[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16069]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1640
                DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ``HOT GOODS'' ISSUES

  (Mr. WALDEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask Labor Secretary Hilda 
Solis a simple question on behalf of the farmers of Oregon: When will 
we get answers about the Department's heavy-handed enforcement tactics?
  In August, my colleagues and I from the Oregon delegation--
Republicans and Democrats alike--wrote to the Secretary about reports 
that the Department of Labor had been discarding rights of due process 
and appeal in using ``hot goods'' orders to enforce labor laws on farms 
in the Pacific Northwest. So far, we are still waiting for a written 
response 108 days later.
  We know the Department can move with great speed when it wants to--
when it's trying to shut down a farm with little due process or appeal. 
So why does it take so long to get answers for Oregon farmers? Again, I 
ask the Secretary to clarify in writing the Department of Labor's 
procedures for due process after a farm inspection.
  Certainly, no one is advocating for unfair labor practices, but our 
farmers deserve due process and a clear understanding of what to expect 
from an investigation. Only the Department of Labor can provide these 
answers to Oregon's congressional delegation and to the citizens we 
represent. 108 days later, we and they still do not have those written 
answers, and that is simply unacceptable.

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