Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Chairman, we can raise living standards for working families all across the United States if we use the Federal dollars to create good jobs.

My amendment would reprogram funds to create an Office of Good Jobs in the Department of Energy that would help ensure that the Department's procurement grant making and regulatory decisions encourage the creation of decently paid jobs, collective bargaining rights, and responsible employment practices.

Right now the U.S. Government is America's leading low-wage job creator, funding over 2 million poverty jobs through contracts, loans, and grants with corporate America. That is more than the total number of low-wage workers employed by Walmart and McDonald's combined.

This is a fact, Mr. Chairman, and I think it should alarm all of us. The Federal Government should not lead the race to the bottom for poorly paid low-wage jobs.

U.S. contract workers earn so little that nearly 40 percent use public assistance programs, Mr. Chairman, like food stamps and section 8, to feed and shelter their families.

To add insult to injury, many of these low-wage U.S. contract workers are driven deeper into poverty because their employers steal their wages and break other Federal labor laws. Not all. Many Federal contractors are excellent, but some do steal wages, and they tend to get away with it.

Take, for example, the story of Edilicia Banegas. Edilicia is a single mom. Edilicia worked for 7 years at the Ronald Reagan Building food court, a Federal building.

Her employer stole her wages, paid her with cash under the table, used checks from two different establishments in the same food court to avoid paying her overtime, and retaliated against her when she and her coworkers stood up for their rights.

Edilicia has been on strike several times to highlight the plight of low-wage Federal contract workers in Washington, D.C., and across the country.

Well, what about the story of Mayra Tito. Mayra is a Pentagon food court worker who was fired for challenging her managers to comply with labor laws and for going on strike multiple times.

She is a first-generation immigrant struggling to pay her tuition at George Mason University and now works odd jobs to make ends meet. Her experience at the Pentagon has inspired her to go to law school to help workers defend their rights.

Mr. Chairman, research shows that Federal contractors break Federal laws somewhat on a regular basis. A U.S. Senate report, for example, found that over 30 percent of the biggest penalties for lawbreaking were filed against the biggest U.S. contractors, people who the procurement process got money from the U.S. taxpayer.

But workers aren't the only ones who would benefit from this new office. This new office would also benefit law-abiding businesses and high-road employers--employers who play by the rules but who get put at a competitive disadvantage because they obey the law. The Office of Good Jobs would direct taxpayer dollars to American businesses that play by the rules and ensure that cheaters don't get a leg up.

It is unfair to make law-abiding companies compete with contractors who are willing to cut corners. Think about it: you are a law-abiding company that fought hard for that contract, but now the Federal Government is going to give it to your competitors who are willing to steal from their workers?

Plus, we know that contractors who consistently adhere to labor laws are more likely to have greater productivity and an increased likelihood of timely, predictable, and successful delivery of goods and services to the Federal Government. Bad contractors usually not only cheat workers, but they cheat the Federal Government by poor performance.

In conclusion, Mr. Chair, these are tax dollars that should be used to build the middle class, to support high-road employers, and to provide the best possible service to the American public. An Office of Good Jobs would achieve that. Abandon the days when the U.S. Government was the leading funder of low-wage jobs. After all, Mr. Chair, when you and I and all of the other taxpayers have to fund low-wage workers with section 8 and food stamps, that comes out of our pockets. Make these folks pay their workers right. Let's set up an Office of Good Jobs.

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Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Chair, let's have an Office of Good Jobs that makes sure that the Federal Government leads the example in creating good jobs, not encourages a race to the bottom as we are doing now. This is a good amendment, and if we want to restore the American middle class, all Members should vote ``yes.''

Mr. Chair, it is intended that the appropriation for Departmental Administration be used to establish an Office of Good Jobs in the Department aimed at ensuring that the Department's procurement, grant- making, and regulatory decisions encourage the creation of decently paid jobs, collective bargaining rights, and responsible employment practices. The office's structure shall be substantially similar to the Centers for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships located within the Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor, Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Small Business Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Corporation for National and Community Service, and U.S. Agency for International Development.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

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