[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 114 (Tuesday, July 17, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H7859]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

  (Mrs. BLACKBURN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, today the liberal leadership of this 
House will call up H.R. 980, the Public Safety Employee-Employer 
Cooperation Act.
  It sounds harmless. But let's not mince words. This bill is not 
concerned with public safety. It's a payoff from the left to the 
powerful labor unions that finance many of their campaigns.
  The liberal leadership already bowed to union pressure by passing 
legislation to strip workers of the right to vote in a private ballot 
election. Now they are attempting to federalize collective bargaining 
for public safety professionals.
  The International Association of Chiefs of Police opposes the 
legislation because it would effectively take power from State and 
local governments during labor-management relations. I oppose it 
because it will likely make our communities less safe.
  Mr. Speaker, there is a time and there is a place for politics, but 
not when our lives and the safety of our communities is at stake.

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