[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 61 (Wednesday, April 10, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S2679]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              H.J. Res. 98

  Mr. President, now on a different matter, I have spoken before about 
the effort led by our colleagues, Senator Capito and Senator Cramer, to 
block a coercive, one-size-fits-all mandate from the Federal Highway 
Administration that would force States and localities to build 
transportation infrastructure the way the bluest coastal cities do. I 
am glad our colleagues will have a chance to support this resolution. I 
am grateful to our colleagues from West Virginia and North Dakota for 
their leadership.
  The Senate will also vote today on a resolution to overturn the 
administration's latest attack on small businesses and consumers. 
President Biden's Big Labor allies at the NLRB have issued a new rule 
that would expand the definition of an employer in a way that would 
make employers liable for other business employees whom they don't even 
directly oversee.
  Known as the joint employer rule, the new standard amounts to more 
regulatory redtape, threatening the very existence of small 
businesses--especially those that follow the franchise model.
  Small businesses are the lifeblood of the American dream. As many of 
our colleagues who own small businesses know, it requires a tremendous 
amount of hard work, long hours, and sleepless nights to own and 
operate a business. The Biden administration's regulatory state is 
already putting that dream out of reach for many hard-working 
Americans, but this new labor rule would add even bigger headaches and 
turn small business owners--including many in my home State of 
Kentucky--into middle managers.
  One such Kentuckian wrote me a letter saying that this rule has the 
potential to kill his small, independent marketing organization. Here 
is what he said:

       I implore you to stop [them] from killing many small 
     businesses like mine. . . . This government overreach has got 
     to stop. We are no longer a country that supports small 
     businesses.

  I have always been a proud supporter of small businesses in this 
country, and I have spent years fighting the joint employer rule. I am 
glad to join Senator Cassidy and Senator Manchin in leading the CRA to 
block this rule.
  One Federal court has already put this rule on ice. As the appeals 
take their course, I would encourage each of our colleagues to join us 
in rejecting the radical NLRB's new rule.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hickenlooper). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.