[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19536]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE COOPERATION ACT OF 2007

  (Mr. SARBANES asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. SARBANES. Madam Speaker, I rise today to salute the House of 
Representatives for passing H.R. 980, the Public Safety Employer-
Employee Cooperation Act of 2007.
  Now, more than ever, public safety employees are being stretched to 
capacity. With the deployment of our National Guard to Iraq, our local 
communities are being asked to respond to emergencies with often 
depleted resources and manpower.
  Our local first responders represent the highest in public service. 
By providing them with collective bargaining rights, we can help these 
patriotic men and women secure adequate equipment, ensure workplace 
safety, and promote pay and benefits that will allow us to recruit the 
best and brightest to these important professions. This legislation 
represents an effort to put words into action.
  Madam Speaker, our Nation's firefighters, police officers, and EMS 
personnel do right by the American people every day, keeping our 
families and communities safe. It is high time that we honor their 
service by enacting this legislation and providing them with the 
Federal resources they need to do their job.

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