[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 145 (Tuesday, October 13, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H10796-H10798]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     DRIVE FOR TEEN EMPLOYMENT ACT

  Mr. FAWELL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in 
the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 2327) to provide for a change in 
the exemption from the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor 
Standards Act of 1938 for minors who are 17 years of age and who engage 
in the operation of automobiles and trucks.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Senate amendment:
       Page 4, strike out all after line 4, down to and including 
     line 10, and insert:
       (b) Effective Date.--
       (1) In general.--This Act shall become effective on the 
     date of enactment of this Act.
       (2) Exception.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     defining the term ``occasional and incidential'' shall also 
     apply to any case, action, citation or appeal pending on the 
     date of enactment of this Act unless such case, action, 
     citation or appeal involves property damage or personal 
     injury.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Illnois (Mr. Fawell) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Martinez), 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Fawell).
  Mr. FAWELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2327, the Drive for Teen Employment Act, is a 
bipartisan bill introduced by the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Combest), the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green), and the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Martinez).
  The bill previously passed the House by a voice vote on September 28. 
The bill modifies a regulation of the Department of Labor which has 
been narrowly interpreted to essentially prohibit 16- and 17-year-old 
employees from driving on public roads as part of their employment. The 
Department of Labor's current interpretation, which is not required by 
the regulation itself, was announced in the context of enforcement 
actions against certain employers who received no advanced notice of 
this narrow interpretation of the child labor laws.
  Although existing regulations allow for occasional and incidental 
driving on the job by 16- and 17-year-olds, the department's 
interpretation has the effect of preventing young people under the age 
of 18 from any driving during employment except perhaps in ``rare and 
emergency'' situations.
  The department's current interpretation has jeopardized important job 
opportunities for many teenagers without demonstrating any increase in 
safety on the job. Furthermore, many innocent small business owners 
have been fined by the Department of Labor on the basis of an 
interpretation of a regulation of which they did not have any notice.
  H.R. 2327 will put into law a new test with regard to the amount of 
time that teenage employees can drive on the job. Under the bill, only 
17-year-olds will be permitted to drive during employment. In addition, 
there is a limitation on the number of trips per day that a 17-year-old 
may drive for the purposes of delivering packages or transporting other 
persons. The bill retains all of the other conditions that are now part 
of the current regulation. That is, the vehicle must weigh less than 
6,000 pounds, the driving must be restricted to daylight hours, the 
minor must hold a State driver's license, the vehicle must be equipped 
with a seat belt or similar restraining device for the driver and for 
each helper, and the employer must instruct each minor that seat belts 
must be used, and the driving does not involve the towing of other 
vehicles and the driving is occasional and incidental to the minor's 
employment.
  This bill was passed yesterday by the Senate with an amendment to 
clarify the effective date of the legislation. The Senate change 
clarifies the House-passed bill to specify that the bill will apply to 
any case action, citation or appeal which is pending on date of the 
enactment of the bill unless the case action, citation or appeal 
involves property damage or personal injury.
  H.R. 2327 will not decrease safety on the roads or endanger teenage 
employees. It is a reasonable and practical solution to the Department 
of Labor's overly restrictive and unfairly enforced interpretation 
which has denied job opportunities to young people without increasing 
safety.
  This clarification will help to make driving on the job by teens 
safer and employers will still have every incentive to ensure that 
their teenage employees drive safely.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Fawell) has said, 
two weeks ago the House considered H.R. 2327, the Drive for Teen 
Employment Act. I will not go through the myriad of conditions of the 
bill.
  Under current law minors are permitted to drive on the job under 
occasional and incidental circumstances. Under that definition, the 
automobile dealerships across the country regularly employed minors to 
wash and detail cars, move cars on lots and occasionally drive an 
automobile to a nearby lot or gas station.

[[Page H10797]]

                              {time}  1730

  These jobs provided employment for thousands of young people. 
However, in 1994, the Department of Labor, without any rulemaking, 
decided to define occasional and incidental so narrowly as to prohibit 
minors from driving on the job under almost all circumstances.
  The department then fined 60 Seattle area auto dealers nearly 
$200,000, $200,000 for alleged child labor law violations and caused 
nearly one thousand 16 and 17 year olds to become unemployed.
  To address this problem, my colleague, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Combest) introduced H.R. 2327 which clarifies the term occasional and 
incidental to permit 17 years olds with clean driving records to drive 
on the job under limited circumstances within the 30-mile radius of the 
job site.
  This bill merely removes the concerns that small business owners have 
about hiring teenagers for jobs that require limited driving and 
establishes clear guidelines to assist the department in enforcing a 
regulation under its jurisdiction.
  Because of its noncontroversial nature, H.R. 2327 passed the House by 
voice vote on September 28. Yesterday, it unanimously passed the Senate 
with an amendment.
  The Senate amendment merely corrects the drafting error in the House-
passed bill regarding the bill's date of enactment of this clarifying 
amendment. This clarifying amendment makes no substantive changes to 
the bill and passage of the Senate amendment will clear this measure 
for the President's signature.
  At a time when, according to the Secretary of Labor, Alexis Herman, 
despite the strong economy, young people living in high poverty areas 
do not have jobs. We need to pass H.R. 2327 and put thousands of young 
people back to work.
  As such, I urge my colleagues to support this technical amendment to 
H.R. 2327 and pass the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FAWELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Combest) who is the chief sponsor of this legislation and 
deserves so much of the credit for driving and doggedly pursuing the 
passage of this legislation.
  Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I do rise today in support of H.R. 2327, 
the Drive For Teen Employment Act.
  This bill clarifies a Department of Labor regulation that has 
unnecessarily restricted teens from employment opportunities. Under 
current department interpretation, a 17 year old cannot drive more than 
one incident a week without opening their employer to a fine that could 
be as high as $10,000. This interpretive change was made with no public 
notification and without informing any small businesses. Businesses 
first became aware of this change when they received fines for 
noncompliance.
  Within the bill, we provide significant safety provisions to ensure 
safe operations, while not preventing incidental and occasional driving 
by young workers. Previously this bill was passed by voice vote at both 
the subcommittee and the committee level and was passed by voice vote 
in the full House on September 28. We are considering it today simply 
because of a technical clarification by the other body that has no 
substantive impact on the bill.
  This common-sense legislation is a product of months of good faith, 
bipartisan work with my cosponsors, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Green) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Martinez). The bill has 
83 cosponsors and is supported by the National Small Business United, 
the National Automobile Dealers Association and the National 
Association of Minority Automobile Dealers. The Department of Labor 
does not oppose this bill.
  I want to thank everyone for all of their hard work on this. I would 
encourage my colleagues to support passage of H.R. 2327.
  Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green).
  (Mr. GREEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GREEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2327, the Drive For 
Teen Employment Act. I have been working on this bill for the last 3 
years. With the leadership of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Combest) 
and the gentleman from California (Mr. Martinez) and our Committee on 
Education and the Workforce Members, we have reached the right balance 
between safety and common sense. As my colleagues have stated, this 
bill passed the House on September 28 by voice vote.
  Last night, the Senate adopted H.R. 2327 under unanimous consent with 
a technical clarification. The technical correction has no substantive 
impact on the bill. It merely corrects the enactment date.
  The bill will help increase employment opportunities for 17 years 
olds, and I encourage my colleagues to support it. H.R. 2327 addresses 
the liability of licensed 17 years olds to drive limited amounts on the 
job.
  Under current law, minors are permitted to drive on the job within 
certain limits. However, the Department of Labor has narrowly defined 
these restrictions to the point that minors would be prohibited from 
driving on the job under most circumstances.
  Fines have been levied, it was mentioned earlier, against automobile 
dealerships and other businesses having teens complete such tasks as 
moving cars after they are washed and returning vehicles from the gas 
station.
  The Drive For Teen Employment Act will establish a clear definition 
for limited driving, while maintaining injury-prevention measures on 
the job.
  This bill will allow limited driving for 17 year olds in low risk and 
supervised settings and provides numerous safeguards, including work-
related driving is restricted to daylight hours, towing is prohibited, 
the driver must hold a State driver's license and must have completed a 
State approved driver education course, the driving is capped at 20 
percent of the workweek, minors must not have any record of moving 
violations at the time they are hired, driving distances is limited to 
a 30-mile radius, and route deliveries and route sales are prohibited.
  By establishing safety precautions and clear guidelines for 
employers, we can encourage much-needed employment for our teenagers, 
while maintaining safety measures on the job. I have been told that the 
President will sign this reasonable legislation, and I encourage my 
colleagues support.
  Mr. FAWELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (Mr. Fox).
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to 
speak and rise in strong support of H.R. 2327, the bill of the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Combest), which will in fact provide a change 
in the exemption from the child labor divisions of the Fair Labor 
Standards Act of 1938 for minors between 16 and 18 years of age who 
engage in the operation of automobiles and trucks.
  We certainly here in Congress, in a bipartisan fashion, must open 
opportunities for our youth. Many young people could get involved in 
things that would not be positive. Here we have young people working 
for business, gainfully employed maybe at the business that they will 
someday assume ownership in or start their own business as a result of 
being involved in that youthful experience which is positive.
  This bill will certainly allow those youth who already are involved 
as employees to continue serving. Those who have not yet been a part 
will have a chance to do so. Many businesses all across this country 
depend upon younger workers as part of their work force. Frankly, this 
is in the urban areas, Mr. Speaker, the rural, as well as suburban 
areas.
  Those jobs are for our youth, and we know how important that is for 
young people to have the opportunity to have employment, to have a job, 
to have a positive experience.
  This is also an area for training that can come. The young people 
also, always looking for new jobs where training can be part of their 
work experience, whether they be in the votech education area or the 
academic disciplines.
  The safety concerns that some may question have been addressed fully. 
The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green), the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Martinez), the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Combest) have addressed 
them to a great extent. But driver ed is included. I cannot stress that 
enough. Many accidents happen with young people. But

[[Page H10798]]

this bill specifically speaks of driver ed, its importance, and its 
importance to this legislation.
  Another point I wanted to make is the Chambers of Commerce have 
supported this legislation. They are the organizations where small 
businesses and medium-size businesses have said this legislation will 
help us make sure we are at full employment, that we reach that goal.
  I think it was very important to point out, Mr. Speaker, that this 
legislation is bipartisan. It has a great number of sponsors, almost 
100, and it has been bipartisan. That is the whole mark of making this 
house work; Republicans, Democrats, Independents working together to 
have positive legislation for our youth, for our employment, for our 
economy. That is what this bill, H.R. 2327, represents.
  I would ask that this vote be unanimous, and I hope that others in 
the chamber who have not yet been involved in the legislation join us 
in this quest to help our young people and to help the economy.
  Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. Speaker, I have no requests for time, and I yield 
back the balance of my time my time.
  Mr. FAWELL. Mr. Speaker, I also have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the remainder of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Boehlert). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Fawell) that the House 
suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to H.R. 2327.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate amendment to H.R. 2327 
was concurred in.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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