[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 43 (Wednesday, March 8, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3673-S3674]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS AND RESCISSIONS ACT

  The Senate continued with the consideration of the bill.
  Mr. GRAMM. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to add my name as 
a cosponsor of the pending amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. GRAMM. Madam President, I know we are going to debate this issue 
tomorrow, but I wanted to come down and make a very short statement on 
it tonight.
  I believe that the President, through Executive order, is trying to 
accomplish something that he has been unable to accomplish through 
Congress and the legislative process. I think it is very important that 
we not allow the President to use an Executive order to limit the 
freedom of our people.
  The issue of whether or not an employer can hire someone to replace a 
worker who refuses to work is not a matter of labor rights. It is a 
matter of freedom. If I do not want to work for you, I have the right 
to quit or to strike, but I do not have the right to prevent someone 
else from working for you. I think this is a very important issue.
  I wish to commend the Senator from Kansas for providing leadership on 
this issue. I think it is very important that we pass this amendment, 
and I intend to vigorously support it.
  Mrs. KASSEBAUM addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.
  Mrs. KASSEBAUM. Madam President, I appreciate the Senator's 
statement. I, too, think it is a very important issue.
  I ask unanimous consent that the following Senators be listed as 
original cosponsors: Senators Dole, Warner, Hatch, Thurmond, Gramm, and 
Gregg.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mrs. KASSEBAUM. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DOLE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DOLE. Madam President, I want to congratulate my colleague, 
Senator Kassebaum. I am pleased to be a cosponsor of her amendment.
  I believe that President Clinton started the 1996 reelection campaign 
when he signed the Executive order sent special delivery to his friends 
in organized labor.
  The President may say his directive is designed to foster fairness in 
the Federal workplace. Its real purpose, of course, is to help shore up 
a political base the President currently believes is critical to his 
own political future.
  The issue here is simple:
  Just as an employer's demands are moderated by the knowledge that his 
employees are legally entitled to 
[[Page S3674]] strike, so too are the demands of workers moderated by 
the knowledge that a strike over wages and other economic conditions 
may result in the hiring of permanent replacements.
   This uncertainty is an essential element of collective bargaining. 
It forces both labor and management to negotiate in good faith and 
resolve their differences through compromise.
  With today's power grab, the President has upset the careful balance 
that has been the hallmark of our system of collective bargaining for 
more than 60 years.
  The President has also set a dangerous precedent forgetting that it 
is the responsibility of Congress, not the administration, to write the 
laws governing labor-management relations in this country.
  Unfortunately, the President has chosen to do an end run around 
Congress. Congress has repeatedly rejected the so-called striker 
replacement bill. The President is making a big, big mistake if he 
believes he can revive the defeated legislation by issuing an Executive 
order. The President may enjoy thumbing his nose at Congress but his 
enjoyment will be short-lived at best.
  I certainly urge my colleagues to support the amendment offered by my 
colleague from Kansas, Senator Kassebaum. It is Congress who should set 
labor policy in the United States, not the President.

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