unanimous consent to insert a letter from the aflcio and its 12 million members into the record. If you support the speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Schakowsky if you support better wages and better jobs, vote no on this bad bill. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from illinois yields back. The gentlelady from North Carolina is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. I now yield 1 1 2 minutes to our colleague from pennsylvania, mr. Smucker. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for 1 1 2 minutes. Mr. Smucker thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise today to express my strong support for h. R. 3441, the save local business act. Ive heard from employers across my district from many industries, agriculture, higher ed, staffing agencies, hospitality and construction about this issue. Under the flawed nlrb standard not only employers are confused by employees as well, have little certainty as to their status with multiple employers. Mr. Speaker, for 25 years i owned and operated a Construction Company in lancaster county. We were operated as subcontractors. Back then the employeremployee relationship was clear. There was no question about which employer was responsible for each employee. The browningferris decision creates confusion about who works for whom. Discouraging many larger contractors from giving small subcontractors a job for fear of increased liability. Mr. Speaker, had that existed when i was growing a company, it would have made it more difficult to expand our business and create more jobs in our community. The browningferris decision was politically motivated and upended a decades old standard that worked very well among employers and employees. According to the h. R. Policy association, litigation regarding the joint employer standard is at a record high. This decision, mr. Speaker, has been a jackpot for trial lawyers. It is Time Congress take action to provide clarity for the thousands of businesses, both large and small, who are ready to expand and create jobs. The save local business act will provide this clarity, and i urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. Thank you. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from pennsylvania yields back. The gentleman from virginia is now recognized. Mr. Scott thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield one minute to the gentleman from illinois, mr. Lipinski. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from illinois is recognized for one minute. Mr. Lipinski mr. Speaker, yes, there is now uncertainty about the definition of joint employer. This uncertainty has the potential to undermine the franchise model which has given so Many Americans the small ity to own a business and create jobs. This narrows the joint employer definition and also applying it to the fair labor standards act. We need to ensure that workers are treated fairly and companies are held accountable. I am afraid this bill could weaken that. While i will be voting against this bill, it is important to recognize that there is a real issue here. We need to find a compromise. So no matter how we vote today, i urge my colleagues to listen to the concerns of Business Owners in their districts because their success is critical to our longterm job growth. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from illinois yields back. The gentlelady from North Carolina is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. I now yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from wisconsin, mr. Grothman. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized for one minute. Mr. Grothman before launching into specific comments of this bill i want to correct some misconceptions we heard earlier today. We just heard a lady from illinois mention that she felt is bill would put put workers at a competitive disadvantage. All good employers know that respecting workers puts you at a competitive advantage, and i think its very wrong that anybody would imply that you are at an advantage by respecting your workers. So i want to clarify that. The second thing i want to clarify is earlier we had somebody talk about temporary workers. Temporary workers make less money, and its true with temporary workers you have a middle man who takes the money off the top and thats unfortunate but you have to realize the reason we have more temporary workers is we make it harder and harder to be an employer in the first place and when it becomes harder to be an employer you force them to hire more temporary employees so they are not employees the speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. Ms. Foxx i yield the gentleman another minute. Mozz foxx i yield the gentleman another fs foxx i yield the gentleman another minute. Grothman you have big conglomerates, one way to still be a Small Business is to be a franchisee, youre able to control your own destiny and respect your workers in your own way. We have to pass this bill to prevent the end or the practical end of the ability to be your own Business Owner by controlling or setting your own contract terms with your own employees. And more than any other reason, thats why i back this bill. I like that we have so many Small Businessmen out there on their own. The franchise or franchisee model. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from virginia is recognized. Mr. Scott i yield one minute to the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. Lynch. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Lynch good afternoon, mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman from virginia, mr. Scott, for yielding me this time. I thank him for his leadership on behalf of American Workers. Mr. Speaker, i rise to express my strong opposition to h. R. 3441. Because of the modern use of temporary staffing agencies and subcontractors, the National LaborRelations Board has properly defined the term joint employer as two or more businesses who codetermine or share control over a worker ear workers terms of employment such as rate of pay or work schedule. If enacted, 3441 would cripple workers rights to collective by hi bargain or seek redress when workers are found to have joint employers. The opportunity collectively bargain over wages and conditions of employment is diminished if some parties that control employment are given the option to refuse to bargain and avoid liability as employers. As a result this bill will open the door to widespread wage theft and equal pay violations and will harm workers across the United States. Some republicans continue to argue it will provide stability for workers. As a former Union President and labor attorney, dealing with issues before the National LaborRelations Board the speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. Pll lynch i urge my colleagues to oppose this bill. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentlelady from North Carolina is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank youing mr. Speaker. I yield one minute to our distinguished colleague from georgia, mr. Ferguson. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one minute. Mr. Ferguson thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise in support of the save local business act. Ive heard from dozens of businesses and employees in my district who faced uncertainty under the expanded joint employer definition which threatens job creation, increases costs and discourages entrepreneurs from opening up new businesses. The National LaborRelations Boards decision to settle that ignored decades of settled labor policy by changing the joint employer definition, putting all businesses and their workers at risk. We should be making america the most competitive place in the world to do business, not saddling job creators with unnecessary and confusing regulations. This bill would take the right step to reinstate sound, widely accepted standards and i urge all of my colleagues to support its passage. Thank you, mr. Speaker, i yield ack. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from virginia is now recognized. Mr. Scott mr. Speaker, could i get the time check on both sides, please . The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from virginia has four minutes. The gentlewoman from North Carolina has four minutes. 7 1 2 minutes. Mr. Scott i yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from oregon, ms. Bonamici. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman is recognized. Mr. Scott the vice Ranking Member on committee and education on the committee on education in the work force. Ms. Bonamici i rise in opposition to the socalled save local business act this administration and this congress have already weakened workplace protections to keep americans safe. From discrimination at their jobs and make sure they receive fair pay and provide additional opportunities to save for a secure retirement. Joint employer provisions make sure employers cannot escape liability for violating Worker Protection laws. This standard make ours laws on overtime pay, on safe workplaces, on minimum wage enforceable. What this bill does not do is turn franchise orrs into employers unless they franchisors into employers unless they act like employers. I spent years as a lawyer representing franchisees and know this wont turn franchisors into employers. I would like to enter into a record the a letter from the signatory wall and ceiling alliance, they oppose this bill because it would put lawabiding Small Businesses at a competitive disadvantage with Unscrupulous Companies that dont respect workers rights and dont pay workers the wages they have earned. Id like to introduce that into the record. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Bonamici this legislation would leave workers behind and give a free pass to Unscrupulous Companies who violate labor laws. Please oppose this legislation. Thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The gentlelady from North Carolina is now recognized. Ms. Foxx thank youing mr. Speaker. I yield one thank you, mr. Speaker, i yield one and a half minutes to our colleague from virginia, mr. Bratt. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Bratt i rise to support h. R. 3441, the save local businesses act. This bill will return clarity and certainty to all business. Small Business Owners all around virginias seventh district have been asking for tax and regulatory relief that will free them from the tyranny of government control. Take, for example, two employers in my district. A home care franchisee called bright star care of richmond and a Day Care Center called rainbow station at the boulders. Mark grasser, president of bright star care, had this to say about the unworkable joint employer standard. We have a franchisor who wants to work with a franchisee to provide services. Unfortunately thats not possibility because that would violate the current joint employer standard this ends up hurting everyone in the process. This standard is forcing employers and employees to make decisions that are not best for everyone involved but what is best to satisfy government. John simms, similarly, owner of rainbow station at the boulder, said this, quote, having the proposed standard reversed allows small bidses like mine to thrive, knowing exactly where everyone stands, end quote. Im happy to report that the house is taking a bold step forward on defending businesses and workers today. The vague and convoluted joint employer scheme enacted in the brownfering decision has caused employers and employees harm. Decades before the radical nlrb overturned what worked, businesses and employees knew the rules and thrived. The time its time to roll the Government Back and return to what worked. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from virginia is recognized. Mr. Scott mr. Speaker, im prepared to close, so ill reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentlelady from North Carolina. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield one and a half minutes to mr. Cus to have of tennessee. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one and a half minutes. Mr. Kustoff i rise in support of this act that will end harmful and excessive government overreach. For 30 years, Small Businesses orpted successfully under a joint employer policy that was fair, stable and crystal clear. Unfortunately, in 2015 the National LaborRelations Board, under the previous administration, decided to insert itself and overcomplicate the important employeremployee relationship. The unelected bureaucrats at the nlrb stifled Small Businesses when they decided to step in and blur the lines of pro respovensability. Sadly, our working families were impacted when the nlrb decided to empower labor Union Special interests. The last thing our independent Business Owners need is more government red tape that will prevent them from reaching their full potential. The nlrbs expanded joint employer scheme discourages Large Companies from doing business with smaller, local companies. The effects are incredibly farreaching. The expanded joint employer rule harms countless industries across the country, particularly small franchisees, Construction Companies and service providers. For example, service master, a Global Company with more than 33,000 employees, has chosen to locate its headquarters in memphis, tennessee. A great deal of my constituents work for their Franchise Services group in the nlrb rule change has put their job security in jeopardy. Weve all heard concerns from our constituents and now we can do something to get government off our backs. We must look out for hardworking americans and roll back these oppressive jobkilling rules. Im pleased that the save local business act will undo this unreasonable Regulatory Burden and i thank congressman byrne for his leadership in this effort. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentlelady from North Carolina is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield one minute to another distinguished member from the committee, mr. Allen. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia is recognized. Mr. Allen thank you, madam chair. I rise today to support congressman byrnes important legislation, the save local business act. As a Small Business owner myself for over 40 years, i know how difficult it can be to wade through federal, state and local red tape. Sometimes it feels like the government is against growing your business. The Obama Administration expanded the joint employer standard under the fair labor stan dards act, blurring the lines of responsibility for decisions affecting daily operations of many will local businesses. According to the American Action forum, the joint employer scheme could have resulted in 1. Million fewer jobs. Luckily President Trump is a job creator, so he knows that jobkilling he knows a jobkilling regulation then he sees one. Earlier this summer, his administration rescinded this terrible rule. However we have to make sure no bureaucrat is empowered to redefine a joint employer standard again. Small Business Owners are already facing an uphill battle. Webbed not be threatening the freedoms of independent businesses, owners, entrepreneurs, making it even harder for them to achieve the American Dream. Thats why i urge all my colleagues to support this legislation. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from North Carolina is recognized. Ms. Foxx mr. Speaker, i understand my colleague from virginia is prepared to close and we will be prepared to close also. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is prepared to close. The gentleman from virginia. Mr. Scott mr. Speaker, first i ask unanimous consent to enter to the record a statement by by a member who is unable to be here today. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Scott i yield myself the balance of the time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Take tt this bill will away employees ability to negotiate for wetter better wages in return for their work, inflicts damage to prime contractors who play by the rules and are forced to compete against unscrupulous other employees who save money by failing to pay wages and it exposes franchisees to liability they should not have to shoulder alone because it allows franchisors to exercise more control over franchise yeses without incurring any liability. Therefore, mr. Speaker, i urge my colleagues to oppose the bill and yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the gentlelady from North Carolina is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield myself the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. This legislation is a no brainer. Today, congress has a chance to stand up for jobs, opportunity, and local businesses in each of our districts. This legislation rolls back an unworkable joint employer policy that is hurting both workers and employers. Contrary to some of the misleading rhetoric we have heard today, nothing in this bill undermines Worker Protections. In fact, the bill ensures workers know exactly who their employer is under federal law. I urge all members to do whats best for the workers and local job creators in their district 3441,ing in favor of h. R. The save local business act, and i yield the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. All time for debate has expired. Pursuant to House Resolution 60 , the previous question is ordered on the bill as amended. The question is on engrossment and third reading of the bill. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. Third reading. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentlelady from oregon seek recognition . I have a motion to recommit. The speaker pro tempore is the gentlelady opposed . Ms. Bonamici in the current form. The clerk ms. Bonamici has the following amendment, page 3, line 21, strike the closed quotation marks and following period and after such line add c, subparagraph e shall not apply when a franchisee takes the direction of the franchisor and such action by the franchisee violates this act in such case the franchisor shall be considered a joint employer for the purposes of such violation. Page 4, line 7, strike the closed quotation marks, after such line insert the following, 3, paragraph 2 shall not apply when a franchisee takes an action at the direction of a franchisor and such action by the franchisee violates this act in which case franchisor shall be considered a joint employer for purposes of such violation. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentlelady from oregon is recognized for five minutes in support of her motion. Ms. Bonamici thank you, mr. Speaker. This is the final amendment to the bill. It will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage as amended. Mr. Speaker, the bill we are debating today is another assault on hardworking americans who are desperately trying to put food on the table for their families, scrape together enough money to pay for childcare and have a roof over their head. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle are saying that they need this bill to save local businesses. We all support local businesses in our communities. My colleagues suggest unless they pass this law, franchisors will become joint employers. Well, if they dont act like if they act like franchisors and control brands and standards and they dont do things like hire, fire and supervise the fran chis employees, they wont be. In other words, if they act like a franchisor and not an employer, they wont be considered a joint employer. In fact, this bill could actually harm franchisees and take away their independence. Because it would allow franchisors to indirectly control the Labor Relations of its franchisee, but be insulated from liability for violations that might arise from that control. Now, my amendment would require, if a franchisor directs a franchisee to take an unlawful action that would violate labor laws, then the franchisor shall be considered a joint employer for the purpose of the violation. In other words, if a franchisor acts like an employer, they should be held accountable for their actions as an employer. Workers must be able to get their hard earned overtime pay and the wanges they are owed. Owed. Wages they are this would promote franchisees and more importantly cure the defect in the bill that insulates franchisors from liability for exercising control over their franchisees labor or employment relations. Mr. Speaker, this legislation currently is an attack on workers rights, and i urge my colleagues to adopt my amendment. The speaker pro tempore does the gentlelady yield back . Ms. Bonamici i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields. For what purpose does the gentlelady from North Carolina seek recognition . Ms. Foxx mr. Speaker, i oppose the motion to recommit and rise to claim time in opposition. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for five minutes. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. This motion is just another attempt to ignore the real damage caused by the nlrbs expanded and unworkable joint employer standard which continues to hurt local Business Owners and their workers. Lets not get distracted by this motion. Instead, lets focus on the bipartisan solution which is pending, h. R. 3441, the save local business act, which simply restores the commonsense definition of employer to provide certainty and stability for workers and employers. I urge my colleagues to vote no on the motion to recommit and yes on the save local business act. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. Without objection, the previous question is ordered on the motion to recommit. The question is on the motion. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the motion is not agreed to. Ms. Bonamici mr. Speaker, i ask for the yeas and nays. The speaker pro tempore the yeas and nays are requested. Those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. A sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. Members will record their votes y electronic device. Operate and clause 9 of rule pursuant to clause 8 and clause 9 of rule 20, this vote on the motion to recommit will be followed by fiveminute votes on the following passage of the bill, if ordered and motions to suspend the rules and pass h. R. 3911. This is a 15minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc. , in cooperation with the United States house of representatives. Any use of the closedcaptioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u. S. House of representatives. ]