[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 69 (Monday, May 17, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E884]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            ROSS OPPOSES ADMINISTRATION OVERTIME REGULATIONS

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                             HON. MIKE ROSS

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 17, 2004

  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, May 12, 2004, I missed a vote to 
table the Motion to Instruct Conferees on H.R. 2660, the Labor-HHS 
Appropriations Act of fiscal year 2004, offered by Representative 
George Miller. Had I been present, I would have voted no on the motion 
to table.
  Although the FY04 omnibus appropriations bill included the FY04 
Labor-HHS Appropriations bill, technically, it is still in conference 
and motions to instruct are in order. By tabling this motion to 
instruct, it will injure the working men and women of Arkansas's Fourth 
Congressional District, and the nation who often depend on overtime pay 
to make ends meet. I support the Senate language to prohibit the use of 
funds to issue or enforce a regulation that would take overtime pay 
away from any employee who, under current regulations, is entitled to 
overtime pay.
  On April 23, the Labor Department published a final overtime 
eligibility rule in the Federal Register that will take effect later 
this year. The final rule differs from the proposed rule in that it 
substantially expands the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) exemptions 
and threatens the overtime rights of millions of workers. For instance, 
the final rule greatly expands the exemption for administrative 
employees, thus creating loopholes for employers to potentially exploit 
hard working Americans. Additionally, the final rule expands the 
learned professional exemption to workers without college degrees and 
jeopardizes the overtime protection of blue collar workers considered 
``management.''
  Working families in the Fourth Congressional District of Arkansas 
depend on overtime pay to feed their families, make their mortgages, 
and contribute to this great society. Any action by our government to 
reduce this simple process in unconscionable.
  It is for these reasons that had I been present, I would have voted 
no on the motion to table Representative George Miller's Motion to 
Instruct Conferees on H.R. 2660.

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