Members will begin work on a bill blocking force the arbitration in certain cases unless parties in the dispute agree to it. A final passage vote in that bill is expected by the end of this week. Also this week, shortterm Spending Authority wle the house and senate find an agreement on federal spending for the rest of the year. Current Spending Authority does run out at the end of this month. This is live coverage of the u. S. House. Members set to gavel in shortly here on cspan. Order. Be e ayl be offy the guest capinlain major genal sten sck, u. S. Air forhif chaplns, thagon arngton,irgia thchplain comple pra wi ving god,e k forgiveness fo l thtiget atear memberi. M jons pla washoten down, he quotes prayer, holy scripture and your undeniable presence for his survival, release and his becoming a u. S. Congressman. Sometimes we forget that when Tech Sergeant bell was raped by a man she once considered a friend, leaving her with hopelessness and thoughts of suicide, you, o lord, raised her up to become one of our most amazing noncommissioned officers. Lord, your fingerprints are seen on every sorty, every mission, and on the precious lives of every airman, past and present, and so today we can say happy birthday with humble gratitude. We pray your continued blessing on our United States air force, which today celebrates its 72nd birthday. We pray also your blessings upon these halls of congress and on our United States of america. Men. The speaker the pledge of allegiance oh, we have to go to that. The chair has examined the journal of the last days proceedings and announces to the house her approval thereof. Pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. The pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from South Carolina, mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson everyone, include ourg guests in the gallery, please including our guests in the gallery, please join in. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and ustice for all. The speaker without objection, the gentleman from georgia, mr. Collins, is recognized for one minute. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. I appreciate it. Today is a great today. It is the birthday of the United States air force. For those of us who served. I rise today not only to recognize that birthday but have the great and distinlt honor of actually having chief of chaplains to be here and i had the privilege of calling him myself. I am in the air force as well. He is my cham lynn and top of my chain. He is there for reason. He exemplifies what a chaplain means and how they serve in our air force. Throughout our countrys history men and women have answered the call of duty. Le today we acknowledge the men and women who have taken to the skies to defend our country as members of the unches air force. As a chaplain, in that United States air force reserve, i had the privilege to minister and worked with airmen since 2002. Theicouragand integrity both at home and abroad are unmatched. Hes a native of wisconsin. He n listed in 1976 serving for four years, hesence dorsed by the Presbyterian Church u. S. A. And commissioned in the air force reserves as a chaplain candidate in 1958 and active in 1988. Hes served three different Major Commands as staff chaplain followed by special duty assignments to Arlington National cementtary. He serves as chief of chaplains of the United States air force. It is my honor to sponsor him to be the guest chaplain of the United States house of representatives on this the air force birthday, september 18, 2019. It is my pleasure to have him with us today. I yield back. The speaker the chair will entertain up to 15 minute requests for one minute speeches on each side of the aisle. For what purpose does the for what purpose does does the gentleman from new york seek recognition. Mr. Higgins to address the house for one minute. The speaker without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Higgins madam speaker, this week i was pleased to announce the city of Buffalo Fire Department has been awarded a federal grant of more than 8. 9 million by the department of Homeland Security staffing and adequate fire and Emergency Response program. With this critical support, the Buffalo Fire Department will be able to hire 50 additional firefighters. The purpose of this grant is to make certain that local Fire Departments are able to respond quickly to emergencies and at all hours. Buffalo is the home to an Incredible Team of firefighters who work to protect our community from fires and other emergencies. Just one month ago the department received a separate grant of 322,000 for equipment and training. This federal Grant Funding will go a long way in strengthening the citys Fire Department and adding more dedicated personnel who work tirelessly to keep our community safe. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore flops the gentleman from South Carolina seek recognition . Mr. Wilson mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. Revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Wilson thank you, mr. Speaker. Yesterday the conferees on the National Defense conference act were announced and im deeply grateful to serve another year on this committee for fiscal year 2020. I will continue to promote peace through strength and work to champion repeal of the widows tax. Our surviving spouses have waited long enough. As of this week, my bill, the military surviving spouses equity act has 376 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle. In fact, it has the highest number of cosponsors of any bill in the current congress. Is time in constant disagreement to come together and be thankful for Bipartisan Legislation this bill has received. I am disappointed it did not receive a stand alone vote, but i will fight to keep it in the ndaa. It is now time to ax the widows tax. Im dedicated to supporting our service members, veterans, and military families families. I look forward to working with the Conference Committee and President Trump to advance this Bipartisan Legislation. In conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the the gentlewoman from california seek recognition . I ask you can to address the ouse for one minute. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. Recently it was reported that a seventh person has die interested a videotaping related illness in the United States. Ms. Brownley in response, the cdc recently announced that it has activated its Emergency Operations center to investigate what is quickly becoming a Public Health crisis. Its becoming abundantly clear that ecigarettes are causing Harmful Health impacts among both teens, approximately 2. 4 million students, and adults who use them. While more research is needed, i believe this Public Health emergency requires swift action by congress to prevent the marketing of these products to young people. Thats why i have introduced the stop videotaping the stop videotaping ads act which will close the loophole in current law and would ban ecigarette advertisements on broadcast media. I invite my colleagues to join me in support of this commonsense bill that will help curb the onslaught of harmful and dangerous ecigarette ads. Thank you, mr. Speaker, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from North Carolina seek recognition . Ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. Revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman from North Carolina is recognized for one minute. Thank you, mr. Speaker. On september 23, congress will lose one of its most dedicated members as sean duffy retires from the house. Ail miss his unwavering commitment to conservative principles and the way he never backed down from a fight. In fact, he welcomed them but he always engaged in bat of ideas. He never made it personal. Its because of this attitude that freedom and liberty will be sustained a little longer. Mr. Budd i wish we had more like him. I also respected his legislative accomplishments, particularly his commitment to protecting our statebased system of insurance regulation. Just one of his many passions during his time as chairman and Ranking Member of the housing and insurance subcommittee. Sean, youll be remembered by me as a friend, a loving father, a dedicated husband, and a humble public servant. I, for one, hope this is not last we hear or see of congressman sean duffy. I yield back my time. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition . To address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman from arizona is recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, i rise today to pay my respects to ronnie lieu pay, former chairman of the White Mountain apache tribe to passed away last month at the age of 89. During his time as a public servant, he fought tore tribal overeignty and worked on water rights issues. His efforts aided the passage of the white pount an apache water rights qual if iation act of 2009. Established a clean Drinking Water system. He was recognized by former Arizona Governor Jack Williams on the Arizona Commission of Indian Affairs in 1968. Mr. Ohalleran a veteran, he was a member of the United States marine corps during the korean war. Arizona lost an awesome voice for native american advancement. I feel truly humbled to have known him. Pat and i are keeping our thoughts with ronnies family and the entire White Mountain apache tribe. And our prayers as they mourn the passing. Thank you very much. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, i seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. Revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman from michigan is recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, i rise today to recognize the village of spring lake and its 150th birthday. This past weekend friends and residents of the small village in west michigan gathered together to celebrate and share memories of the communitys rich and storied history. The village of spring lake first began as a lumber town in 1838 when captain Benjamin Hopkins and his family arrived from canada. Mr. Huizenga soon after other settlers arrived and constructed additional sawmills, lending to the village officially incorporating in 1869. As the village developed, railroads, resorts, and telephone lines all helped the village grow into a bustling community. Today the village is situated on the beautiful shores of both spring lake and the grand river right next to lake michigan. Offering endless recreational opportunities and a wide variety of shops and services. While the village has changed much throughout the last 150 years, one thing has remained constant, the close n. I. T. And welcoming close knit and welcoming community continues to make the village a special place to live and raise a family. Mr. Speaker, let us join in celebration and the recognition of all former and current residents of Spring Lake Village as we celebrate their 150th birthday. With that i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands seek recognition . Miss plaskett i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. Revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentlewoman from Virgin Islands is recognized for one minute. Ms. Plaskett thank you, mr. Speaker. Every day 100 americans are killed with guns and hundreds more are shot and injured. Thats 36,500 people a year who lose their lives to gun violence. The effects extend far beyond those casualties and shape the lives of millions of americans who witness it, know someone who is shot, or live in fear of the next shooting. This senseless loss of life is all too common in the United States and its territories. As of august 26, we have lost 26 lives to gun violence in the Virgin Islands. In 2018, the United Nations released a report naming the territories, the american territories, as the new murder capital in the caribbean with 52. 64 murders per 100,000 people. For the families, friends, and communities of victims in the Virgin Islands, this is pain will never pass. Just as it will not pass for the loved ones of thousands of other people who have died to gun violence in the u. S. Time for action is overdue. Earlier this year the house passed the bipartisan background check act of 2019 requiring checks for all gun purchases. We need to push for universal background checks, assistance in increasing funds to Border Control for the Virgin Islands and puerto rico to stopt stem of guns coming into the territories. Enhancement of treatment of resource force mental health. I look forward to working with all to come up with some form of sensible gun law legislation. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, i seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and trone revise and extend. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman from tennessee is recognized for one minute. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise in recognition of my good friend, bill dunn, a colleague of mine from my time in the tennessee general assembly. Representative dunn and i served together in the state house starting when we were members of the same freshman class in 1995. Since that time, he has remained a strong champion for fiscal conservatism and the rights of the unborn. Upon completing his current term, representative dunn will retire from the house seat after 26 years. Representative dunn has been a diligent public servant, an excellent representative for his community, an most importantly, an honorable family man. He and his wife have raised a wonderful family of five children and i have not checked lately to see how many grandchildren there are, but there are a bunch of them, im sure. Mr. Burchett im sure his retirement includes quality time with his heam with his family. I within representative dunn the best of luck in the next chapter of his life and thank him for his commitment to our home state of tennessee. Bill dunn is a good guy. Thank you, mr. Speaker, and i yield back the balance of my ime. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, by direction of the committee on rules, i call up House Resolution 5, and k for its immediate consideration. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the resolution. The clerk house calendar number 41. House resolution 558. Resolved, that at any time after adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h. R 1423, to amend title 9 of the United States code with respect to arbitration. The First Reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on the judiciary. After general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the fiveminute rule. In lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on the judiciary now printed in the bill, it shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the fiveminute rule an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of rules Committee Print 11632 modified by the amendment printed in part a of the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution. That amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read. All points of order against that amendment in the nature of a substitute are waived. No amendment to that amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be in order except those printed in part b of the report of the committee on rules. Each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole. All points of order against such amendments are waived. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee Shall rise and report the bill to the house with such amendments as may have been adopted. Any member may demand a separate vote in the house on any amendment adopted in the committee of the whole to the bill or to the amendment in the nature of a substitute made in order as original text. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions. Section 2, the requirement of clause 6a of rule 13 for a 2 3 vote to consider a report from the committee on rules on the same day it is presented to the house is waived with respect to any resolution reported through the legislative day of september 20, 2019, relating to a measure making or continuing appropriations for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2020. Ction 3, it shall be in order at any time on the legislative day of september 19, 2019, or september 20, 2019, for the speaker to entertain motions that the house suspend the rules as though under clause 1 of rule 15. The speaker or her designee shall consult with the minority leader or his designee on the designation of any matter for consideration pursuant to this section. The spo tempore the gentlewoman from california, mrs. Torres, is recognized for one hour. Mrs. Torres mr. Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from arizona, pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. I ask unanimous consent that all members be given five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mrs. Torres mr. Speaker, on tuesday, the house committee, the House Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 558, providing for consideration of h. R. 1423, the fair act, under a structured rule. Of rule provides one hour debate of general debate equally divided and controled by the chair andking minority member of the committee on the jish. The rule also provides judiciary. The rule also provides sameday authority for the rule providing for consideration of a fiscal year 2020 c. R. , and provides blank suspension authority, both through the legislative day of. Iday, september 20, 2019 mr. Speaker, 11 years ago, kevin joined the United States navy reserves. In his own word, he did so to help ptect americas liberties, freedoms and security. From 2010 to 2012, kevin worked diligently for a federal contractor in my home state of california. Helping to grow the company from 18 employees to more than 90. When he found out that he would be deployed in november of twelve, his employer decorated the 2012, his employer decorated the office with navycolored balloons and threw a Surprise Party in his honor. Unfortunately the real surprise was delivered to him 30 minutes after his party. Kevin was fired. His employer made it clear that his job would not be waiting for him when he got back from his deployment. I wonder what my colleagues would do if forced with the same circumstance of choosing country over providing for their own families. The uniform Services Employment and reemployment rights act protects his rights as a reservist to deploy and keep his job. When kevin returned from serving his country in 2014, and tried to enforce this very right, his employer filed a motion to compel arbitration and it was granted. Six months into his tenure with the company, kevin had been required to sign several documents as a condition of keeping his job. Those documents included a forced arbitration clause, which meant that kevin would have no access to the federal court system, no access. He would lose his right to a jury trial, to any meaningful appeal, and to a public or speedy proceeding of any kind. Mr. Speaker, kevin and the thousands of other americans who have been forced into arbitration proceedings are why we are here today. We are here to ensure that americans are not forced to annoy to unknowingly agree to surrender their Constitutional Rights. Under the present system, when corporations harm workers and consumers, their cases are often funneled into the confidential quasilegal arbitration system. When thousands of californians were charged early termination fees that were illegal under state law, directv responded by forcing individual customers into arbitration. What exactly are rumors consumers supposed to do when it costs more to pursue a case through arbitration than it would if they were looking to recover a small amount . Instead of victims fighting their cases together, Big Corporations can get away with making millions illegally by harming average americans. By allowing forced arbitration and preventing class action lawsuits, we incentivize this very bad behavior. Mandatory arbitration has the potential to affect everyone. One story that haunts me is that of sister irene morisetti. En she was 84 years old, sister irene, an elderly an olic nun, moved to assisted living facility outside of birmingham, alabama. While living at this facility, she was brutally raped at 84 years of age. The police found blood, semen on her bed and her clothing. The medical examiner documented bleeding and injuries that indicated a rape had occurred. But after the police failed to bring a criminal case, irenes family attempted to bring a civil suit against the facility. And instead of being age to able to pursue her case in urt, she was forced into arbitration. Irene unknowingly had signed a forced arbitration clause, buried in the documents required to live at the facility. He arbitrator decided that despite the physical evidence of ape, besides the blood and the semen on her clothing, the facility that was charged with keeping her safe could not and would not be held responsible. Unfortunately forced arbitration is common practice among large chain nursing facilities. 90 of these large facilities require forced arbitration agreements. Mr. Speaker, can you imagine trusting your loved one, your m, or a grandma, to the care at one of these facilities, and then finding out that they had been brutally harmed and that you could not seek a fair recourse . No justice. These facilities argue that if you refuse to sign a forced arbitration clause, you can just take your loved one, take your business somewhere else. Go. But that choice isnt a viable choice. Because the majority of these large facilities, as i stated, 90 of these large facilities require you to sign an arbitration agreement. Many people dont have another option. At least not one if they want to live close to their loved ones or in their home state. So seniors must sign away their right to be denied the , ortunity to seek justice just like sister irene. What struck me the most about her story is why the arbitrator did not rule in her favor. Sister trator said that irene did not sound upset enough in the audio recording to determine if she was really raped. What does that mean . How many times have men been judge and jury when deciding women didnt seem hurt enough . Didnt fight back enough. Didnt wear the right clothing. Didnt scream loud enough. Idnt wear her own condom. Sister irene was 84 years old. For gods sake. What does it take to find responsibility in an act of violence against an innocent nun . And i wonder how many other victims who have been forced into arbitration have heard the similar statements of doubt from private arbitrators. And the worst part is that we will never know. Why is that . Because most arbitration proceedings are not public. Nondisclosure agreements and gag orders often accompany mandatory arbitration. The me too movement taught us a valuable lesson about nondisclosure agreements and forced arbitration. And without forced arbitration, we could have stopped bill oreilly, roger ailes from assaulting women and spewing their hate on fox news long ago. Doing away with forced arbitration means more victims can share their service their stories and prevent abusers from harming others. What i hope these stories make clear is that arbitration contrary to claims of my colleagues does not work for everyone. In fact, for most americans it serves as a barrier to justice and a legal shield for corporations. It is a system that deters defendants from seeking justice and small payouts. It is a system that is fundamentally based on tricking americans into giving up their rights. That is why h. R. 1423 is so critically important. This bill would restore the rights of americans by allowing them to make the voice for themselves about whether arbitration is right for them. Ultimately that is what this bill is about. Freedom to choose. For every american. If arbitration is the amazing system that might colleagues claim it is, then americans will flock to pursue their claims through it. But if arbitration is, in fact, the barrier to justice, that it appears to be for so many americans, then this bill will allow them to choose for themselves how they want to pursue that justice. Voting for this rule is a step towards fighting the special interests that are oppress our constituents. Mr. Speaker, i reserve. The speaker pro tempore members are reminded not to traffic the well. The gentlewoman from california reserves the balance of her time. The gentlewoman from arizona, mrs. Lesko, is recognized. Mrs. Lesko thank you, mr. Speaker. And i thank representative torres for yielding me the customary 30 minutes. And i yield myself such time as i may consume. Mr. Speaker, and members, we all want to protect innocent people. We all want to protect the little guy and we all want to protect the elderly. That is why i would remind my colleague that courts can and ve overturned unfair arbitration clauses and rtainly if criminal acts are have been done, criminal charges should be pursued. Today we consider a bill that disregards private contracts and enriches the wealthiest Trial Attorneys it. We consider a bill that my democrat colleagues intend it, they say they intend to protect the american people. But really it specifically carves out an application for labor unions. Why would it do that . Because the labor unions and trial lawyers are the democrats most ardent supporters and donors. We consider a bill that will hurt businesses and the very consumers and employees it seeks to protect. The bills proponents advance the idea that arbitration is unfair, coercive, and harmful, but thats far from the truth. In fact, id like to read some of the things that the u. S. Support u. S. Supreme court has said about arbitration agreements in various cases. They have said the advantages of arbitration are many. It is usually cheaper and faster than litigation. It can have simpler procedural and evidentiary rules. It normally minimizes hostility and is less disruptive of ongoing and future business dealings among the parties. It is often more flexible in regard to scheduling of time and places of hearings and discovery devices. And the court the u. S. Supreme court in multiple rulings also further recognized that the informality of arbitration proceedings is itself desireable, reducing the costs, and increasing the speed of dispute and resolution. In other studies it is proven over and over again in multiple studies that arbitration actually has better results for the small guy for the employee. The bills proponents advance the idea that arbitration is unfair, coercive, and harmful, but again i repeat that is far from the truth. Arbitration is an important option in our legal system. It allows us to resolve disputes without costly litigation. Its easier, faster, and cheaper. Arbitration is well accepted and available to those who wish not to bring their disputes before federal or state courts. Its a way to avoid the inflexibility, delays, and expenses of litigation. In fact, an employee can often set times better with arbitration than they do with a court hearing. It is especially useful in consumer disputes which typically involves smaller claims. Aside from benefits and cost and time, studies show that the results of arbitration are as good or often better results that one would get in court. To be fair, i dont believe that arbitration is always appropriate. For example, i personally do not agree with mandatory binding arbitration in situations involving sexual assault. I would be willing to work across the aisle with my democratic colleagues on a tailored bill addressing that issue of sexual assault, but this bill is way too wide and targets arbitration across the board. This little bill would shut some of the americans out of the Justice System. Eliminating arbitration means that americans who cant afford courtroom lawyers fees may never receive justice. Allowing only those who can afford attorneys to obtain justice is not justice. While shutting out some americans from the Justice System, this bill gives a massive handout to trial lawyers. Who will greatly benefit from the huge increase in litigation costs. Money hongry trial lawyers benefit from this bill not hungry trial lawyers benefit from this bill, not everyday consumers and employees. In fact an amendment that was offered in rules last night by congressman sensenbrenner who has been here for years and studied this topic would have said, ok, arbitration stays in place, the status quo, but there is an option. There is an option. If the trial lawyer can say to the consumer, the client, how much money its going to cost to take it to cou and ts reasonable and he had different ways that you would determine if the Trial Attorney fees were reasonable, then you can go ahead. My democrat colleagues in the rules committee rejected that amendment. And a reasonable amendment. I believe if this bill passes we will see a rise in class action losses and the abuse that comes from t the rampant abuse in class action lawsuits is why companies have chosen mandatory binding arbitrations in the first place. If mandatory binding agreements are invalidated, there will be substantially more class action abuses. Mr. Speaker, arbitration is beneficial. It saves time and money for both parties. And achieves just as good if not Better Outcomes for those involved. I urge opposition to the rule and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from arizona reserves the balance of her time. The gentlewoman from california is recognized. Mrs. Torres mr. Speaker, i yield five minutes to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Cartwright. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for five minutes. Mr. Cartwright thank you, mr. Speaker. I thank the gentlelady from california. Mr. Speaker, i want to talk a little bit today about accountability. Accountability is something we teach our children. Let me burden you with a short story. About 20 years ago im sitting in my kitchen, i think it was a saturday morning, my son, 4 years old, hes in the middle of the kitchen floor. He drops a plate. It lands at his feet. Hes wearing shoes. He looks up at me, i look at him. And he says to me, dad, i didnt do it. Well, its a funny story and its cute, but the point is, you teach your children about accountability. You teach them to accept responsibility to make things right that they have got wrong and to move on. My wife and i have two boys and we like to say we have done a marvelous job teaching them about accountability and taking proper responsibility, but there is a poison in this country. Theres a pestilence thats been occurring for at least a couple of generations. I want to say it started with the watergate era. Back in the 1970s. When people didnt want to take accountability. They didnt want to take responsibility. You heard phrases come up like plausible deitynyibil. Then deniability. Then we went in the corporate world and had the enron scandal. Rather than taking accountability and responsibility and standing up and admitting what they did and making it right, no. What did they do . They were shredding the documents as fast as ever they could shred them. It is routine in this country now for people in poxes of power and responsibility positions of power and responsibility to stay mistakes were made. Not i messed up. Mistakes were made. It is a pestilence in this country to deny accountability and responsibility. Its unacceptable. The question is what do we do to bring back accountability to the American Culture . The fair act makes a big step in that direction. It invalidates forced arbitration clauses. You know, the ones that show up in the boilerplate of the contracts that consumers sign with every agreement we have with a Big Corporation. It shows up in the fine print. If you take the time to read it, its not debatable. Its not negotiable. You have to sign it or else you have to not get the contract, not get the account. You look at those contracts and it makes you wave your constitutional right. As congresswoman torres just said. We have a constitutional right to go to court to settle our disputes. Its something that our Founding Fathers and American Revolutions, people fought and died for that constitutional right. And with the stroke of a pen you are allowed to give this away even though its in the fine print. Instead, you have to go to a rigged and secret arbitration process that the corporations control and usually win. And it also means you cant band together with other claimants. Think of it, what that means. It means you have an account with a Big Corporation and they decided to charge you an extra 500 for the year, even though its in violation of the contract, it may be in violation of state law, who is going to bring a case for 500 . A lawyer wont take that case. And this these clauses prohibit banding together in class actions and doing the cases together. What does it mean . What is the upshot of that . It means that these corporations that do it act with impunity, they are immunized from accountability. They can do anything to you that they want without having to account for it in court. This is a license to steal and its wrong. And it goes against the american ideal of responsibility and accountability, what we try to teach our children. You know, this is not something that really applies to Small Businesses. It applies to Big Corporations. You know, 81 out of the fortune 100 corporations use these forced arbitration clauses and almost nobody actually goes to arbitration under them. Take amazon prime, for example. They have 101 million subscribers to amazon prime. In the last five years there have only been 15 arbitrations. Thats because it just doesnt make sense. The economics dont work. If you cant band together and do it as a class action, then it doesnt work. Class actions keep american corporations accountable and responsible and thats why we dont want to shut them down. Now, my friend from across the aisle, the gentlelady from arizona, just said that this bill schutz some people out of the Justice System shuts some people out of the Justice System and its an important option. It is not an option. Thats the point of this bill. Its mandatory. Its forced. You dont have a choice. You go into this secret, rigged system. Vote for the fair act. And thank you for the time, mr. Speaker. And mrs. Torres. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentlewoman from california reserves. The gentlewoman from arizona is recognized. Mrs. Lesko thank you, mr. Speaker. Id like to also expand on several studies that have been done on this issue throughout the years. One is the thorough study. Another done by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and another one done by the u. S. Chamber institute for legal reform. In all of these studies, in different cases, it is found that employees were three times more likely to win in arbitration unanimous in than in court. Employees on average won twice the amount of money through arbitration, and in this u. S. Chamber institute for legal reform report, it specifically said the employee won in 520,630,n an average ersus in court the average was 269,885. It also said arbitration disputes were resolved on average faster, 569 day for arbitration, than in litigation, 665 days. Both seem lock to me long to me. 79 of arbitration cases were filed by employees who made less than 100,000 100,000. So, you know, what im saying is, lets not throw out the baby with the bath water. Arbitration has worked. It has worked for years. It has proven preetedly that its more repeatedly that its more Cost Effective and in the cases of these studies, the employees actually got awarded more than they did on average when they went to court. And lets not forget all of those people that have used Trial Attorneys. You hear it over and over again, where the attorneys got all of the money and the victims got hardly anything. With that, mr. Speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. The gentlewoman from california is recognized. Mrs. Torres mr. Speaker, when walz fargo opened up 3 wells fargo opened up 3. 5 million fake fromnts, including 178,972 arizona, wells fargo tried since 2013 to use forced arbitration to block lawsuits, including a class action case. W, these people were charged Overdraft Fees when their accounts were not overdrawn. As it relates to labor, there are 60. 1 million workers who make up a majority of nonunion private sector employees who are subject to forced arbitration clauses. These employees are told that if they want the job or to keep their current job, they must sign away their rights to their day in court and submit to forced arbitration agreements. In contrast, the collective bargaining process includes protections that are unavailable to many nonunion workers such as rejecting unfair employment terms. In collective bargaining both the company and the union are represented by counsel and can agree on arbitration before the dispute arises, to an informed and transparent basis. The collective bargaining process can also involve agreement over other important protections such as truly neutral ash traitors, better procedure arbitrators, better procedures and transparent decision making. Mr. Speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from maryland, my colleague, a distinguished member of the rules committee, mr. Raskin. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from maryland is recognized for three minutes. Mr. Raskin thank you, mrs. Torres. Mr. Speaker, have our colleagues across the aisle forgotten that the right to a jury trial was as essential a cause of the American Revolution as was Representative Democracy and the denial of Voting Rights itself . John adams said that Representative Government and trial by jury are the heart and the lungs of liberty. Without them, we have no other fortification against being ridden like horses, theres noed like sheep, worked like fle eced like sheep, worked like cattle. The massive suppression of trial by jury rights by british authorities was a critical cause of our revolution. One of the charges that Thomas Jefferson leveled against the british in the declaration of independence was, quote, depriving us in many cases of the benefits of trial by jury. Now today we have not a foreign king and government trying to impose a closedstar chamber on the american people, but certain large corporations, chartered by the states, that seek to divest consumers and employees of their sacred trial by jury and due process rights, by conditioning their employment or their market agreements on relegating them to closeddoor, binding arbitration sessions where all of their rights are vanquished and whole process from start to finish is skewed in favor of the corporations that control and define the proceedings. This legislation, the fair act, vindicates the most essential rights of the american people. Now, amazingly the g. O. P. Floor leader admits that forcing victims of Sexual Harassment into compulsory arbitration proceedings is unfair and agrees with us that they should not be forced into compulsory arbitration. She would like us to strip Everything Else out of the bill and boil it down to that. But if its not fair for victims of Sexual Harassment to be forced into forced arbitration, why is it fair for victims of racial harassment or Consumer Fraud or wrongful termination or any of the other causes of action that she would exclude from the legislation . Im glad that the gentlelady agrees with us on the importance of not subjecting victims of Sexual Harassment to closeddoor starchamber proceedings, but this concession from the majority gives the whole game away. F its if its unfair to coerce them, its unfair to coerce everyone else too. The key to understanding this legislation is that any consumer or employee who wants to enter into binding arbitration with a corporation can do so, is ferre ect doctor perfectly free to do so after a conflict has arisen but should not be compelled elevating the power of corporations that have been chartered by the government over the essential Constitutional Rights of the people. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentlewoman from california reserves the balance of her time. The gentlewoman from arizona is recognized. Mrs. Lesko thank you, mr. Speaker. Id also like to, you know, sometimes i dont understand why my democrat colleagues put forward certain bills and not other bills. And this is not a bill that i dont know about you guys, but i havent had a lot of constituents talk to me about this bill. And thneed for it. Fact, i have in front of me a recent poll that was done and it was conducted in march of 2019 and there was 1,000 registered voters were polled. D in that it says, it asked, is arbitration, is it viewed much more favorably than both class action and individual lawsuits . So on this it said in all cases that arbitration was viewed more favorably by our constituents than individual lawsuits. And it goes on to break this down between republicans, independents and democrats. And in this case, republicans thought that arbitration was a better format and by 47 . Independents, 36 . And half and half, another 36 . And democrats thought arbitration was better than going to court, 44 and then nother 34 added to 10 . So, you know, our constituents, and i may not be reading this right because its in black and white instead of color, but if youhe t add t ill show it to you later, hows that. But if you add the two together, it clearly shows that both republicans, independents and democrats favor arbitration over going to court. And its probably because of cases like this. In fact, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found numerous problems in their study to be associated with the reliance on class action lawsuits for recovery and consumer claims. In addition, class action lawsuits also have presented other problems. Including scandal involving fabricated testimony, bought and sold to support false claims. For example, multiple renowned class action lawyers have been exposed and convicted of such behavior. One of them, william larrick, told the wall street journal that illegal kickbacks to people recruited to file class action lawsuits is an industry practice. He and fellow trial lawyer melvinwise engineered a 250 million criminal scheme to pay people to sue companies, lied about it in court, and became federal prisoners. Another of americas most prominent trial lawyers, Richard Scruggs of mississippi, pled guilty in march, 2018, to bribing a state judge to obtain more legal fees. And so ive already talked about how the u. S. Supreme court, through multiple cases, has said that arbitration is a good practice, better in many cases than going to court. Ive already talked about multiple studies that have studied the analysis between arbitration and court and that employees on average get awarded more money through arbitration than going to court. And that it helps employees and employers with flexibility of scheduling and time, instead of going to court. This has been a practice that has been worked successfully for many years, and this is such a broad stroke that my democrat colleagues are doing, and with that, i continue to support oppose it and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from arizona reserves the balance of her time. The gentlewoman from california is recognized. Mrs. Torres mr. Speaker, id like to inquire, it first, with my colleague, if shes prepared if shes prepared to close. Are you prepared to close . Mrs. Lesko i am. Mrs. Torres i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from california reserves the balance of her time. The gentlewoman from arizona is recognized. Mrs. Lesko thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman is recognized. Mrs. Lesko thank you. If we defeat the previous question, i will offer an amendment to the rule to ensure that if you like your contract, you can keep your contract. My amendment would make this bill apply only prospectively, because in this bill its retroactive. Unless the consumer chooses otherwise. Americans enter into agreements with one another with the assumption that the law will not change the deal they made. This amendment would ensure if ou like your contract and youre the small guy you can keep your contract. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my in the record along with extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on question. Us close. M ready to close. Dy to this eaker, in closing, bill will impose costly itigation on employees and consumers. Since arbitration offers a cheaper, and easier way to resolve disputes. Freezes out americans who cant afford expensive our justice rom system. We should not be considering a that promotes injustice and inequality in our system. Bill is nothing but a wealthy trial lawyers. On the ker, i urge no previous question, no on the underlying measure, and i yield time. He balance of my the speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from arizona yields balance of her time. The gentlewoman from california is recognized. Mrs. Torres mr. Speaker, i conclude, id like to start by thanking mr. Johnson, this dler for bringing critical piece of legislation to the floor. Repeatedly s have argued that this legislation is lawyers. About allan. Ou allan tried to hold american accountable for high swipe fees in a class action small with other businesses. Instead, he was forced to go at arbitration where he uickly found out that even if he won his case, he uld lose more e it would cost much to bring his claim that he could recover. Ver llan lost his case after repealing all the way to the upreme court, but recently, ome very Large Companies like wa safeway, have taken merican express to court for the very same issue. The difference is they are large able to negotiate contracts without forced clauses. On ive heard it said that the fair act is bad for Small Businesses. Its quite the opposite. Corporate america claims the fair act outlaws all arbitration clauses. That is simply not true. Does not apply to usinesses businesstobusiness arbitration. The bill protects workers, Small Businesses with antitrust cases. Or exxon like walmart are not protected from forced fair act. N under the i could share many more of these stories with you, but our time is limited, and it shocks my colleague so opposed to is so opposed to fair representation when our Founding Fathers recognized the legal nce of access to counsel. Very floor we is ledge with liberty and justice for all. For all. I do agree with my colleague, biggest er, that the special interestst play here are the corporations who want to whoect their top executives, their y assault employees, the credit card exorbitanthat charge fees, crippling small others who and many use forced arbitration to escape justice. There are plenty of special interests who are fighting to broken system, and my colleague has tried to narrative to make it seem as if the underdog will be legislation. Billionaires. F nothing could be further from truth. Lets not forget who this bill for. This bill is about fighting for for our like kevin, loved ones in Nursing Homes like sister irene, for Small Business owners and every other victim of arbitration. Mr. Speaker, weve tossed around a lot of legal terms in this debate, but at its core, this about justice. And in conclusion, id like to horrific bout a experience suffered by a in l. A. Of massage envy county. Lily was sexually assaulted by a herapist, and after the assault, lilly tried and tried membership to this service. Ut the company repeatedly put roadblocks in her way. A year and a half later, she the massage envy app n her phone to cancel her membership. Idden in the fine print of the pp was a forced arbitration clause. Lilly filed a lawsuit. Women whoeds of other have been have been assaulted, massage others are attempting to force her and other women into arbitration to keep it a secret. Later, she still has not an outcome. And by isolating survivors of assault, wage theft, discrimination, and denying them theeverage of class action suits, we discourage other victims from coming forward. While the victims wait in limbo, rigged ng a potentially arbitration system, their perpetrators are free to totinue to rape, to continue badl, and to continue their behavior. Forced arbitration is bad for workers, Small Businesses, and consumers, a this bill is a chance ng americans to fight against powerful interests. And as my colleagues consider legislation, i ask you ill we continue to silence victims, or will we give them the freedom to make their own to fight against the injustice that they have suffered . A yes vote i urge on the rule and a yes vote on he previous question, and i yield back the balance of my time and i move the previous question on the resolution. The speaker pro tempore the california from yields back the balance of her time. The question is on ordering the the ous question on resolution. Those in favor say aye. No. E opposed, in the opinion of the chair, the it. Have mrs. Lesko 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. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, proceedings on this question will be postponed. Pursuant to clause 12a of rule 1, the chair declares the house for a period of less everybody. Utes. We will get your ideas on ways to reduce gun violence in a minute. Is a staff writer for roll call newspaper. Lets begin with the timing of last nights marathon speeches by democrats read how . Guest the effort was organized by chris murphy from connecticut who many people might recognize
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