[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 32 (Tuesday, March 2, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H838-H842]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PERMITTING 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. 221) to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to permit
certain youth to perform certain work with wood products, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 221
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:
``(7)(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, I rise in strong support of H.R. 221, which is a
bipartisan bill introduced by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Pitts) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Martinez). The bill will
address a unique problem resulting from the application of the child
labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act to individuals in the
Amish community.
We are considering a substitute amendment which makes one technical
change for the purpose of renumbering the paragraphs in the bill.
My colleagues will remember that the House passed a similar bill,
exactly the same, as a matter of fact, last year by voice vote under
suspension of the rules. The Senate did not consider the bill prior to
the close of the last Congress, and so we are taking early action on
the bill in order to allow ample time for the Senate to 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 eighth
grade, after which they, quote, learn by doing, while working under the
supervision of their parents or another community member.
Amish youth have traditionally worked in agriculture on their family
farms. However, economic pressures in recent years, including the
rising cost of land, have forced more and more Amish families to enter
other occupations. Many have gone into operating sawmills and other
types of woodworking. So, increasingly, the opportunities for Amish
young people to ``learn by doing'' 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.
The Department has undertaken a number of enforcement actions against
Amish employers in recent years. As a result, Amish youth no longer
have the opportunity to learn skills and work habits through the
community's traditional means.
We have no reason to believe that Amish young people will be placed
at risk or allowed to engage in unsafe activities in the workplace. As
some of my colleagues have said, who would care more about the well-
being of Amish children than their parents? The fact is that, as the
Amish struggle to preserve their way of life, the Department of Labor's
actions are, in effect, undermining the Amish culture.
H.R. 221 is a narrow bill that addresses this specific problem. It
would allow individuals who are at least 14 years old to work in
sawmills and woodworking shops, so long as they do so under the
supervision of an adult relative or 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 machines.
The young person must be protected from wood particles or other
flying debris by a barrier or by maintaining an appropriate physical
distance from machinery in operation. In addition, the young person
must be protected from
[[Page H839]]
excessive levels of noise and sawdust by the use of personal protective
equipment.
I want to particularly commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Pitts), the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder), the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson) and the gentleman from California (Mr.
Martinez) for their work on this issue. This legislation comes only
after Members of Congress made repeated effort to work out an
administrative solution with the Department. Unfortunately, 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 now addressing the problem through legislation.
The bill will allow the Amish to continue in their traditional way of
training their children in a craft or occupation while ensuring the
safety of those who are employed in woodworking occupations. I would
certainly urge my colleagues to support the bipartisan legislation.
I would also indicate that I believe it is our responsibility to
legislate. It is the responsibility of the Court to determine whether
it meets Amish law or American law, not the Congress of the United
States.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 221. This bill permits 14-
year-old children to work in sawmills, one of the most dangerous
worksites in the country. The occupational fatality rate in the lumber
and wood products industry is five times the national average. The
fatality rate exceeds that of the construction, of the transportation
and of the warehouse industry.
Inexperience, small size and lack of maturity can all act to increase
the risk of accidents for 14-year-old children employed in sawmills.
I oppose this bill because it poses undue jeopardy to the health and
safety of children too young to legally smoke, too young to legally
consume alcohol products, too young to defend this country in the
military.
Mr. Speaker, there are good, sound, logical reasons why 14-year-olds
are prohibited from engaging in these activities, and the same reasons
exist for keeping them out of sawmills.
I also oppose this legislation because it undermines job
opportunities for adults by encouraging the replacement of older
workers with teenagers who will work for less pay. Mr. Speaker,
replacing fathers with their sons was a pervasive and devastating
pastime for the robber barons of American industry at the beginning of
the 20th century. Why are we contemplating renewing this horrendous
policy at the beginning of the 21st century?
Finally, Mr. Speaker, I oppose this bill because it violates the
establishment clause of the Constitution's first amendment, which
forbids preferences to one religion over another. This bill, if
enacted, will sanction a discriminatory provision of law for the Amish
members against other religions that do not enjoy this preference. I am
sympathetic to the desire to accommodate the Amish lifestyle but am
opposed to accommodating that lifestyle in a manner that places other
religious groups and business interests at a disadvantage.
Encouraging the displacement of adult workers by teenagers in this
hazardous worksite is bad safety policy, is bad health policy, is bad
employment policy and, most of all, Mr. Speaker, it is bad
constitutional policy. I oppose the bill because it is an assault on
the very principle enacted years ago to prevent the exploitation of
child labor.
Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to oppose this ill-conceived,
unnecessary bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts), the coauthor of the legislation.
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, today we are addressing an issue important to
the Amish community who reside in over 20 States in this country, and I
especially want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Martinez)
and the chairman of the committee, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Goodling), and the other Members who have helped us craft this
bipartisan bill.
People around the world know of the Old Order Amish as people who
till their land and direct their lives with faith, simplicity and
discipline.
Traditionally, Amish communities are centered around the family farm,
which requires input from the whole family. While caring for crops and
animals, Amish parents show their children how to make a living without
exposure to outside influences that contradict their beliefs. However,
due to the high growth rate, the soaring price of farmland, many Amish
have been forced to look for alternatives to farming. Now Amish can be
found in small businesses making raw lumber, clocks, wagons, cabinetry
and quilts.
Therefore, as they did on the family farm and still do, and I might
say that in farm work the children are totally exempt from child labor
laws, one can find a 10-year-old boy driving a team of mules. I would
like to see the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) try that. The Amish
now wish to have their youth work with them in these vocational
settings.
Typically, the youth will learn a trade after the completion of Amish
school, or the eighth grade, and be self-sufficient by age 18. The
Amish view this work as part of their schooling, since they often
accompany a parent to the workplace, very similar to an apprenticeship,
and they call this learning by doing.
Unfortunately, these 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.
Mr. Speaker, recently a businessman, an Amish businessman in my
congressional district, was fined $10,000 for having his own child in
the front office of his business. The teenager, 15 years old, was
simply learning to use the cash register alongside her father. She was
far from harm's way.
Mr. Speaker, these actions by the Department of Labor have severely
threatened the lifestyle and the religion of this respected and humble
community. The Amish expect diligence, responsibility and respect from
their youth. They do not contribute to the social ills of our society,
and they do not accept any assistance from government programs.
Our government should not interfere with this humble community.
Several of my colleagues, along with our Amish constituents, met with
the Department of Labor several times last year for a solution.
Unfortunately, we received nothing but negative responses from Labor.
The Amish have a very unique situation, and they do not benefit from
shop or vo-tech like the youth of our schools.
My son, at age 14, made furniture on a band saw in a shop class with
15 other students around. We have a responsibility to evaluate the
Amish in light of these things, and that is why the gentleman from
California (Mr. Martinez) and I and others have introduced this
legislation, narrowly crafted, and we urge support.
{time} 1245
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Kildee).
Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this
time. I rise to oppose the bill, particularly on suspension. I offered
an amendment in committee to try to make this bill a little better by
having a reporting requirement, that it would be reported the number of
injuries that might take place in this type of workshop with this
reduced age limit so we could determine what the effect of this bill
might be. Now, that amendment was defeated on a pretty well party line
vote in the committee. We are precluded from offering, I think, and
even discussing that amendment here on the floor under this suspension
of rules. So I feel that the process is wrong.
I have serious problems about the bill, but we cannot even discuss
the amendment that was defeated by a party line vote in committee. I
urge defeat of the bill.
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson).
Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand in
the House today and support this legislation. I want to commend the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts),
[[Page H840]]
the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling), the gentleman from
California (Mr. Martinez), the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder) and
all of those who were a part of bringing this issue together.
We should not be here today. The Department of Labor and Industry
should not be in this issue. There was not a history of danger out
there, not a history of people being harmed. A lot of the criticism, or
all of it has been about safety. This legislation includes supervision
by an adult relative or an adult of the same religious sect; the
placement of protective barriers. We just heard that the lumber
industry is the most dangerous. Yes, it is. The most dangerous part is
the falling of trees. They are not going to be doing that. The next
most dangerous part is running saws and planers and equipment. They are
not going to be doing that. They are going to be doing odd jobs in the
mill, stacking lumber, cleaning up, office work, running errands,
helping out, learning a trade.
Young people in the Amish community when they are finished with
school at 14, they learn a trade and when they work around the edges of
a mill, when they work around the edges of an operation, they learn
that business over a period of time. We are not putting them in harm's
way. In my view, this is legislation that is needed to be done to
preserve the Amish life. As someone just mentioned, they are not a part
of the difficulties in our society. They are a quiet people who teach
their youth to work and carry on whatever the tradition of that family
was. This is a very sensible, well-thought-out solution that will allow
this community to preserve its way of life.
I urge the Members of this Congress to tell the Department of Labor
and Industry to go on and deal with real problems and leave our Amish
to raise their children as they have in the past with a very good
record.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Martinez).
Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. Speaker, last September this body considered a
piece of legislation identical to this bill before us today. Then as
now, I support the bill very much. You might ask why someone from an
urban area like myself would support a bill such as this, because there
are no Amish in Los Angeles County. Well, I do not care where you live
in this country, when it comes to keeping our young people engaged
productively and out of trouble, the challenges are the same no matter
where you are. And although the answer is different in different parts
of the country, the goal is the same, to keep those kids out of
trouble, keep them working, keep them interested in something that will
make a good life for themselves.
I supported that bill last year, because I understand the Amish way
and where they face problems that are different than those that we face
in Los Angeles, I believe that for their youth, they have the
appropriate answer. And I supported the bill because it offers a real
solution to a real problem for the Amish and because it made good sense
to me.
As I mentioned during the debate last September, Amish children
finish their education at 14 years of age. Historically Amish boys have
joined their fathers in the fields of the family farm. However, due to
technological advances, the rising price of real estate, the Amish have
found it difficult to compete and many have had to abandon their farms
for other types of occupations. Today nearly 50 percent of the Amish
men work in nonfarm occupations, primarily in the lumber industry.
However, when the Amish take their young men to work with them in the
sawmills, they are in violation of child labor law.
Therefore, last Congress the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts)
introduced a bill to amend the child labor laws to permit the Amish to
take their young men to the sawmill with them. In response to this
concern about exposing young men to hazards that has been mentioned
here by a couple of Members, we saw that, too. We wondered if we were
not doing the same. But we worked with the gentleman from Pennsylvania
(Mr. Pitts) to come up with a solution to that problem. I worked with
him to add a number of safety provisions such as requiring earplugs,
face masks, adult supervision, et cetera. We must have done a good job
because it passed out of committee by a voice vote and passed on the
floor by a voice vote. Because the Senate ran out of time is the only
reason we are here considering this noncontroversial legislation again.
This bill before us is identical to the bill that was passed by the
House in the last Congress. It addresses the same problems and contains
the same safety provisions and still makes good sense. Therefore,
although you may not have a large number of Amish in your district, I
urge you to support this bill.
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder) and ask unanimous consent that he
be permitted to control that time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Stearns). Is there objection to the
request of the gentleman from Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Indiana (Mr. Roemer).
Mr. ROEMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Missouri for
yielding me this time and I rise in support of this legislation. I want
to commend the gentleman from California (Mr. Martinez) and the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts) for exercising common sense and
bipartisanship in crafting this legislation. It is extremely important
that we strike a delicate balance between honoring the differences in
our different religions in this country, our different traditions in
this country and having a safe and healthy workplace. I believe this
legislation, in a commonsense and bipartisan manner, strikes this
principled compromise between these two interests, of respecting the
Amish for their cultural and religious differences and on insisting on
a safe and healthy work environment.
The Amish community, as has been stated on the House floor here this
afternoon, has a little bit different education system than some of the
rest of us, and we should respect and honor those differences. They
have a formal education for their young men and young women up until
about the eighth grade, and then after the eighth grade many of their
children, young minors, are enrolled in informal vocation classes
learning directly under the supervision of parents and teachers.
In Indiana, let me give my colleagues an example, this is primarily
done in small cabinet-making shops where people have worked with the
Amish community for decades and where they are small, family-owned
businesses. This is not an instance where young people are out in
harm's way from falling trees or with big sawmills. They are in working
environments in small business communities.
We have four major protections outlined in this bill that I will not
go into articulating but I will again urge this body to support this
bipartisan, commonsense bill.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Klink).
Mr. KLINK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this
time. I get nervous when I find myself on the opposite end of a labor
issue from the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) and the gentleman
from Michigan (Mr. Kildee), but in this instance I come from a
different perspective. I grew up in a small town called Summit Mills in
southwestern Pennsylvania. That town is mostly Amish. And so as I grew
up in that community as a young man, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 years of age, I
worked in Amish farms, I worked in Amish sawmills, I worked and learned
carpentry with my friends the Amish. I worked in their maple sugar
camps. I understand their way of life because I lived it with them. I
know that there is no danger. I also know that if they do not employ
their children, it does not mean that they are going to employ someone
else, it means they are going to work that much longer and that much
harder themselves or they are not going to make that much more money.
They are going to in fact have to live with less.
In my district now, the 4th District of Pennsylvania, in Lawrence
County, the Amish live there, they are quiet people, they do not drive
cars, they do not listen to radio or watch TV. But what they do is when
their children are finished with school at the eighth
[[Page H841]]
grade, they teach their children how to make a living. They in essence
are the trade school themselves. If the family business is carpentry,
if it is a sawmill, if it is a maple sugar camp in the spring, if it is
farming, they teach their children to do this. If the children have
other interests, they may go off and work with an uncle or someone else
on their farm.
This bill, H.R. 221, of which I am an original cosponsor, does
specify that the young Amish people would not be permitted to operate
power-driven woodworking machinery. Regarding the workplace safety of
this bill, the bill requires a barrier or some other means of
protection to be used to protect these teenagers from flying wood
particles.
I have a very strong voting record to maintain our labor laws. This
bill simply amends the Fair Labor Standards Act and would allow these
young people ages 14 to 18 who are members of this religious sect to
work with their parents, to work with adults, those who are like the
Amish to be able to be employed in a family business where wood is
processed with machinery.
I ask my colleagues to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 221.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Kind).
(Mr. KIND asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this
time. As a member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, I
rise today in support of this bill. I believe this is a commonsense
measure allowing the Amish to preserve their culture as well as the
control of the upbringing of their children while maintaining important
child labor enforcement policies.
I want to take this opportunity to commend the gentleman from
California (Mr. Martinez), the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts)
and especially the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson) for the
leadership that they have shown in crafting what I think is a very
commonsense measure. To this day the Amish continue to make great
contributions to our Nation's heritage across the country and as well
in my congressional district in western Wisconsin. Traditionally Amish
children's formal education ends at a very early age. They continue to
learn by doing. Their youth attend school until the age of 14, after
which they work with an adult member of the community to gain hands-on
experience, offentimes in small, family-owned woodworking shops. In the
past the practice has come into conflict with certain child labor
provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Yes, woodworking machines can be very dangerous, especially for young
children, but thanks to my colleagues I think there have been some
commonsense safeguards built into this legislation that we can all
support. First, that teenagers must be supervised by an adult who is a
member of the same sect or division; second, the teenagers are not
allowed to operate or even assist in the operation of power-driven
woodworking machines; and, finally, they must be protected by an
appropriate barrier to the potential hazard of flying debris and wood
particles.
Mr. Speaker, I think we have to do all that we can to preserve our
Nation's distinct and diverse heritage without sacrificing personal
safety and well-being, especially when it comes to the safety of our
children. I believe this bill is a commonsense step in that direction.
Therefore, I urge my colleagues today to support what I feel is an
appropriate bill with the appropriate safeguards.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I, too, want to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling),
the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts), the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson) as well as our bipartisan help from the
gentleman from California (Mr. Martinez), the gentleman from Indiana
(Mr. Roemer), the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind), the gentleman
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Klink) and others on the other side of the aisle
who have helped to finally bring this remedy hopefully to closure this
year.
For the record, I want to say I am not just a bystander in this. Not
only do I represent the 3rd, 7th and 10th largest old order communities
in the country, and by old order I mean that they do not have tops on
their buggies and they are not allowed to marry the Amish in many of
these other gentlemen's districts who have tops on their buggies and
are much, therefore, more liberal Congressmen and members. Furthermore,
this has nothing to do with voting. Out of the 20,000 Amish in my
district, I think approximately 150 voted. Three in my hometown of
Grabill went out to vote and then got kicked out of church for going
out because they wanted to vote for me and they had to work that
through in their church. My great grandfather in 1846 was one of the
first Amish settlers in Allen County. He left the Amish faith around
the turn of the century, but I still have many cousins and many, many
friends in the Amish community and I grew up in a small town surrounded
by an old order Amish community and went to school with many of them.
So I have been very involved with this issue even though the original
points of contention with the Department of Labor came up in
Pennsylvania and most of the Amish who were at the meetings that we had
with the Department of Labor were from Pennsylvania, a few from Holmes
County, Ohio, and very few from Indiana and mostly up from the district
of the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Roemer) because the Amish in my
district do not take part in any governmental activities and therefore
are completely vulnerable and helpless when the government comes in and
tries to alter their life-style.
For 18 months we have negotiated with the Department of Labor. We
have negotiated through several rounds through our committee.
{time} 1300
I am frustrated how long this has taken. This is a tad ridiculous,
quite frankly. At the same time, I am glad we are to this point, and I
am glad we are finally making progress.
We have heard particulars in this bill, that in fact this is an
endangerment. It is not a question of whether the Amish are old enough
to smoke or old enough to do many things, because they are certainly
old enough to sweep a floor. This is not a matter of working the
woodworking equipment. It is a matter of doing the tangential jobs. We,
as my colleagues have heard, put restrictions that limit that
endangerment.
Furthermore, as we see the pressures in our communities in Indiana,
in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, where there are Amish
communities, we have a fundamental question we have to answer in this
country: Can you practice religious freedom within the confines of what
we expect in public health and safety? As they cannot divide their
farms any further, they have turned to other crafts like woodworking,
and if they cannot practice woodworking, and if they cannot practice
their religious faith, they will leave our country or have to change
their religion, and that is not what America was based on.
I would argue that many of the arguments that have been put forth
through the past few years are absurd. I have seen in print that there
could be forklifts running over these kids. They do not have forklifts
in Amish factories because they do not have electricity. I just heard a
reference to robber barons. As my colleagues know, the Amish parents
are not robber barons, and we have to be very careful about confusing
past labor disputes with one of the most innocent, helpless and
vulnerable segments of our society. I do not understand how anybody
could oppose these poor, low-income people, who are at the mercy of
everybody else, having their ability to work with their children in
their factories.
So, in their woodworking, whether it is furniture or whether it is
pallets or whatever they do, so that they can continue their way of
life, they are not the people with the gang problems, they are not the
people with drug problems, they are not the people with the social
problems we see elsewhere. So why would we come barreling into their
community and try to change their
[[Page H842]]
lifestyle when they should be a model for the rest of us, not somebody
who we try to destroy their culture?
Mr. EWING. Mr. Speaker, as a co-sponsor of this important
legislation, I urge my fellow colleagues on both sides of the aisle to
support H.R. 221. The bill amends the Fair Labor & Standards Act to
allow youths between the ages of 14-18, who are members of a religious
sect or division, to work in businesses where machinery is used to
process wood products.
This legislation is of great importance to me since my district has
the greatest population of Amish residents in Illinois. Instead of
continuing formal education past the 8th grade, Amish children
typically go to work with their parents or another adult leaning a
trade, usually woodworking or farming. This is not an example of
``sweatshops'' where children are forced to work against their will--
this is a tradition that the Amish community has held near and dear to
their hearts.
Current FLSA language allows the Department of Labor to levy fines up
to $20,000 on several Amish businesses, and to confiscate their
equipment. This is not only a financial hardship that small business
must absorb, but an imposition on secular values. This is not the role
of government.
This legislation allows Amish children to begin their life's work
under the proper supervision of an adult and requires the youth to be
properly protected in the various work areas. We should not penalize a
religious community and their citizens from pursuing life-long
traditions.
Once again, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 221.
This bill permits children to work in one of the most hazardous
industries in the country. Fourteen-year-old children do not possess
the full autonomy of choice and may not possess the full capacity for
choice possessed by adults. They should not be allowed to place
themselves or be placed by others in occupational situations that may
be life threatening. The occupational fatality rate in the Wood
Products Industry is five times higher than the national average. One
of the witnesses who testified on behalf of this legislation told of
how he lost several fingers when during a moment of inattention, he
carelessly set his hand on a conveyor belt and it ran his hand into a
saw. This accident happened to an adult with years of experience in the
wood processing industry. Inexperience and lack of maturity serve to
make the potential risks faces by minors even greater than they are by
minors even greater than they are for adults. It is unreasonable to
expect a fourteen year-old to maintain the kind of continuous safety
concern we expect for adults. In this industry, a moment of inattention
can be fatal. Secretary Herman in a letter to Chairman Goodling
opposing this legislation said, ``While we are sensitive to the
cultural and religious traditions of the Amish and similar American
communities, we believe the benefits of accommodating those traditions
must be carefully balanced against the nation's longstanding concern
for the safety and welfare of children.'' Secretary Herman provides the
focus which should guide this Congress in its deliberations concerning
child-labor issues. We should always place the protection of our
children's health and safety first.
To employ children in an industry where the occupational fatality and
injury rates are five times the national average is irresponsible. If
enacted, H.R. 221 will inevitably result in the serious injury or death
of a minor. Attached for the Record are letters from the Department of
Labor and the Department of Justice.
Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to applaud the passage of H.R.
221, legislation which will permit a unique culture to continue
practicing traditions vital to its way of life. This bill changes
current law so that Amish teenagers may continue work in businesses
where machinery is used to process wood products.
Child labor provisions in the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
prevent Amish young people from learning the practical skills they need
to successfully contribute to their community. The U.S. Department of
Labor has followed a rigorous enforcement policy in the arena of child
labor. The Department of Labor has levied fines of up to $20,000 on
several Amish businesses. These actions are not just intrusive, they
are insulting to a proud culture which has long prospered within the
boundaries of our laws.
While enforcement of child labor laws is laudable and necessary, it
is detrimental to the Amish people. In their culture, Amish youth
finish organized schooling at the age of 14, when they go to work with
their parents or other adults in their community to learn a trade. Due
to the nature of their lifestyle, these occupations are primarily in
agriculture and woodworking, work which requires long periods of
apprenticeship to learn the proper and safe use of the required
machinery.
H.R. 221 recognizes this fact by providing specific requirements for
the sake of safety-requirements that the Amish have implemented long
before the Fair Labor Standards Act came into effect. Individuals
working in these trades must be between the ages of 14 and 18, and be a
member of a religious sect or division which mandates no formal
education beyond the eighth grade. Other provisions include the proper
wear of protective gear, as well as proper adult supervision at all
times.
The Amish are a people who take great pride in their secular values,
and rightfully take great umbrage to any attempts to influence their
lifestyle. I am thankful that we in the Congress can take pride in the
fact that today we did the right thing, and corrected an error in
bureaucracy which threatened the culture of a group of people.
Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Stearns). 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. 221, 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.
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