[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 132 (Monday, September 28, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H9121-H9124]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AMENDING FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT TO PERMIT CERTAIN YOUTH TO PERFORM
CERTAIN WORK WITH WOOD PRODUCTS
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 4257) to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to
permit certain youth to perform certain work with wood products, as
amended.
[[Page H9122]]
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 4257
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. EXEMPTION.
Section 13(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29
U.S.C. 213(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(6)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), in the administration
and enforcement of the child labor provisions of this Act, it
shall not be considered oppressive child labor for an
individual who--
``(i) is at least 14 but under the age of 18, and
``(ii) is a member of a religious sect or division thereof
whose established teachings do not permit formal education
beyond the eighth grade,
to be employed inside or outside places of business where
machinery is used to process wood products.
``(B) The employment of an individual under subparagraph
(A) shall be permitted--
``(i) if the individual is supervised by an adult relative
of the individual or is supervised by an adult member of the
same religious sect or division as the individual;
``(ii) if the individual does not operate or assist in the
operation of power-driven woodworking machines;
``(iii) if the individual is protected from wood particles
or other flying debris within the workplace by a barrier
appropriate to the potential hazard of such wood particles or
flying debris or by maintaining a sufficient distance from
machinery in operation; and
``(iv) if the individual is required to use personal
protective equipment to prevent exposure to excessive levels
of noise and saw dust.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling).
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4257 addresses a unique problem resulting from the
application of the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards
Act.
Children in the Amish community complete their formal classroom
education at age 14 or 15. In fact, the Amish faith teaches that their
children's formal classroom education should end after the 8th grade,
after which they learn by doing, through work under the supervision of
their parents or another community member.
For many years, most Amish youth worked in agriculture on their
family farm. However, as every other farmer is suffering and struggling
today, most Amish youth no longer have that opportunity. For a variety
of reasons, the Amish have, in recent years, been forced to rely more
and more on other occupations. Many have gone into operating sawmills
and other types of woodworking.
{time} 1500
So increasingly, the opportunities to learn by doing for Amish young
people are in these types of workplaces.
The problem is that the Department of Labor's Regulations prohibit
14- and 15-year-olds from working in any sawmill or woodworking shop
and severely limit the work of 16- or 17-year-olds in these workplaces.
In recent years the Department of Labor has undertaken a number of
enforcement actions against Amish employers. As a result, Amish youth
no longer have the opportunity to learn skills and work habits through
the community's traditional means. As the Amish struggle to raise their
children and preserve their way of life, the Department of Labor's
actions are, in effect, undermining the Amish culture.
H.R. 4257 is a narrow bill which addresses this specific problem. It
would allow persons between the age 14 and 18 to work in sawmills and
woodworking shops so long as they do so under the supervision of an
adult relative or a member of the same faith. The young person would
not be permitted under any circumstances to operate or assist in the
operation of any power-driven woodworking machine. Again, I repeat they
would not be permitted to operate or assist in the operation of any
machinery.
A young person must be protected from wood particles or other wood
flying debris within the workplace by a barrier or by maintaining an
appropriate physical distance from operating the machinery. In
addition, the young person must be protected from excessive levels of
noise and sawdust by the use of personal protective equipment.
An amendment accepted during the Committee on Education and the
Workforce markup made several changes to the bill to address safety
concerns raised by some members of the committee. Subsequent to the
committee's markup, the sponsors of the bill, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts) and the gentleman from California (Mr.
Martinez), had further discussions with other Democrats regarding
strengthening the protection for Amish teens under the bill. These
discussions have resulted in development of the substitute amendment
which further defines the term ``barrier.''
While I would remind my colleagues that the Amish young people
addressed by this bill must be working for relatives and other members
within the Amish community, the additional protections provided by this
substitute amendment will further assure the safety of these young
people.
I want to particularly commend other Members who have been working
over the past months to address this problem, particularly the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts), the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson), the gentleman from California (Mr.
Martinez), and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder).
Members have made repeated attempts to work out an administrative
solution with the department, but the department has been unwilling or
unable to alleviate the conflict between the current regulation and the
Amish community's way of life. That is why we are fixing the problem
through legislation.
This bill allows the Amish to continue in their traditional way of
training their children in a craft or occupation while ensuring the
safety of those who work in woodworking occupations. I would urge my
colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts).
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to commend and thank the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling), the gentleman from
California (Mr. Martinez), the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Fattah), the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder), and the gentleman
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson) for their work on this issue in a
bipartisan manner.
Mr. Speaker, today we are addressing an issue important to the Amish
communities of more than 20 States in this country. In my district
alone, approximately 30,000 Amish reside. People around the world know
the old-order Amish to be a people who till the land and who live a
disciplined, simple life.
Traditionally, Amish communities are centered around the family farm.
Amish parents show their children how to make a living by caring for
crops and animals. However, combine the high growth rate and the
soaring price of farm land and many Amish have been forced to look for
alternatives to farming.
Amish have now developed numerous small businesses in such things as
carriages, lumber, clocks, wagons, cabinetry, and quilts. And it is in
these businesses, just like on the farm, that the Amish train their
youth to work and to learn the trade of their parents.
As my colleagues may know, in the Amish culture idleness is
forbidden. Therefore, because Amish school is only up to the 8th grade,
and that is by the approval of the courts and the State governments,
and this is according to their religious beliefs, younger kids must
immediately begin to learn a vocation after they finish the 8th grade.
And this is a vital extension of Amish schooling. It is sort of like
an apprenticeship program. They do not have the benefit of shop class
or vo-tech like many of the other youngsters have. It is not uncommon
for Amish teens to accompany a parent to the workplace. The Amish call
this learning by doing.
Mr. Speaker, the reason we are here to discuss this issue today is
because this hard-working community and its apprenticeship tradition is
being threatened. Unfortunately, small Amish-owned businesses have
received costly fines from the Department of Labor for having their
young adults work alongside their fathers and uncles, even in family
businesses.
[[Page H9123]]
Mr. Speaker, action of the Department of Labor have severely
threatened the life-style and the religion of this respected and humble
community. All the Amish folks want is to be left alone, to teach their
youth the necessary skills and work ethic, and to bring up the next
generation in a way that will allow them to be diligent and
responsible.
The Amish do not accept any assistance whatsoever from government
programs, and our government should not interfere with this humble
community. Several of my colleagues, along with our Amish constituents,
have met with the Department of Labor officials several times over the
past 2 years to find an administrative solution to this problem.
Unfortunately, the Department of Labor has done nothing to recognize
the unique situation of the Amish.
This community, which does not have the benefit of shop class, as I
said, or vo-tech schools like most youth of their age, instead have
family learning situations. They have a responsibility to evaluate the
Amish in this light. That is why the gentleman from California (Mr.
Martinez) and I, along with numerous other Members, have introduced
H.R. 4257.
This narrow legislation will allow only young adults of the Amish
faith to accompany a parent or a relative to work in places of
business, including those where machinery is used to process wood
products. They cannot use these machines or power tools, but they can
be on the premises with certain safety precautions and they can do such
things such as sweep sawdust, stack planks, glue lumber, and do
paperwork.
This legislation takes all the necessary health and safety
requirements seriously. It requires that young adults be supervised. It
prohibits them from operating machinery. It provides numerous safety
protections.
Mr. Speaker, many communities like Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
greatly appreciate the heritage and work ethic of the Amish. We want to
keep them as part of our communities. However, if the Amish continue to
be attacked by the State and Federal governments, they will be driven
out of our communities. Their strong heritage will be undermined by
governmental interference.
I urge my colleagues to protect the Amish heritage. Support H.R.
4257.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I oppose H.R. 4257 because it creates a dangerous
exception to our country's most critical child protection law. Current
law prohibits all minors under 18 years of age from working in sawmill
operations and the logging industry. It specifically prohibits such
youth from operating power-driven woodworking machines.
This bill would permit 14-year-old children to work in one of the
most hazardous, dangerous industries in the country. The occupational
fatality rate in the lumber and wood products industry is five times
higher than the national average. Workers in the industry have been
killed as a result of being crushed by forklifts. They have been killed
when loads fell off the forklifts. They have been suffocated by
sawdust.
An Amish elder, William Burkholder, told our committee how he lost
several fingers when, during a moment of inattention, he set his hand
on a conveyor belt and he ran his hand into a saw. Inexperience and
lack of maturity all serve to make the potential risk faced by minors
even greater than they are for adults.
It is unreasonable to expect a 14-year-old to maintain the kind of
continuous safety concern we expect of adults. In this industry, that
moment of inattention can be fatal.
Injury data collected over several decades consistently showed that
the lumber and wood products industry is particularly hazardous work
for adults, and it will be even worse for children. The 1996
occupational fatality rate of 25.6 work-related deaths per 100,000
workers was more than 5 times the national average.
One of the most important functions of the child labor laws is to
ensure that children are not employed in circumstances that are unduly
hazardous to their health. Fourteen-year-olds do not possess the full
autonomy of choice and may not possess the full capacity for choice
possessed by adults, and they should not be placed in harm's way.
I do not, Mr. Speaker, mean to imply that the proponents of this
legislation are indifferent to the health and safety of Amish children.
I understand the concern that children be employed in occupations
common to the Amish community. However, to permit children to be
employed in an industry where the threat of serious injury or death is
so high, I think should be unacceptable.
Mr. Speaker, for all of these reasons, I oppose H.R. 4257.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson).
Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I would first like to
compliment the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling) and the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts) and all of those that worked so
hard on this legislation.
But in response to what we just heard about a dangerous exception, I
want to share that they will not be near conveyor belts or saws or
chippers, and Amish mills do not own or use forklifts or have sawdust
silos, so the concerns that we just heard are really not valid.
H.R. 4257 provides a narrow and specific solution to an instance
where the Federal Government has gone too far in ruining an historic
culture. As many of us know, Amish children complete formal schooling
in the 8th grade, which is around the age of 14. Typically, Amish youth
then pursue either their parents' or close relatives' trade and
business. While the Amish way of subsistence life tends them toward
farming, several other trades are practiced, including blacksmithing,
woodworking, and lumbering.
I worked for a summer. I had two Amish men working for me remodeling
a couple of buildings, and I was always amazed at how they would drive
a large spike in about two swings. And the one young man said, ``If you
started as young as I did with a hammer in your hand and were taught
how to hit a nail directly, and then as you got older developed the
strength, you could drive a nail that fast, too.''
The time period between the ages of 14 and 18 is an importantly
critical transition with the Amish culture. Unfortunately, the
Department of Labor descended upon Amish mills in my district and the
district of the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts) and other
districts and particularly targeted them.
While no one here would advocate that children operate saws and other
equipment in the mill, they should be able to perform the simple and
safe tasks of stacking lumber and sweeping the mill. The sad situation
is that the hazardous orders invoked by the department forbid even this
approach, a simple, common-sense strategy to preserving the Amish
culture.
H.R. 4257 encompasses a sensible solution in a fashion which has
addressed many concerns regarding safety that include such items as
hearing protection and barriers and the rare instance of flying debris.
I would like to address the issue of safety briefly. In my dealings
with the Amish, I have come to learn of a culture which strives to
instill a sense of utmost respect for everything. This, coupled with a
dedicate work ethic, ensures a complete understanding of equipment and
work environment. As such, safety is first and foremost during this
transition.
In closing, this bill addresses an issue which the American people
have been yearning for, reasonable solutions to a variety of problems
that maintain the integrity of the law but allow for creativity and
flexibility. We did not get that from the department.
The Amish do not have their hand out. They are not even asking for a
hand up. They want an ill-advised Federal bureaucracy to untie their
hands so they can continue to be a hard-working and self-sustaining
society and a very vital part of America.
{time} 1515
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from Indiana (Mr. Souder), a member of the committee.
Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I too want to thank the chairman for his
leadership on this, as well as the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Pitts),
[[Page H9124]]
the gentleman from California (Mr. Martinez) and the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson). As we have gone through our meetings with
the Department of Labor, it has been a frustrating experience, and I
certainly hope we will not only overwhelmingly pass this bill today,
but be able to move it through the Senate and get it signed into law.
I have a slightly different perspective than many here because my
family once was Amish. My great-great-grandfather, great grandfather
was one of the first Amish settlers in Northeastern Indiana. My family
left the Amish faith around the turn of the century, but I still have
many friends and many family members who are in the Amish faith around
the small town that I grew up in and where our family business is
located.
They are not a people who are looking for trouble. They are looking
for a place where they can be left alone, and they will go to the
jungles of Brazil, if that is necessary.
The question is, in the United States of America anymore, are we
going to allow people to practice their religious freedom and to
practice their faith the way they choose? We are not asking that we put
safety at risk. The bill explicitly says that the individual cannot
operate or assist in the operation of power-driven woodworking
machines.
As far as opening up a loophole that might broaden so that others
might try to get this exemption, as long as they are willing to give up
their TVs, their radios, their telephones, ride around in Amish
buggies, perhaps they can change and get into this loophole.
But this is a very narrow category for a group of people who have
already been cleared by this government several decades ago to have a
different form of school, where they can leave at junior high level and
go into apprenticeships. They cannot make enough money in many areas
anymore to do this with just farming. Most have gone into some form of
woodworking, whether it is carpentry, pallets, home building, cabinets
or whatever.
If we in fact shut them down and shut their young people's
opportunities down, they will be forced to move and to go somewhere
else. That is the fundamental question here: Can we accommodate just
slightly with the safety, and, by the way, what a joke. We are seeing
kids dying in automobile wrecks, dying of drug abuse, and we are
worried whether one, even with this blockage, might somehow have an
accident while they are working? The amount of deaths and accidents in
the Amish community compared to that in the English community, as they
call the others around them, is minuscule.
That is not what this is about. It is not about safety. It is a
question of whether the humble powerless people like the Amish can be
free to practice their worship yet here in America, or whether we are
going to be so uniform and so inflexible in this government that we
will drive them out.
Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. Speaker, last spring the Committee on Education and
the Workforce heard testimony from members of the Amish community who
expressed concern over their inability to comply with certain aspects
of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Since that time, I have been working
with the gentleman from Pennsylvania, the author of this bill, to reach
some sort of arrangement under which the Amish could take their
children with them to work while at the same time provide them with the
safest environment possible. I believe that H.R. 4257 creates such an
arrangement.
H.R. 4257 is necessary because, although the Amish are trying very
hard to adapt in this increasing high-tech world while at the same time
maintain a part of their tradition, this is becoming increasingly
difficult given the fact that historically Amish farmland is
disappearing rapidly.
Take, for example, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, which is home to
nearly one-fifth of the nation's Amish population and is the fastest
growing county in Pennsylvania. Land prices and property taxes, which
can run as high as $8,000 to $10,000 an acre, have forced many Amish to
abandon farming and caused Lancaster County to lose more than 100,000
acres of farmland to development, which is significant when you
consider that the average Amish farm is only 100 acres. As a result,
townhouses and swimming pools now stand on the fertile land that the
Amish have tended for over three centuries. In fact, last year, the
world monument fund named Lancaster County one of the world's 100 most
endangered historic sites, putting it in the company of the Taj Mahal
and the ruins of Pompeii.
However, the Amish are doing their best to adapt in the face of their
rapidly changing environment. For instance, whereas 95 percent of Amish
men previously made their living on the farm, now as many as 50 percent
work in non-farm occupations, primarily in the lumber and woodworking
industries, as saw mills are prevalent in Amish country and recent
tourist interest in the Amish way of life has created a demand for
Amish-made goods, particularly furniture and crafts. However, while
these jobs suit the traditionally hardworking and industrious Amish
men, they do come with complications.
Amish children finish their formal education after the 8th grade, at
approximately age 14. At this time, Amish boys go to work with their
families, which used to be on the farm. However, Amish men have found
that when they take their sons with them to work in the saw mills and
woodshops, they risk the possibility of being fined by the Department
of Labor for violating child labor laws, which prevent minors from
performing hazardous duties.
Obviously, none of us want to put young people in harm's way. But
this situation is causing a dilemma in the Amish community and has
forced hundreds of young men between the ages of 14 and 18 to be forced
to remain home idle for lack of a job--a grave sin according to Amish
doctrine and a potential social problem for the rest of America--a fact
evidenced by several recent news reports regarding the Amish becoming
involved in drugs.
As I mentioned, Mr. Pitts and I have been working together for
several months to find a satisfactory solution to this complicated
problem. The result of our efforts is H.R. 4257. H.R. 4257 not only
requires that the Amish children be protected from dangerous machinery,
flying objects, excessive noise, and saw dust, it requires that the
Amish children be supervised by an adult relative or member of the
sect.
Who better to ensure the safety of a young person than a father,
uncle, brother, or close family friend, who cares about that young
person? If your son, nephew, or brother were dangerously close to
hazardous machinery, would you stand idly by? I know I would not, and I
am confident that the Amish, who are so focused on family that they
prohibit phones from the home for fear they will interfere with family
time, would not either.
We are a nation of immigrants, with different backgrounds and
beliefs, founded on the premise that its citizens should be free to
acknowledge their backgrounds and practice their beliefs. As
responsible lawmakers it is our duty to develop policy that allows
individuals to do this. As such, I urge my colleagues to support H.R.
4257.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4257, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________