[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18233]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND 
               RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. BOBBY L. RUSH

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 9, 2004

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5006) making 
     appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human 
     Services, and Education, and related agencies for the fiscal 
     year ending September 30, 2005, and for other purposes:

  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Chairman, last Thursday, during the House's 
consideration of H.R. 5006, the Fiscal Year 2005 Appropriations for the 
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and 
related agencies, I inadvertently voted for the Hayworth/Boehner 
amendment. I would like the record to reflect that I am opposed to the 
Hayworth/Boehner amendment and should have voted against it.
  The Hayworth amendment would have exempted more than 400,000 workers 
employed by tribally-owned casinos from coverage under the National 
Labor Relations Act (NLRA). While I strongly support sovereignty for 
tribal governments, I do not believe that Native American sovereignty 
was meant to deny the right to freely associate or collectively bargain 
to casino employees. A recent NLRB decision held--in fact--that Indian 
tribal enterprises are subject to the NLRB. In light of that decision, 
this House took the appropriate action in turning back the Hayworth/
Boehner amendment, and passing H.R. 5006 without it.

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