[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 114 (Friday, July 30, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H6552-H6555]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS WORKER WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION ACT OF 2010
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule XIX,
proceedings will resume on the bill (H.R. 5851) to provide
whistleblower protections to certain workers in the offshore oil and
gas industry.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
Motion to Recommit
Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to recommit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentleman opposed to the bill?
Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. I am, in its current form.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to
recommit.
The Clerk read as follows:
Mr. Kline of Minnesota moves to recommit the bill, H.R.
5851, to the Committee on Education and Labor with
instructions to report the same back to the House forthwith
with the following amendment:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Whistleblower Parity Act''.
SEC. 2. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION FOR CERTAIN OFFSHORE
WORKERS.
(a) Prohibition on Retaliation.--No person shall discharge
or in any manner discriminate against any covered employee
because such covered employee has filed any complaint or
instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding related
to any workplace safety and health regulation issued pursuant
to section 21 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43
U.S.C. 1347) or has testified or is about to testify in any
such proceeding or because of the exercise by such covered
employee on behalf of himself or herself or others of any
right afforded by such Act.
(b) Complaint Procedure.--Any covered employee who believes
that he or she has been discharged or otherwise discriminated
against by any person in violation of this section may,
within 30 days after such violation occurs, file a complaint
with the Secretary alleging such discrimination. Upon receipt
of such complaint, the Secretary shall cause such
investigation to be made as the Secretary determines
appropriate. If upon such investigation, the Secretary
determines that the provisions of this section have been
violated, the Secretary shall bring an action in any
appropriate United States district court against such person.
In any such action the United States district courts shall
have jurisdiction, for cause shown to restrain violations of
subsection (a) of this subsection and order all appropriate
relief including rehiring or reinstatement of the employee to
his or her former position with back pay.
(c) Notification.--Within 90 days of the receipt of a
complaint filed under this section the Secretary shall notify
the complainant of the Secretary's determination under
subsection (b) of this section.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act--
(1) the term ``covered employee'' means an individual
engaged in activities on or in waters above the Outer
Continental Shelf related to supporting or carrying out
exploration, development, production, processing, or
transportation of oil on behalf of an employer;
(2) the term ``employer'' has the meaning given such term
in section 3 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of
1970 (29 U.S.C. 652);
(3) the term ``Outer Continental Shelf'' has the meaning
that the term ``outer Continental Shelf'' has in section 2 of
the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331); and
(4) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Labor.
SEC. 4. CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect any
rights, protections, or remedies available to covered
employees under section 2114 of title 46, United States Code.
Mr. KLINE of Minnesota (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask
unanimous consent that the motion to recommit be considered as read.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Minnesota?
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, like every Member of Congress, I
am deeply concerned for the safety of offshore oil rig workers. No
worker who sees a hazard to health and safety in violation of the law
should fear reporting the violation to the proper authorities.
Effective workplace safety starts with compliance, and is enhanced by
alert workers who help ensure appropriate safety rules are being
followed. That is why I am asking all my colleagues to support this
motion to recommit.
This proposal extends the whistleblower protections in the
Occupational Safety and Health Act to workers on offshore oil rigs. As
I noted earlier, there are a number of concerns with the Democrats'
proposal. It creates an entirely new whistleblower protection framework
for workers directly or indirectly involved with offshore oil drilling,
departing from the long-standing protections in existing health and
safety laws.
The majority also fails to focus on oil rig workers, extending their
untested form of whistleblower protections to various workers on land
who are already protected by existing, and possibly conflicting,
statutes.
{time} 1630
Legal confusion and uncertainty are never good when it comes to
workplace safety. Last month, the Education and Labor Committee heard
from Federal officials who could not answer whether offshore oil rig
workers have access to basic whistleblower protections. To date, the
committee has not received a response to a request for clarification.
Virtually every American worker enjoys these important protections, yet
Federal officials did not know whether maritime law, Federal safety and
health law, or some other law was fully protecting oil rig workers.
[[Page H6553]]
Despite this confusion, not a single followup hearing was heard in
the Education and Labor Committee. Certainly there was no committee
vote on this legislation. Just last night, the House Rules Committee
held the first and only hearing this legislation has ever received. In
fact, Members of Congress and the public have had less than a week to
examine the bill and determine what effect it may have on the safety of
oil rig workers or to what extent it may even be necessary.
If the majority is determined to rush this bill through Congress
without examining the full consequences and context of the issue, I
would, instead, suggest a straightforward approach that more fully
relies on current law.
We believe offshore oil rig workers deserve whistleblower protections
and the OSH Act offers us an opportunity to extend those protections
immediately. The OSH Act has been the law of the land since 1978, more
than 30 years. It has improved over time through congressional and
administrative action. And by incorporating oil rig workers into
existing protections, they will automatically be included into any
future changes of the law.
In short, the Republican motion to recommit provides parity in
whistleblower protections. The Democrats' bill creates confusion. Our
approach gives certainty. The Democrats' bill creates legal conflict.
Our approach has established case law. The Democrats' bill will take
time to implement and understand. Our approach will provide immediate
protections in a manner Federal authorities and workers already know
and understand.
I strongly urge my colleagues to support this motion.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I rise in opposition to the motion.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, Members of the House, I
would strongly urge you to reject the Republican motion to recommit.
What we have before us today in the legislation that I am offering
along with Mr. Markey, is an effort to provide the level of protection
that these offshore oil workers on the rigs on the Outer Continental
Shelf of the United States of America are entitled to. What the
Republicans are suggesting is that a law that was written in 1970 is
good enough for these workers.
Let's understand the environment in which these workers are working.
They're working on the most expensive oil rigs in the history of the
world. They're making the most complex drills in the history of the
world. They're using the most complex technology in the history of the
world, and they're doing it in constant motion on top of the seas as
they drill for these resources.
Now, why shouldn't they have the same protection that railroad
workers have? that transport workers have? that nuclear workers have?
that pipeline workers have? Because they all have a modern
whistleblower statute. But those men and women who go out on those rigs
today do not have any protection, much less a modern protection, but
the Republicans are telling you they should take second-class
protection.
Now, as we saw the case of a whistleblower, Mr. Abbott, who called
BP, an engineer, and said the designs are wrong, the drawings are
flawed, he would not be covered under this statute. The court found his
claim to be valid that he passed on serious information to BP that they
rejected. Now, let's understand this is about one worker with knowledge
and understanding of the drilling processes and procedures making a
decision that something's about to go very wrong. So that worker has
the courage to say, ``I think we better stop and check it out'' in a
very complex process, in this case, of withdrawing from the well and
capping that well.
They're telling that worker, ``This rig is a half a million dollars a
day. We're going to get it off our books. We're going to get it out of
here. Just keep going,'' and then the tragedy happens.
Let's talk about who that worker's talking to. They're talking to a
company that's drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf, British
Petroleum, on American soil, under American laws, who violates
willfully and egregiously those laws 807 times; who, in 2005, violated
those laws hundreds of times and blew up a refinery in Texas, killed 15
workers and injured another 180; promised to fix those violations, and
4 years later, they hadn't fixed 700 of those violations and were fined
$87 million. Apparently, they think it's cheaper to pay fines than it
is to protect the workers of this country.
I don't know if you've been around oil rigs. I don't know if you've
watched people in this business, but this is a choreography that takes
place among those workers on those rigs that is unbelievable, and it
can be lethal. I've seen it because I know what you have to do on those
rigs. This is how workers put themselves in jeopardy every day. It's
whether a pipe falls on you, whether a chain snaps, whether a pipe
breaks, whether the fluids blow out, whether you get hit from the
overhead. This is a very dangerous profession.
Companies work hard, some companies, but are we going to really tell
a worker that they're going to go up against BP when BP is so fully
prepared to violate the laws, the health and safety laws of this
Nation?
I think we ought to understand we owe American workers a much better
deal on the American Outer Continental Shelf, and that's why this
motion to recommit should be rejected. It should be rejected because
that's our obligation. They're entitled to a modern whistleblower law
just like the other workers that I named to you.
We can do no less for these workers. We can do no less for those
workers who tried to come forward and stop the dangers on this rig and
lost their lives because they weren't listened to. The workers who told
their wives, ``Get my papers and my wills and my business in order.''
Imagine a worker going to work and saying, ``Get my affairs in order.
Let's check my will.'' That's what people do when they go to war. They
shouldn't have to do it when they go to work on an American rig in the
American Outer Continental Shelf.
Give these workers what they're entitled to. Give them a decent,
honest, modern whistleblower law with real protections.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is
ordered on the motion to recommit.
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to recommit.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and
nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, the Chair
will reduce to 5 minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote on
the question of passage.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 171,
nays 234, not voting 27, as follows:
[Roll No. 505]
YEAS--171
Aderholt
Alexander
Austria
Bachus
Barrett (SC)
Bartlett
Barton (TX)
Biggert
Bilbray
Bilirakis
Bishop (UT)
Blackburn
Blunt
Boehner
Bonner
Bono Mack
Boozman
Boren
Boustany
Brady (TX)
Bright
Broun (GA)
Brown-Waite, Ginny
Buchanan
Burgess
Burton (IN)
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Cantor
Cao
Capito
Carter
Cassidy
Castle
Chaffetz
Childers
Coble
Coffman (CO)
Cole
Conaway
Crenshaw
Culberson
Davis (KY)
Dent
Diaz-Balart, L.
Diaz-Balart, M.
Djou
Dreier
Duncan
Ehlers
Emerson
Fallin
Flake
Fleming
Forbes
Fortenberry
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Gallegly
Garrett (NJ)
Gerlach
Gingrey (GA)
Gohmert
Goodlatte
Granger
Graves (GA)
Graves (MO)
Guthrie
Hall (TX)
Harper
Hastings (WA)
Heller
Hensarling
Herger
Hunter
Inglis
Issa
Jenkins
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, Sam
Jones
Jordan (OH)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kirk
Kirkpatrick (AZ)
Kline (MN)
Lamborn
Lance
Latham
LaTourette
Latta
Lee (NY)
Lewis (CA)
LoBiondo
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Lummis
Lungren, Daniel E.
Mack
Manzullo
Marchant
Marshall
McCaul
McClintock
McCotter
McHenry
McIntyre
McKeon
McMorris Rodgers
Mica
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Miller, Gary
Minnick
Murphy, Tim
Myrick
Neugebauer
Nye
Olson
Paul
Paulsen
Pence
Petri
Pitts
Platts
Poe (TX)
Posey
Price (GA)
Putnam
Rehberg
Reichert
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rohrabacher
[[Page H6554]]
Rooney
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Royce
Ryan (WI)
Scalise
Schmidt
Schock
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Sestak
Shimkus
Shuster
Simpson
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Stearns
Sullivan
Taylor
Terry
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiberi
Turner
Upton
Walden
Westmoreland
Whitfield
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Wolf
Young (AK)
NAYS--234
Ackerman
Adler (NJ)
Altmire
Andrews
Arcuri
Baca
Baldwin
Barrow
Bean
Becerra
Berkley
Berman
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (NY)
Blumenauer
Boccieri
Boswell
Boucher
Boyd
Brady (PA)
Braley (IA)
Brown, Corrine
Butterfield
Capps
Capuano
Cardoza
Carnahan
Carson (IN)
Castor (FL)
Chandler
Chu
Clarke
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly (VA)
Conyers
Cooper
Costa
Costello
Courtney
Critz
Crowley
Cuellar
Cummings
Dahlkemper
Davis (AL)
Davis (CA)
Davis (IL)
Davis (TN)
DeFazio
DeGette
DeLauro
Deutch
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Donnelly (IN)
Doyle
Driehaus
Edwards (MD)
Edwards (TX)
Ellison
Ellsworth
Engel
Eshoo
Etheridge
Farr
Fattah
Filner
Foster
Frank (MA)
Fudge
Garamendi
Giffords
Gonzalez
Gordon (TN)
Grayson
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Hall (NY)
Halvorson
Hare
Harman
Hastings (FL)
Heinrich
Herseth Sandlin
Higgins
Hill
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hirono
Hodes
Holden
Holt
Honda
Hoyer
Inslee
Israel
Jackson (IL)
Jackson Lee (TX)
Johnson, E. B.
Kagen
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilroy
Kind
Kissell
Klein (FL)
Kosmas
Kratovil
Kucinich
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lee (CA)
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lipinski
Loebsack
Lofgren, Zoe
Lowey
Lujan
Lynch
Maffei
Maloney
Markey (CO)
Markey (MA)
Matheson
Matsui
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McDermott
McGovern
McMahon
McNerney
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Melancon
Michaud
Miller (NC)
Miller, George
Mitchell
Mollohan
Moore (KS)
Moore (WI)
Moran (VA)
Murphy (CT)
Murphy (NY)
Murphy, Patrick
Nadler (NY)
Napolitano
Neal (MA)
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Owens
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor (AZ)
Payne
Perlmutter
Perriello
Peters
Peterson
Pingree (ME)
Polis (CO)
Pomeroy
Price (NC)
Quigley
Rahall
Rangel
Reyes
Richardson
Rodriguez
Ross
Rothman (NJ)
Roybal-Allard
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan (OH)
Salazar
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta
Sarbanes
Schakowsky
Schauer
Schiff
Schrader
Schwartz
Scott (GA)
Scott (VA)
Serrano
Shea-Porter
Sherman
Shuler
Sires
Skelton
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Space
Speier
Spratt
Stark
Stupak
Sutton
Tanner
Teague
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Tierney
Titus
Tonko
Towns
Tsongas
Van Hollen
Velazquez
Visclosky
Walz
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watt
Waxman
Weiner
Welch
Wilson (OH)
Woolsey
Yarmuth
NOT VOTING--27
Akin
Bachmann
Baird
Berry
Brown (SC)
Buyer
Carney
Delahunt
Foxx
Griffith
Himes
Hoekstra
Johnson (GA)
Kilpatrick (MI)
Linder
McCarthy (CA)
Moran (KS)
Nunes
Radanovich
Rogers (MI)
Shadegg
Slaughter
Tiahrt
Wamp
Watson
Wu
Young (FL)
{time} 1704
Messrs. BRADY of Pennsylvania, CLYBURN, CARNAHAN, CARDOZA, CUELLAR,
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ and Mr. CLEAVER changed their vote from ``yea''
to ``nay.''
Mr. SULLIVAN changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So the motion to recommit was rejected.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
Stated against:
Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 505, had I been present,
I would have voted ``no.''
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the
yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. This will be a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 315,
nays 93, not voting 25, as follows:
[Roll No. 506]
YEAS--315
Ackerman
Adler (NJ)
Altmire
Andrews
Arcuri
Austria
Baca
Bachus
Baird
Baldwin
Barrow
Bean
Becerra
Berkley
Berman
Biggert
Bilbray
Bilirakis
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (NY)
Blackburn
Blumenauer
Blunt
Boccieri
Bono Mack
Boozman
Boren
Boswell
Boucher
Boustany
Boyd
Brady (PA)
Braley (IA)
Brown, Corrine
Brown-Waite, Ginny
Buchanan
Burgess
Butterfield
Camp
Cao
Capito
Capps
Capuano
Cardoza
Carnahan
Carson (IN)
Cassidy
Castle
Castor (FL)
Chandler
Childers
Chu
Clarke
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly (VA)
Conyers
Cooper
Costa
Costello
Courtney
Crenshaw
Critz
Crowley
Cuellar
Cummings
Dahlkemper
Davis (AL)
Davis (CA)
Davis (IL)
Davis (TN)
DeFazio
DeGette
DeLauro
Dent
Deutch
Diaz-Balart, L.
Diaz-Balart, M.
Dicks
Dingell
Djou
Doggett
Donnelly (IN)
Doyle
Dreier
Driehaus
Edwards (MD)
Edwards (TX)
Ehlers
Ellison
Ellsworth
Emerson
Engel
Eshoo
Etheridge
Farr
Fattah
Filner
Forbes
Fortenberry
Foster
Frank (MA)
Frelinghuysen
Fudge
Garamendi
Gerlach
Giffords
Gonzalez
Gordon (TN)
Graves (MO)
Grayson
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Grijalva
Guthrie
Gutierrez
Hall (NY)
Halvorson
Hare
Harman
Hastings (FL)
Heinrich
Herseth Sandlin
Higgins
Hill
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hirono
Hodes
Holden
Holt
Honda
Hoyer
Inslee
Israel
Issa
Jackson (IL)
Jackson Lee (TX)
Johnson (GA)
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, E. B.
Jones
Kagen
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilroy
Kind
King (NY)
Kirk
Kirkpatrick (AZ)
Kissell
Klein (FL)
Kosmas
Kratovil
Kucinich
Lance
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
LaTourette
Lee (CA)
Lee (NY)
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Loebsack
Lofgren, Zoe
Lowey
Luetkemeyer
Lujan
Lynch
Maffei
Maloney
Markey (CO)
Markey (MA)
Marshall
Matheson
Matsui
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McCotter
McDermott
McGovern
McIntyre
McMahon
McNerney
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Melancon
Michaud
Miller (MI)
Miller (NC)
Miller, George
Minnick
Mitchell
Mollohan
Moore (KS)
Moore (WI)
Moran (VA)
Murphy (CT)
Murphy (NY)
Murphy, Patrick
Murphy, Tim
Nadler (NY)
Napolitano
Neal (MA)
Nye
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Owens
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor (AZ)
Paulsen
Payne
Pelosi
Perlmutter
Perriello
Peters
Peterson
Petri
Pingree (ME)
Platts
Polis (CO)
Pomeroy
Posey
Price (NC)
Putnam
Quigley
Rahall
Rangel
Reichert
Reyes
Richardson
Rodriguez
Rooney
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Ross
Rothman (NJ)
Roybal-Allard
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan (OH)
Salazar
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta
Sarbanes
Scalise
Schakowsky
Schauer
Schiff
Schock
Schrader
Schwartz
Scott (GA)
Scott (VA)
Serrano
Sestak
Shea-Porter
Sherman
Shimkus
Shuler
Simpson
Sires
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (NJ)
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Space
Speier
Spratt
Stark
Stearns
Stupak
Sutton
Tanner
Taylor
Teague
Terry
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Tiberi
Tierney
Titus
Tonko
Towns
Tsongas
Turner
Upton
Van Hollen
Velazquez
Visclosky
Walden
Walz
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Waxman
Weiner
Welch
Whitfield
Wilson (OH)
Wittman
Wolf
Woolsey
Wu
Yarmuth
NAYS--93
Aderholt
Alexander
Barrett (SC)
Bartlett
Barton (TX)
Bishop (UT)
Boehner
Bonner
Brady (TX)
Bright
Broun (GA)
Burton (IN)
Calvert
Campbell
Cantor
Carter
Chaffetz
Coble
Coffman (CO)
Cole
Conaway
Culberson
Duncan
Fallin
Flake
Fleming
Foxx
Franks (AZ)
Gallegly
Garrett (NJ)
Gingrey (GA)
Gohmert
Goodlatte
Granger
Graves (GA)
Hall (TX)
Harper
Hastings (WA)
Heller
Hensarling
Herger
Hunter
Inglis
Jenkins
Johnson, Sam
Jordan (OH)
King (IA)
Kingston
Kline (MN)
Lamborn
Latham
Latta
Lewis (CA)
Lucas
Lummis
Lungren, Daniel E.
Mack
Manzullo
McCaul
McClintock
McHenry
McKeon
McMorris Rodgers
Mica
Miller (FL)
Miller, Gary
Myrick
Neugebauer
Olson
Paul
Pence
Pitts
Poe (TX)
Price (GA)
Rehberg
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rohrabacher
Royce
Ryan (WI)
Schmidt
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shuster
Smith (NE)
Smith (TX)
Sullivan
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Westmoreland
Wilson (SC)
Young (AK)
NOT VOTING--25
Akin
Bachmann
Berry
Brown (SC)
Buyer
Carney
Davis (KY)
Delahunt
Griffith
Himes
Hoekstra
Kilpatrick (MI)
Linder
Marchant
McCarthy (CA)
Moran (KS)
Nunes
Radanovich
Rogers (MI)
[[Page H6555]]
Shadegg
Tiahrt
Wamp
Watson
Watt
Young (FL)
{time} 1712
So the bill was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________