[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 68 (Friday, May 14, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E858]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            MILLER MOTION TO INSTRUCT CONFEREES ON OVERTIME

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                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 13, 2004

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the 
Miller Motion on Overtime which would instruct conferees to adopt 
provisions to prohibit overtime cuts, while allowing the administration 
to improve overtime rules. I am proud that in my home State of Illinois 
on March 31, the State House and Senate passed legislation that made 
Illinois the first State in the country to exempt the State from the 
changes to overtime pay rules. This legislation was signed into law by 
our former House colleague, Governor Blagojevich.
  This legislation will preserve overtime compensation for 375,000 
workers in Illinois. Unfortunately, not every State will be able to 
pass legislation to protect their workers. The Department of Labor's 
new regulations will cut the pay and lengthen the hours for workers 
making as little as $23,660. This would mean a pay cut for middle-
income Americans, when millions depend on overtime pay to make ends 
meet at a time when the median income has declined with an increase in 
cost for education, child care, basic health care, health insurance, 
heating and cooling and gasoline.
  In 2000, overtime pay accounted for about 25 percent of the income of 
employees who worked overtime. With the new regulation middle-income 
workers making between $23,660 and $100,000 will lose their overtime--
this includes our police, fire fighters, day care workers, chefs, 
plumbers, electricians, nurses, and journalists. With over 60 percent 
of women with children under the age of two being part of the 
workforce, nursery and pre-school teachers are playing more important 
roles in our children's lives. As the work day extends for parents, so 
does the work day for nursery and pre-school teachers. The average pay 
for these teachers is $8 an hour, with many working 10 hours a day. Yet 
they will no longer qualify for overtime.
  An average police officer starting salary is around $40,000. They 
protect us, keep us safe, walk the streets--put their lives on the 
line. After September 11th, our Nation became more grateful and devoted 
more respect to our officers and first responders. Yet we now want to 
take overtime away from them which could be used to benefit our economy 
and the lives of their families. There are already some police 
departments that do not pay overtime but offer comp time. Although, 
comp time is nice--with heightened security alerts and the need for 
more police on our streets, many do not get the opportunity to use this 
comp time when they would like. Instead, many police officers retire 
20--30 years later receiving a check for their unused comp time.
  Mr. Speaker, we can not turn our backs on our working Americans. 
Without overtime, many will have to struggle to maintain their current 
way of living. I am not just prolabor, I am proud to be pro-family. And 
I know that these new regulations would be destructive to our working 
families. These regulations mean more work hours, less time with 
families, and even worse, less job creation.
  The Illinois State Government understands. Our other body, the United 
States Senate understands--now the House needs to realize the 
importance of these new regulations. I ask my colleagues to support 
this motion.

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