[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 64 (Thursday, May 1, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S5666]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SPECTER (for himself and Mr. Santorum):
  S. 974. A bill to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to 
permit certain youth to perform certain work with wood products; to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition today to 
introduce legislation designed to permit certain youths, those exempt 
from attending school, between the ages of 14 and 18 to work in 
sawmills under special safety conditions and close adult supervision. I 
introduced identical measures in the past three Congresses. Similar 
legislation introduced by my distinguished colleague, Representative 
Joseph R. Pitts, has already passed in the House in the 105th and 106th 
Congresses. I am hopeful the Senate will also enact this important 
issue.
  As Chairman of the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education 
Appropriations Subcommittee, I have strongly supported increased 
funding for the enforcement of the important child safety protections 
contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act. I also believe, however, 
that accommodation must be made for youths who are exempt from 
compulsory school-attendance laws after the eighth grade. It is 
extremely important that youths who are exempt from attending school be 
provided with access to jobs and apprenticeships in areas that offer 
employment where they live.
  The need for access to popular trades is demonstrated by the Amish 
community. In 1998, I toured an Amish sawmill in Lancaster County, PA, 
and had the opportunity to meet with some of my Amish constituency. In 
December 2000, Representative Pitts and I held a meeting in Gap, PA 
with over 20 members of the Amish community to hear their concerns on 
this issue. On May 3, 2001, I chaired a hearing of the Labor, Health 
and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee to examine 
these issues.
  At the hearing the Amish explained that while they once made their 
living almost entirely by farming, they have increasingly had to expand 
into other occupations as farmland has disappeared in many areas due to 
pressure from development. As a result, many of the Amish have come to 
rely more and more on work in sawmills to make their living. The Amish 
culture expects youth, upon the completion of their education at the 
age of 14, to begin to learn a trade that will enable them to become 
productive members of society. In many areas, work in sawmills is one 
of the major occupations available for the Amish, whose belief system 
limits the types of jobs they may hold. Unfortunately, these youths are 
currently prohibited by law from employment in this industry until they 
reach the age of 18. This prohibition threatens both the religion and 
lifestyle of the Amish.
  Under my legislation, youths would not be allowed to operate power 
machinery, but would be restricted to performing activities such as 
sweeping, stacking wood, and writing orders. My legislation requires 
that the youths must be protected from wood particles or flying debris 
and wear protective equipment, all while under strict adult 
supervision. The Department of Labor must monitor these safeguards to 
insure that they are enforced.
  The Department of Justice has raised serious concerns under the 
Establishment Clause with the House legislation. The House measure 
conferred benefits only to a youth who is a ``member of a religious 
sect or division thereof whose established teachings do not permit 
formal education beyond the eighth grade.'' By conferring the 
``benefit'' of working in a sawmill only to the adherents of certain 
religions, the Department argues that the bill appears to impermissibly 
favor religion to ``irreligion.'' In drafting my legislation, I 
attempted to overcome such an objection by conferring permission to 
work in sawmills to all youths who ``are exempted from compulsory 
education laws after the eighth grade.'' Indeed, I think a broader 
focus is necessary to create a sufficient range of vocational 
opportunities for all youth who are legally out of school and in need 
of vocational opportunities.
  I also believe that the logic of the Supreme Court's 1972 decision in 
Wisconsin v. Yoder supports my bill. In Yoder, the Court held that 
Wisconsin's compulsory school attendance law requiring children to 
attend school until the age of 16 violated the Free Exercise Clause. 
The Court found that the Wisconsin law imposed a substantial burden on 
the free exercise of religion by the Amish since attending school 
beyond the eighth grade ``contravenes the basic religious tenets and 
practices of the Amish faith.'' I believe a similar argument can be 
made with respect to Amish youth working in sawmills. As their 
population grows and their subsistence through an agricultural way of 
life decreases, trades such as sawmills become more and more crucial to 
the continuation of their lifestyle. Barring youths from the sawmills 
denies these youths the very vocational training and path to self-
reliance that was central to the Yoder Court's holding that the Amish 
do not need the final two years of public education.
  I offer my legislation with the hope that my colleagues will work 
with me to provide relief for the Amish community.
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