[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18198]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND 
               RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2004

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. PATRICK J. KENNEDY

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 10, 2003

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bills (H.R. 2660), 
     making appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health 
     and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies for 
     the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004, and for other 
     purposes:

  Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Chairman, during debate on H.R. 
2660, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and 
Education Appropriations bill, I strongly supported the Obey/Miller 
Amendment regarding overtime regulations at the Department of Labor 
(DOL).
  The amendment would block a proposal by the Bush Administration that 
will eliminate overtime under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act for 
millions of hard-working Americans who rely on overtime pay to make 
ends meet.
  The DOL proposal would strip overtime rights from more than 8 million 
workers by allowing easier classification of workers as ``white 
collar'' employees ineligible for overtime.
  Workers such as mid-level office workers in the offices of downtown 
Providence or the licensed practical nurses in Northern Rhode Island, 
or the EMTs, paramedics, and physical therapists on Aquidneck Island 
will lose under this proposal.
  It is just another attempt by the Bush Administration to roll back 
the clock on years of important wage and hour laws.
  This Congress should support the Obey/Miller Amendment and oppose the 
DOL overtime proposal.

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