[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6421]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     THE INTRODUCTION OF THE CONGRESS LEADS BY EXAMPLE ACT OF 2013

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 7, 2013

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the Congress Leads by 
Example Act of 2013, to subject Congress and the rest of the 
legislative branch to the federal workplace laws and standards that 
protect employees in the private sector and the executive branch. In a 
similar vein, a few weeks ago, I introduced the Member of Congress Pay 
Sequestration and Fairness Act, which would subject the pay of members 
of the House and Senate to any future sequestration, or automatic, 
across-the-board spending cuts. While members of Congress may differ on 
the merits of sequestration, once Congress passes laws, members should 
abide by the laws we impose on the American people and American 
businesses. That was the promise Congress made when we passed the 
Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA).
  The CAA was an important first step in making the legislative branch 
accountable to its employees, but it did not finish the job. The CAA 
did bring the legislative branch under 13 major civil rights, labor and 
workplace safety and health laws, but it exempted the legislative 
branch from important notice and training provisions, and altogether 
omitted important substantive and administrative protections.
  The Congress Leads by Example Act of 2013 is a necessary follow up 
bill to my 2010 investigation of staff complaints at the Capitol 
Visitor Center
  (CVC) and to the recommendations from the Office of Compliance (OOC), 
which found a gap in OOC's authority to enforce the Occupational Safety 
and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) provisions against the legislative 
branch. In the 111th Congress, as chair of the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure's Subcommittee on Economic 
Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management, I held a 
hearing examining claims by OOC, which was created by the CAA, of an 
estimated 6,300 safety hazards in the U.S. Capitol complex, as well as 
complaints by CVC tour guides that they were compelled to work in 
uniforms that were inappropriate for outdoor work in the summer and 
winter and that there were limits placed on their water consumption. 
Our hearing demonstrated that many of the serious safety hazards in the 
Capitol complex had been resolved, and the Architect of the Capitol 
assured us that it continues to correct the outstanding hazards with 
due speed. Eventually, the formation of a union local by CVC tour 
guides led to specific improvements in uniform and water consumption 
practices and policies.
  However, in a 2010 report entitled Recommendations for Improvements 
to the Congressional Accountability Act, OOC identified additional 
provisions of federal workplace laws and standards that should be 
applicable to the legislative branch, including laws that grant the OOC 
General Counsel subpoena power, provide whistleblowers with protection 
from retaliation, and require the maintenance of employment records. In 
OOC's 2011 report entitled State of the Congressional Workplace, it 
presents the successes and shortcomings of the CAA by tracking the 
trends in legislative branch employee complaints and workplace safety 
hazards in fiscal year 2010. My bill takes into account the OOC 
reports, and seeks to both apply the standard of fairness to employees 
in the legislative branch that Congress requires for other employees 
and to provide a safer work environment for Congress and Capitol Hill 
employees by bringing the legislative branch substantially in line with 
what is legally required of private sector employers and the executive 
branch.
  As Congress searches for ways to trim the federal budget, it would be 
timely to provide whistleblower protections to legislative branch 
employees so that they can report misuse of federal funds and other 
legal violations without fear of retaliation. My bill provides general 
whistleblower protections, also championed by Senators Chuck Grassley 
and Claire McCaskill. My bill also makes applicable additional OSHA 
provisions to the legislative branch, including providing subpoena 
authority to OOC to conduct inspections and investigations into OSHA 
violations, and requiring the posting of notices in workplaces 
detailing employee rights to a safe workplace under OSHA.
  This bill also furthers the CAA's mission to prevent discrimination 
in legislative branch offices by prohibiting the legislative branch 
from making adverse employment decisions on the basis of an employee's 
wage garnishment or involvement in bankruptcy proceedings pursuant to 
the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) and Chapter 11 of the 
bankruptcy code. The bill requires legislative branch employers to 
provide their employees with notice of their rights and remedies under 
the CAA anti-discrimination provisions through the placement of signage 
in offices highlighting relevant anti-discrimination laws, including 
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, 
and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. The bill also requires 
legislative branch offices to provide training to employees about their 
CAA rights and remedies. Adding the CCPA and bankruptcy provisions will 
deter economic discrimination, while the notice and training provisions 
will empower legislative branch employees with the full knowledge of 
their rights.
  Finally, the bill bolsters the CAA's recordkeeping requirements. It 
extends to the legislative branch the obligation to maintain accurate 
records of safety information and employee injuries, as otherwise 
required by OSHA, as well as employee records necessary to administer 
anti-discrimination laws. The enhanced recordkeeping requirements will 
facilitate better enforcement of laws.
  On the eve of the CAA's passage in 1995, then-Senator Olympia Snowe 
may have best captured the intent of Congress and the will of the 
people when she remarked, ``Congress simply cannot continue to live 
above the law and call itself a body that is representative of the 
America we live in today. After all, what kind of message does Congress 
send to Americans when it sets itself above the law? What kind of 
message does Congress send to America when it believes it is beholden 
to different standards? And how can Congress claim to pass laws in the 
best interest of the American people if Congress refuses to abide by 
those very same laws. . . . Congress should be the very last 
institution in America to exempt itself from living under the nation's 
laws.'' By passing this bill and heeding this wise call to action, 
Congress will help restore the faith of the public in this institution 
by redoubling our efforts to exercise leadership by example. I urge 
bipartisan support for this important measure.

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