[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 184 (Thursday, December 17, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8776-S8777]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--S. 248

  Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I wish to address my colleagues on the 
National Labor Relations Act. It was enacted in 1935, and that 
legislation exempted Federal, State, and local governments but did not 
explicitly mention Native American governments from the provisions of 
the act. As a matter of sovereignty, Indian tribes--tribes across the 
country--should be excluded from the provisions of the NLRB. For 70 
years, the NLRB honored the sovereign status, and it accorded them the 
rights they are entitled to under the Constitution of the United 
States.
  Beginning in 2004, however, the NLRB reversed its treatment of tribes 
and legally challenged those tribes in regard to the NLRB. The Tribal 
Labor Sovereignty Act, which I introduced and passed in the Senate 
Committee on Indian Affairs in a bipartisan way, is simple.
  The National Labor Relations Act is amended to provide that any 
enterprise or institution owned or operated by an Indian tribe and 
located on tribal lands is not subject to the NLRA. This is not a labor 
issue. This is a sovereignty issue. The narrow legislation protects 
tribal sovereignty and gives tribal governments the ability to make the 
best decisions possible for their people. This legislation seeks to 
treat tribal governments no differently than other units of local 
government, counties, and cities. As I said, this legislation not only 
passed the Senate committee, but similar legislation passed the House 
of Representatives in a bipartisan vote.
  The late Senator Inouye of Hawaii wrote in 2009: ``Congress should 
affirm the original construction of NLRA by expressly including Indian 
tribes in the definition of an employer.''
  This bill presents Congress with an opportunity to reaffirm the 
constitutional status of sovereignty that tribes are entitled to under 
the supreme law of our land.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the 
immediate consideration of Calendar No. 220, S. 248 and that the bill 
be read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be 
considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I reserve the right to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I will briefly explain the reasons I am 
reserving the right to object. I, first of all, thank Senator Moran. As 
a fellow member of the banking committee, while I disagree with him on 
this issue, we have found many things we can work together on, and I 
appreciate that.
  As Senator Moran does, I strongly support sovereignty, as I know 
virtually everybody in this body probably does. But this bill, frankly, 
isn't about tribal sovereignty; it is about undermining labor law that 
protects the rights of workers to organize and collectively bargain.
  We have a middle class in this country in large part because since 
the 1930s--since Hugo Black sat at this desk and Senator Wagner sat at 
another desk in this chamber and wrote collective bargaining laws--we 
know what that has done to raise wealth, not just for union members but 
for others also.
  This bill attempts to overturn the National Labor Relations Board 
decisions that have asserted the Board's jurisdiction over labor 
disputes on tribal lands. The Board methodically evaluates when they do 
and don't have jurisdiction on tribal lands by using a very carefully 
crafted test to ensure that the Board's jurisdiction would not violate 
tribal rights and would not interfere in the exclusive right to self-
governance. We support that.
  In the June 2015 decision, the NLRB employed the test. They did not 
assert jurisdiction in a labor dispute on tribal lands. Instead, this 
bill is part of an agenda to undermine the rights of American workers, 
including the 600,000 employees of tribal casinos. Of those employees, 
75 percent are non-Indians. Courts have upheld the application to the 
tribes of Federal employment laws, including the Fair Labor Standards 
Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Employment Retirement 
Income Security Act--that is OSHA and ERISA--and title 3 of the 
Americans with Disabilities Act, the ADA--all very important to protect 
people, workers, and citizens.
  In addition to harming thousands of already organized workers in 
commercial tribe enterprises, casinos, and other things, this bill 
would establish a dangerous precedent to weaken longstanding tribal 
protections on tribal lands. For these reasons, Mr. President, I 
object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I am disappointed the Senator from Ohio has 
objected, and I will continue our efforts both in the committee and on 
the Senate floor to see that this legislation or

[[Page S8777]]

legislation similar to it is advanced for the purposes of reaffirming 
the constitutional grant of sovereignty--the sovereignty of those who 
preceded us in the country.

                          ____________________