[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 22, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H5499-H5500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   NEW DEFINITION OF INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR IS GOP EXTREMISM AT ITS 
                             ABSOLUTE WORST

  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, if there is any doubt about the 
Republicans' dedication to helping the rich at the expense of the 
average working American, one need only look at the new definition of 
independent contractor in the GOP's tax agenda. The definition has been 
drastically broadened to allow employers to reclassify longtime 
employees as independent contractors. By so doing, employers would no 
longer be obligated to provide health and pension coverage as well as a 
host of other labor protections to millions, and I repeat millions, of 
Americans who are now entitled to such benefits; and to add insult to 
injury, individuals reclassified as independent contractors will be hit 
with a tax increase. They will be forced to pick up the Medicare and 
Social Security taxes that employers were formerly responsible for 
paying.

[[Page H5500]]

  On top of all this, Mr. Speaker, there are reports that Speaker 
Gingrich, in an effort to placate the conservative forces that almost 
brought him down, may once again be gearing up to shut down the 
Government in the name of tax breaks for the rich.
  Mr. Speaker, the GOP just does not get it. The American people are 
not interested in tax breaks for the rich and Government shutdowns. 
They are interested in job security and health care. The GOP should let 
honest people make an honest living and leave the definition of 
independent contractor alone.

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