[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 17139-17142]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 DELAYING MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE IN AMERICAN SAMOA AND NORTHERN MARIANA 
                                ISLANDS

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the 
rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 3940) to 
authorize the Secretary of the Interior to extend grants and other 
assistance to facilitate a political status public education program 
for the people of Guam.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the Senate amendments is as follows:

       Senate amendments:
       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING POLITICAL STATUS 
                   EDUCATION IN GUAM.

       It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of the 
     Interior may provide technical assistance to the Government 
     of Guam under section 601(a) of the Act entitled ``An Act to 
     authorize appropriations for certain insular areas of the 
     United States, and for other purposes'', approved December 
     24, 1980 (48 U.S.C. 1469d(a)), for public education regarding 
     political status options only

[[Page 17140]]

     if the political status options are consistent with the 
     Constitution of the United States.

     SEC. 2. MINIMUM WAGE IN AMERICAN SAMOA AND THE COMMONWEALTH 
                   OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.

       (a) Delayed Effective Date.--Section 8103(b) of the Fair 
     Minimum Wage Act of 2007 (29 U.S.C. 206 note) (as amended by 
     section 520 of division D of Public Law 111-117) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting ``(except 2011 when 
     there shall be no increase)'' after ``thereafter'' the second 
     place it appears; and
       (2) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking ``except that, 
     beginning in 2010'' and inserting ``except that there shall 
     be no such increase in 2010 or 2011 and, beginning in 2012''.
       (b) GAO Report.--Section 8104 of such Act (as amended) is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(a) Report.--The Government Accountability Office shall 
     assess the impact of minimum wage increases that have 
     occurred pursuant to section 8103, and not later than 
     September 1, 2011, shall transmit to Congress a report of its 
     findings. The Government Accountability Office shall submit 
     subsequent reports not later than April 1, 2013, and every 2 
     years thereafter until the minimum wage in the respective 
     territory meets the federal minimum wage.''; and
       (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (b).

         Amend the title so as to read: ``An Act to clarify the 
     availability of existing funds for political status education 
     in the Territory of Guam, and for other purposes.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. George Miller) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. 
Hastings) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative 
days during which Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous 
material on H.R. 3940 into the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of the Senate amendment to H.R. 
3940. This amendment addresses two issues: The political status and 
education in Guam; and adjustment of the minimum wage schedules for two 
other Pacific territories, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands.
  Current law requires the minimum wage to increase in both of these 
territories by 50 cents per year until they reach the mainland's 
Federal minimum wage. Current law also requires the GAO to submit 
annual reports to the Congress on economic conditions for the minimum 
wage in both of these territories. These GAO reports are intended to 
give Congress information so that, if necessary, Congress can adjust 
the minimum wage schedules in these territories. The adjustments 
proposed in this bill are as a result of the GAO's latest report.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as we wind down this session of this Congress, it is 
probably fitting that this bill is in front of us, because the bill 
before us today is intended to provide economic relief to the 
Territories of American Samoa and the Northern Marianas. Specifically, 
these territories, which are each home to approximately 70,000 people, 
are appealing to us, to Congress, to forestall congressionally mandated 
increases in the minimum wage in their territories.
  It was the Speaker Pelosi-led Congress in 2007 that imposed this job-
killing policy. The impacts in these territories have been very real 
and very severe, especially in American Samoa, which has seen one of 
its two primary employers, tuna packing plants, shut down after the 
minimum wage policy went into effect.

                              {time}  2150

  The next increase in the minimum wage in these territories is slated 
to take effect at the end of this month, Mr. Speaker. That's tomorrow, 
Thursday, September 30. So there is indeed an urgent need to act right 
now.
  While I agree with the need to spare these territories from the 
economic havoc that this Democrat Congress has inflicted on them, there 
are other laws that this Democrat Congress has imposed over the 
objections, and against the will, of the American people. The most 
obvious one has been talked about for nearly a year--and that, of 
course, is the Big Government health care takeover that is threatening, 
among others, small businesses. It has also caused some seniors to lose 
their Medicare coverage and we are seeing costs in health care 
insurance premiums that are rising higher and higher. And the 2001 and 
2003 tax relief that is slated to expire at the end of this year, of 
course, has not been addressed. Thousands of small businesses will be 
hit with this massive tax increase. In fact, rates will rise on all 
individual taxpayers. The child tax credit will be cut in half. The 
marriage penalty return and the death tax would revert back to its high 
rate. And yet, Mr. Speaker, this Congress has voted to adjourn and 
leave town without addressing these tax increases. This uncertainty we 
have seen across the country inflicts a terrible toll on our economy.
  However, always a silver lining, Mr. Speaker. With this bill, the 
Democrat Congress admits that they were wrong, that the policies they 
imposed are costing real people their jobs. I'm glad that they admit 
here tonight what they have done. But I should say this as, again, 
we're winding down, Mr. Speaker. Relief shouldn't just come for 
American Samoa. Americans across the 50 States are losing jobs and 
hurting because of the actions of this Democrat Congress. They, too, 
Mr. Speaker, need relief.
  With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. At this time I yield 3 minutes to 
the gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo).
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California.
  I rise in support of H.R. 3940, which clarifies the authority of the 
Secretary of the Interior to extend assistance to Guam for the purpose 
of public education regarding political status options available to the 
territory of Guam. I introduced H.R. 3940 in October of last year, and 
the House passed this bill last year by voice vote. The Senate recently 
made some changes to the bill, given the administration's testimony on 
the bill before the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee on May 19 of 
this year.
  H.R. 3940 represents an opportunity for Congress to fulfill its 
responsibility to Guam under the United States Constitution. The 
territorial clause in article IV of the United States Constitution 
vests with this body the power to dispose of and make all needful rules 
and regulations respecting the territories of the United States. Guam 
has been part of the United States now for over 111 years as an 
unincorporated territory and at the moment remains listed by the United 
Nations as one of several non-self-governing territories. Ceded to the 
United States by Spain, along with our sister territory Puerto Rico at 
the end of the Spanish American War, the people of Guam are ready to 
exercise their aspirations toward self-determination of their political 
status.
  This bill is not meant to favor any particular political status 
option, nor is it meant to assert direct congressional involvement in 
this process. Ultimately, it is the sole responsibility of Congress to 
respond to the desires of the people of Guam on the question of status.
  The bill is supported by the Governor of Guam, the Speaker of the 
Guam legislature, and several indigenous rights organizations on Guam. 
Further, the administration supports the enactment of H.R. 3940. I 
would also add that section 2 of the bill before us would make an 
adjustment to the implementation of public law 110-28 to American Samoa 
and the Northern Mariana Islands. This adjustment comes based on the 
thorough analysis of the Government Accountability Office at the 
request of American Samoa and the Northern Marianas. The gentleman from 
American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) has worked steadfastly on this matter 
to ensure an appropriate balance is

[[Page 17141]]

struck. I, too, want to thank him for his diligence.
  As chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans, and 
Wildlife, and on behalf of my constituents, I ask that my colleagues 
support this bill.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 
minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King).
  Mr. KING of Iowa. I thank the gentleman from Washington for yielding.
  I came down here to the floor out of support for Guam, half a day, 
where America's day begins. And the first cup of coffee in America is 
there on Guam. So I have a special place in my heart for Guam, and I 
support the educational components of this legislation. I also come 
here, Mr. Speaker, and I think it is a bit unusual, but I support the 
balance of this underlying legislation that was amended to the 
gentlelady from Guam's bill in the Senate. I do that, but I also 
support the words of Mr. Hastings of Washington, who says that 
Democrats have admitted they were wrong.
  We have to look at this legislation and see that the minimum wage was 
imposed upon the Northern Marianas and American Samoa in 2007. Two tuna 
canning factories; now one has closed as a direct result of the 
imposition of a minimum wage. And the sole garment factory in the 
Northern Marianas has also closed because of a direct result, at least 
in significant part, because of the imposition of minimum wage. It is a 
microcosm economy that anybody that understands free enterprise should 
know that when the government artificially raises the cost of wages, 
businesses that have to stay, therefore a profit, can't stay open 
unless they can operate from a profit.
  Labor is, Mr. Speaker, a commodity. It is a commodity like gold or 
oil or corn or beans. Labor: it is a precious commodity. And the value 
of it needs to be determined by supply and demand in the marketplace, 
not by the United States Government.
  And so here we are with a damaged economy out in the Pacific in 
America's territories and an example for all this Congress that if we 
continue to increase government-imposed regulations, government-imposed 
minimum wage, for example, and all of the burden that's been put upon 
the free enterprise system over here with this over-management and this 
Keynesian economist on steroids, which is our President's economic 
policy, we're going to pay the price in the United States of America 
the same way they're paying the price in American Samoa and the 
Northern Marianas.
  I support the bill.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman 
from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega).
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California, 
the distinguished chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, and I 
also want to thank my good friend, the distinguished ranking member of 
our Resources Subcommittee on the other side of the aisle for their 
management of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation is of critical importance to the people 
of American Samoa. How ironic, Mr. Speaker, that last year, on this 
very day, September 29, American Samoa was hit by the most powerful 
earthquake, which struck below the ocean at about 140 miles south of 
the Samoa Islands. The earthquake, which registered 8.3 on the Richter 
scale, set off a massive tsunami that ended up with 20-foot waves and 
causing a lot of villages to be severely damaged. People died, sweeping 
cars out in the ocean. It was a terrible experience for the people.
  Mr. Speaker, one day after this, one of our two major tuna processing 
companies closed its operations in American Samoa, displacing well over 
2,000 workers whose jobs were outsourced basically to Thailand, where 
workers are paid seventy-five cents per hour or even less at that time.
  Mr. Speaker, today I am asking my colleagues in the House to support 
this legislation. While I am fully aware that some of my friends on the 
other side of the aisle who represent rural communities have similar 
challenges, I am deeply appreciative of the support that I have 
received from the other side of the aisle, my Republican friends.

                              {time}  2200

  I also want to thank Majority Leader Reid and the Senator from 
Arizona, Senator McCain, Senator DeMint, and Senator Coburn for their 
support of this legislation on the other side, and especially my dear 
colleague from the territory of Guam and her chairmanship, and not only 
that but her sponsorship of this legislation, Congresswoman Bordallo.
  I thank Majority Leader Hoyer, the chairman of our Education and 
Labor Committee, and Chairman Rahall. And I also want to say that I 
need the support of my colleagues on this legislation.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield the gentleman an additional 
30 seconds.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I want to say to my friend from the distinguished 
State of Washington that, again, I deeply, deeply appreciate his 
support and help in getting this legislation and making it for the 
consideration of the Members of this body.
  With that, again, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance 
of my time.
  I just want to say, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation. This corrects actions that were done to these territories 
3 years ago, and I think this is a very good policy. I wish we could 
have addressed this earlier rather than 1 day before the law would go 
into effect. So I urge my colleagues to support this much-needed 
legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  As I mentioned in my opening statement, the adjustment proposed by 
this bill is the result of the GAO's recent report. The recent GAO 
report lays out in great detail the serious economic difficulties 
confronting each territory to varying degrees. These difficulties arise 
from a variety of factors, including recent global economic conditions, 
ongoing economic diversification issues within the territories.
  The GAO report justifies an adjustment to the minimum wage scale. 
Accordingly, the bill adjusts the schedule over the next 2 years by 
foregoing the 2010 increase in American Samoa and foregoing to 2011 
increase in both American Samoa and the CNMI, and then in 2012 the 
normal schedule will be resumed. Last year we took similar action, and 
I would hope that everybody would support this bill.
  I have to say, however, we have to correct some history here. First 
of all, the gentleman from Washington--I thank him for his support of 
this legislation--indicated that the hardship has fallen mostly on 
American Samoa. As the gentleman from American Samoa pointed out, some 
of that was due to the tsunami, but I would also suggest that American 
Samoa was covered at the insistence of Mr. Kirk from Illinois in the 
Appropriations Committee who insisted that the original legislation 
apply to American Samoa. That was not the original intent of the bill 
when we introduced it.
  Secondly, the jobs in the CNMI, of course, have been in decline for 
some years because of the changes in the Multi-Fiber Agreement, and 
those jobs started migrating to China. Most of those plants were 
Chinese-owned, and they started pulling the machinery out of those 
plants and moving the machinery to China. That was hastened because of 
the Jack Abramoff scandals, and many of the labels, the big 
international American labels that were having clothing made in those 
plants, did not want that association and they left those plants in 
haste. And now the CNMI has no further garment industry at all, but 
that's been migrating over the last couple of years.
  The problem was that, in fact, as we know, they were using the CNMI 
to sew into the label of these shirts ``Made in the USA'' when, in 
fact, they were not and they were made with what turned

[[Page 17142]]

out to be, in many instances, slave labor from some of the poorest 
countries around the world. Many labels pulled out because they didn't 
want to be associated with those labor practices. They went off and had 
their clothes made in Indonesia or Mexico or the Caribbean or wherever. 
Others stayed and then things started getting worse. The final tier of 
the Multi-Fiber Agreement came along, and like so many other places in 
the Pacific, that's how that industry migrated to China, to Vietnam and 
elsewhere and left the CNMI.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield to the gentleman.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Well, I appreciate the gentleman's giving 
some background on this, and I'm not going to refute that. However, it 
seems to me that the mere evidence of the remedy that we are proposing 
here is aimed at the minimum wage, which was passed in 2007, and the 
remedy addressing the minimum wage would certainly indicate to me that, 
at least in the real near term, the reason for this is the minimum 
wage, and so I stand by my remarks, but I know there's always more to 
it.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Certainly, the delegate from the 
CNMI continues to support the increase in the minimum wage. We're just 
trying to time it.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. If the gentleman will yield, I will just 
simply say that I find it remarkable that the remedy we are trying to 
pursue is prolonging an increase in the minimum wage.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. We could have gone the other way, 
maybe more in keeping with the Republican doctrine. We could have 
lowered the wages to 70 cents an hour and then they could have kept the 
jobs from going to Malaysia, but I don't think they could support 
themselves in these territories with that, especially with the 
construction going on in Guam.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. If the gentleman will yield, I don't 
recall during the debate that there was a discussion of any level of 
minimum wage as the gentleman was referring to, but as was pointed out 
by the gentleman from Iowa, it simply is a matter of supply and demand, 
and we need to be cognizant of that.
  So, with that, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I am happy to yield to the 
gentleman.
  Mr. KLINE of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Senate 
amendment to H.R. 3940.
  With great fanfare, this Democratic majority increased the federally 
mandated minimum wage as one of its first acts. At the time, many of us 
warned that without adequate financial relief or transition time, 
especially for small businesses, workers would be harmed by a proposal 
that was intended to help them.
  We warned that teens seeking their first job and the chance to build 
work experience would have fewer opportunities. We warned that 
unskilled workers would be replaced by a smaller number of more highly 
skilled workers. And we warned that regions with comparatively low 
wages and living expenses would be especially hard hit because of the 
added cost to job-creators.
  With nearly 15 million Americans searching for work, it's a terrible 
time to have to say we told you so.
  In July 2007, when the first phase of the wage hike took effect, the 
national unemployment rate was 4.6 percent. For teenagers, the 
unemployment rate was 15.3 percent.
  Today, while the overall unemployment rate stands at an unacceptably 
high 9.6 percent, the figure for teens is far worse: more than one-
quarter of all teens are unemployed, a total of 26.3 percent.
  Young African-American men perhaps bear the greatest burden from this 
irresponsible tinkering with the free marketplace. At the time 
Democrats passed their minimum wage hike, 31 percent of African-
American teen males were unemployed; today, these same young men have a 
50-50 chance of being unemployed.
  No one would suggest federal wage mandates are the sole cause of this 
spike in unemployment. But the difference between the overall jobless 
rate and the number of teens who cannot find work is startling and 
should not be ignored.
  Economists from the University of California, Irvine and the Federal 
Reserve reviewed more than 100 academic studies on the impact of the 
minimum wage around the time these increases began. They found 
overwhelming evidence that the least skilled and the young suffer a 
loss of employment when the minimum wage is increased.
  Similarly hard hit by the wage requirement are the territories of 
American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. A 
major tuna cannery in American Samoa closed its doors last year, laying 
off some 2,000 workers--roughly 12 percent of the territory's 
workforce. The second cannery has already laid off hundreds of workers 
and its future remains in doubt.
  In April of this year, the Government Accountability Office reported 
on the how the wage rate harms these territories:
  In American Samoa . . . Many employers reported having taken cost-
cutting actions, such as freezing hiring and cutting worker benefits, 
since the increases began. Employers also reported planning actions 
such as leaving American Samoa or closing by the end of 2010. More 
employers attributed their actions to the minimum wage increases than 
to other factors. . . . In discussion groups, workers generally said 
that their support for the wage increases had dwindled because of 
concerns about issues such as the cannery closure, job insecurity, and 
loss of benefits.
  Today, the House is voting on a measure to temporarily suspend the 
destructive federal wage mandates. Another increase is scheduled to 
take effect tomorrow, which makes immediate action imperative.
  But we can't pretend the negative consequences of the minimum wage 
hike wreaking havoc on businesses in American Samoa aren't equally 
damaging to businesses in Muncie, Indiana. Or Le Center, Minnesota. Or 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Or anywhere else a business is struggling to 
meet its payroll and provide opportunities for its workers.
  I certainly support this small measure of relief for the territories. 
Congress should do everything it can to right any wrongs it imposes on 
the people we are here to serve. However, I hope we do not fail to 
learn the larger lesson: Federal laws that force one-size-fits-all 
mandates on vastly different workers, workplaces, and communities often 
do far more harm than good.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Weiner). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) that the 
House suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the 
bill, H.R. 3940.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas 
and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________