[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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