SEARCHING FOR AND CUTTING REGULATIONS THAT ARE UNNECESSARILY BURDENSOME ACT OF 2015

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to point out some serious concerns about the amendment offered by the gentleman from Michigan, which would direct the commission to examine the role that regulations have on wage stagnation and income inequality by examining the negative impact regulations have on wages.

It is my belief that this amendment is based on the false premise that all regulations have some negative impact on workers and their wages. It should be clear that this one-sentence amendment does not encompass the full story about the critical impact that workplace regulations can have on improving the health, safety, and income of workers.

For example, the rules and regulations that have been offered and put into effect by the Department of Labor under this administration have improved worker safety, increased workplace opportunity, and increased wages. The benefits are indisputable and far outweigh the costs. For example, the home care workers rule would extend overtime and minimum wage protection to 2 million home care workers. The proposed overtime rule would extend overtime pay protections for more than 5 million American workers who currently would be putting in dozens of overtime hours for no extra pay at all.

Now, Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to note that the description of this amendment shows an apparent concern for the problems that working families face, and the gentleman from Michigan has talked very extensively about it: wage stagnation and income inequality. If that is what we are going to address, there are ways of addressing it.

For example, we could bring to the floor for a vote the Raise the Wage Act, which would increase the minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020 and would give over 30 million Americans a raise.

We could support the Department of Labor's proposed rule that increases the overtime salary threshold, which would update the overtime rule to ensure that 5 million more Americans would be eligible to earn overtime for hours worked over 40 hours a week. Since the 1970s, worker output has increased by 74 percent, while the hourly compensation of the typical worker has only increased 9 percent. Workers simply aren't receiving a fair share of the wealth they create, and the overtime rule would help address this disparity.

We could cosponsor the WAGE Act that would protect hardworking Americans' fundamental right to join together and bargain for better wages. To date, 67 House Democrats support the Workplace Action for a Growing Economy, the WAGE Act, legislation that would strengthen protections for workers who want to raise wages and improve workplace conditions.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support these alternatives, but to oppose this amendment.