[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 18 (Thursday, February 12, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E172]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


LETTER FROM NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES 
                               OF AMERICA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MARILYN N. MUSGRAVE

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 11, 2004

  Mrs. MUSGRAVE. Mr. Speaker, I respectfully request that the letter 
from the Non-Commissioned Officers Association of the United States of 
America be included in the Congressional Record.

                                                         NCOA,

                                 Alexandria, VA, January 29, 2004.
     Hon. Bill Frist,
     Majority Leader, U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Frist: The Non Commissioned Officers expresses 
     its grave concern that America's military personnel and 
     veterans are being used as an ``emotional'' ploy to delay the 
     Department of Labor implementation of the Fair Labor 
     Standards Act relative ``white collar'' exemptions. Claims 
     that military members involved in the War on Terrorism and 
     this Nation's veterans will have their employment status 
     elevated to ``exempt'' based on military training and 
     experience and lose opportunity for overtime compensation are 
     patently incorrect. The Association regrets that some would 
     wrongfully use such false allegations concerning impact to 
     America's service members to garner emotional and legislative 
     support to delay the final rules for implementation of FLSA.
       It is a blinding glimpse of the obvious that neither the 
     current rules nor the revised proposal will negatively impact 
     those who serve or have served in the Uniformed Services. In 
     fact, this association's direct discussions with DOL leads us 
     to the conclusion that the proposed rule relative the revised 
     ceiling for annual income (increased from $8,060 to $13,000) 
     will greatly expand the eligibility pool for worker overtime 
     compensation.
       It is outrageous that unsubstantiated claims are reaching 
     America's Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen currently in 
     harm's way that their future return to civilian jobs will 
     result in a reclassification of their employment status. It 
     is clear from our discussions with the Department of Labor 
     that the proposed rule makes no changes from the current 
     regulation and case law regarding military training and 
     eligibility for overtime payments.
       NCOA will continue to monitor the rights of all service 
     members and pursue DOL intervention if the intent of any 
     program or interpretation of the published rules would 
     negatively impact those who have served in the Uniformed 
     Service of this Nation. NCOA will remain vigilant to ensure 
     their employment rights.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Gene Overstreet,
     President/CEO.

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