H2600 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE April 29, 1998 had a response rate of 36%—far too low for sion of this special order to speak covering in that committee is just dis- accurate projections. about one of the most basic compo- closure after disclosure after disclosure Claim #3: The demand for IT workers will nents of campaign finance reform that and additional revelations about double in the next 10 years and there will not we have to deal with here in the money laundering schemes through the be enough of a supply of U.S. workers to meet it. present Congress and certainly Teamsters Union. Response: Who says we can’t meet it? The throughout the country as well. Now, here we have an example of demand for IT workers doubled over the last There has been a lot of talk, Mr. union dues that are being used and 10 years and it was satisfied right here in the Speaker, about various ways and strat- misused and laundered to benefit cer- U.S. by people from a wide variety of edu- egies to reinstitute a sense of fairness tain political campaigns. cational backgrounds. At least half of the and confidence in our election laws There are some people, no doubt jobs require a two-year college degree or among the American people. But while within these organizations, that sup- less. Let the demand double again. With the discussions about limited campaign port these particular political activi- well-planned policies of training and edu- funds, about reporting requirements, ties and political causes. And for them cation and the natural market response of this money laundering scheme is cer- Americans looking for good jobs that pay about various strategies to disclose the well, we will meet that demand again. campaign contributions and expendi- tainly to their advantage and to their What is the ITAA’s excuse for these bad tures of candidates seems to be occupy- benefit. But the vast majority of union numbers? Their only response is to stop ‘‘ar- ing the center of political debate on members and certainly Teamsters guing over methodology’’ so we can fix a campaign finance reform, I believe Union members do not approve of problem that they can’t even document. there is a much more fundamental money laundering. They do not ap- Could it be that foreign workers are cheaper, issue that we need to deal with, and prove of having pension funds and and they are trying to pull one over on Con- that is known as the Paycheck Protec- other funds diverted toward political gress so they can cut their costs? causes of various sorts without their Before we invite thousands of foreign tion Act. workers in to take American jobs, the indus- What happens today in a strategy to knowledge and without their consent. try owes us some straight answers. raise funds for various campaigns is Now, these are matters of a very dif- RON KLINK. that we have a number of organizations ferent nature than the general cam- f that have found creative ways to with- paigns that myself or other Members of this Congress engage in, or at the State The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a draw the wages of hard-working Ameri- legislative level or county commis- previous order of the House, the gen- cans and siphon those dollars off for sioners level, at a local level back tleman from North Carolina (Mr. political causes of various sorts. Now, this often occurs without the consent home, or on an issue advocacy basis. JONES) is recognized for 5 minutes. But those second kinds of campaigns or even the knowledge of the wage (Mr. JONES addressed the House. His that I mentioned are also the kinds of earner, who is working hard to earn the remarks will appear hereafter in the campaigns that receive political funds cash to make all this possible. Extensions of Remarks.) from union dues and from the wages of It occurs in many different settings, f hard-working Americans without the but most generally the biggest culprit The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a consent or knowledge of the wage earn- seems to be labor unions. Labor unions previous order of the House, the gentle- er. persuade prospective employees to join woman from Texas (Ms. JACKSON-LEE) It does not seem to be too difficult a is recognized for 5 minutes. their organizations for a variety of question to ask nor to answer in Amer- (Ms. JACKSON-LEE addressed the very attractive causes. One would be ica as follows: Should anyone be forced House. Her remarks will appear here- agency representation and collective or compelled to contribute their hard- after in the Extensions of Remarks.) bargaining, for example. And while earned wages to a political campaign those are legitimate functions of labor f they do not support? I think the an- unions, functions that I think most The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a swer is clearly no. It is hard to believe people would support and agree with, that there is anyone in America who previous order of the House, the gen- few people would agree that it is also a tleman from Texas (Mr. SESSIONS) is would answer in the affirmative when good idea to siphon a portion of a given such a question. recognized for 5 minutes. worker’s wages associated with union (Mr. SESSIONS addressed the House. The most recent national polls on the dues or agency fees and divert those subject, and I am referring to this His remarks will appear hereafter in dollars toward political campaigns of the Extensions of Remarks.) chart here on my right which shows various sorts, often campaigns that the where public opinion registers on this f union worker themselves, the wage particular topic. A recent poll by John The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a earner themselves, do not support. McLaughlin and Associates asked previous order of the House, the gen- I want to offer a couple of examples Americans across the country whether tleman from California (Mr. HORN) is that I think Members ought to con- they approved or disapprove of a new recognized for 5 minutes. sider. If we read today’s headlines, for Federal law that would protect work- (Mr. HORN addressed the House. His example, ‘‘Ex-Teamsters Official In- ers paychecks. In other words, a law remarks will appear hereafter in the dicted’’. This deals with just one labor that would prevent any organization, Extensions of Remarks.) union. There are several. And there are corporations or labor organizations f several that are very honorable and from siphoning off a portion of a wage The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a worthwhile organizations. earner’s paycheck and directing it to- previous order of the House, the gen- I am focusing on the one in yester- wards politics without the consent of tleman from New Jersey (Mr. SAXTON) day’s headline, being the Teamsters the wage earner. Would Americans sup- is recognized for 5 minutes. Union. This is in the Washington port a Federal law that would protect (Mr. SAXTON addressed the House. Times. ‘‘A Federal Grand Jury indicted paychecks and protect them from such His remarks will appear hereafter in the Teamsters former political director a travesty? the Extensions of Remarks.) yesterday on charges of giving $1.1 mil- Among all voters, 80 percent of the f lion in union funds to the Democratic American people have told us that they Party, the AFL–CIO and liberal advo- support a law to that effect. Looking THE PAYCHECK PROTECTION ACT cacy groups so they would launder por- way over here on the chart, only 16 per- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under tions into the reelection campaign of cent of the American voters believe the Speaker’s announced policy of Jan- Teamsters President Ron Carey. that labor unions and other political uary 7, 1997, the gentleman from Colo- Now, the Committee on Education groups ought to be able to siphon cash rado (Mr. BOB SCHAFFER) is recognized and the Workforce is investigating this out of wage earners’ paychecks without for half the time between now and mid- particular scandal, particularly the their consent. night, approximately 121⁄2 minutes, as Oversight and Investigations Sub- Interestingly enough, those numbers the designee of the majority leader. committee therein under the leader- are identical to what we find in union Mr. BOB SCHAFFER of Colorado. ship of the gentleman from Michigan households. In fact, this poll oversam- Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight on the occa- (Mr. HOEKSTRA). And what we are un- pled union households throughout April 29, 1998 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H2601 America, and we found that the very And that may also, I suspect, be the licans, for my party. Yet in 1996, less members of the labor organizations case with a number of Members of Con- than 10 percent of labor PAC dollars who have abused their trust, 80 percent gress, as well. went to Republican candidates. Now, of union households also agree that The political pressure that month think about that. Forty percent of there ought to be a law protecting the was pretty intense, I have to admit. We union members are voting for one par- paychecks of wage earners. could see a number of folks who con- ticular party, yet 10 percent of those Once again, only 16 percent of union stitute the 16 percent minority that I unions’ political PAC contributions are households, looking at the bar here, 16 mentioned lobbying around the Capitol going to the same party. percent of union households believe here. They were wearing their buttons, That means about 30 percent of the that the law ought to continue as it is asking Members to vote against pay- members who are working hard, paying today and allow unions and other polit- check protection. And while those or- the bills, and making all this political ical organizations to, in fact, steal cash ganizations may have scored a tem- gamesmanship possible are not rep- out of the wages and paychecks of hon- porary victory here in the Congress resented. Their hard-earned cash is si- est, hard-working Americans. and in the House of Representatives, I phoned off away from their paychecks When we survey the teachers’ union, believe that they will not prevail when and spent on political campaigns that just to be more specific about unions, it comes to winning this battle on the they do not, in fact, support. 84 percent of teachers’ unions’ mem- street. And that battle is one that is In Washington State, where 72 per- bers support the notion of paycheck going to take place, I assure my col- cent of the voters approved a paycheck protection, and 80 percent of all other leagues, Mr. Speaker, not here in protection initiative in 1992, over 40,000 nonunion families throughout the Washington, D.C., perhaps, but in the union workers had the shackles of in- country support paycheck protection great State of California, in the great voluntary political participation bro- as well. State of Colorado, in the great State of ken. In other words, the people of This is a significant number and a Nevada. Washington State enacted a paycheck significant illustration of where the This is a battle that has already been protection mechanism that protected American people are on such a basic won, in the great State of Washington. the paychecks of wage-earners that es- issue of fairness. Again, it is hard to It is a battle that has already been won sentially said that union dues are off believe that there are those anywhere at the legislative level in the great limits, that wages are off limits for po- in the country who support the notion State of Michigan. It is a battle that is litical purposes unless you have the of confiscating the wealth of the people being pondered and considered in consent of the wage-earner. who earn it and directing it toward the places like Ohio, and Maryland, and Well, here is what happened in the political causes of some political insid- Florida, and South Dakota and several State of Washington. Originally there er’s choice, but, as we can see on the other States where workers are telling were 48,000 members of the Washington chart, there are a handful of folks in us with great consistency that they are Education Association, and they were America that agree. fed up with a law that allows labor forced to fund political activities unions and other political organiza- against their will until this initiative b 2345 tions to actually reach into the pock- passed, and again with the backing of The question is who is in charge. ets of hard-working Americans and si- 72 percent of the voters in the State of Well, when this question was posed to phon off a portion of their wages and Washington. Well, the interesting an- this Congress just 1 month ago in these divert it toward political campaigns swer to a very obvious question is, very terms, we relied on the judgment without the consent of the wage- what happened? The answer is that of these individuals, those who are sup- earner. after passage, only 8,000 people volun- porting laws to protect paychecks. The Well, I mentioned those States and tarily succumbed to the union’s politi- judgments of the individuals who con- the battles that are about to ensue in cal activities. stitute the majority of Americans be- those States because those States have Let me go back and restate those lieve paychecks ought to be protected, seen fit to either propose or begin to numbers. Before the paycheck protec- and we proposed a bill on that basis. propose ballot initiatives to put these tion act in the State of Washington Well, this Congress, believe it or not, questions on the ballot for their con- was enacted, 48,000 union members Mr. Speaker, sided not with the 80 per- stituents to consider come election were forced, not just one union, this is cent of the American taxpayers who time, come November, or, in the case of the Washington Education Association, believe that paychecks ought to be pro- California, even earlier. were forced to contribute to political tected, this Congress sided with the 16 When given that choice, it seems to activities against their will. After pas- percent of the individuals who believe be pretty clear and the direction of sage, only 8,000 voluntarily paid for that it is acceptable and just to have these initiatives right now seems to unions’ political activities. labor unions and political insiders take suggest that the voice of the people, Well, Congress can send that same cash out of workers’ paychecks with- the voice of the families that I men- message to these labor bosses that are out their consent. tioned earlier, that 80 percent in the reminiscent to the messages sent by Now, there is a number of reasons for majority who wants paycheck protec- the colonists to King George, ‘‘No that. Obviously, there is something tion, will in the end speak louder than taxes without representation.’’ that is causing the Congress to listen the minority of individuals who find Now, I characterize this activity as to these people down here in the minor- comfort and value in using those re- taxes for the following reason, because ity of instances and to ignore the sources for their own political gain and labor unions have been given a tremen- voices of those who are in the majority political advantage. dous amount of authority under Fed- category, speaking of 80 percent and 84 ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE eral and State laws to organize on percent strengths. The only thing I can The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. union sites and on work sites and to go attribute that to is politics in general. RIGGS). If the gentleman from Califor- forward on collective bargaining and Those dollars that make their way to- nia (Mr. BOB SCHAFFER) would yield for agency representation. And that is ward various political campaigns, it is a moment, the Chair would inform the fine. That is a good thing. Those of us quite possible that those dollars may gentleman that he may claim the re- who support paycheck protection are have made their way to Congress on oc- mainder of the time between now and not opposed to unions organizing. We casion. midnight and may proceed. are not opposed to unions being en- The President of the United States, Mr. BOB SCHAFFER of Colorado. gaged in collective bargaining. We are Bill Clinton, promised to veto the leg- Mr. Speaker, the use of compulsory not opposed to unions providing agency islation should it ever make his desk. union dues for political purposes vio- representation to people who work on a That, again, is a promise that was lates the basic principle of voluntary particular work site. In fact, we are made, I believe, with full consultation political participation embodied in our not even opposed to labor unions being of the labor unions who raise political Nation’s Constitution. involved in political activities. dollars by confiscating it from the pay- In 1994, by way of example, 40 percent I think a union’s political action checks of hard-working Americans. of union members voted for Repub- committee, political expenditures are H2602 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE April 29, 1998 fine. Under the first amendment and members who tell us that they do not of the next several months. It is a topic the whole concept of free speech and want paycheck protection, and you re- that will be discussed across the coun- industrial democracy, union activity in alize that it is the small minority who try in various States that are consider- politics is a good and healthy thing. wins the day here in Congress. ing paycheck protection. Once again I We can see very clearly that the po- b 2355 am convinced that once we just lay out litical dollars that are spent to ad- the very basic facts of this particular I wish to encourage that, not discour- vance the causes of labor unions is pay- political scandal and evidence of cor- age that. But the real fundamental ing off for labor unions. It is paying off ruption that exists in the country, that question comes down to how those dol- for the 16 percent. But I am confident eventually we are going to answer lars are raised. When you have these that throughout the country as more properly and correctly and those 80 organizations that raise funds without and more States begin to evaluate the percent of individuals will finally have the consent of those who are paying, I question of labor union dues and pay- their voices heard. believe that it constitutes the full defi- check protection, that we will see f nition of a criminal activity, an activ- State after State after State siding on ity that ought to be ended. behalf of rank and file families, rank SPECIAL ORDERS GRANTED The debate really is not over here in and file workers and union members in By unanimous consent, permission to Congress. As many of us know and have the end who would rather have their address the House, following the legis- followed, the efforts to move campaign union dollars going toward union ac- lative program and any special orders finance reform to the floor again for tivities that are legitimate and on the heretofore entered, was granted to: the second time are being met and work site, perhaps toward supporting The following Members (at the re- warmly received by our Speaker and their pensions. quest of Mr. KLINK) to revise and ex- others in our leadership. There will be If you are a member of the Teamsters tend their remarks and include extra- another attempt at trying to pass Union, you realize that you are going neous material: meaningful campaign finance reform in to have to raise more money for your Mr. COYNE, today, for 5 minutes. a few months. When that bill comes to pension funds because of the theft that Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, today, for the floor, we ought to insist and de- took place and the money laundering 5 minutes. mand that paycheck protection be a that took place to, in fact, drain the Mr. KLINK, today, for 5 minutes. part of those debates and those discus- pension plan of the Teamsters Union at Ms. JACKSON-LEE OF TEXAS, TODAY, sions. Fortunately for the 80 percent of the national level, again which has re- FOR 5 MINUTES. the individuals who support paycheck sulted in the indictment of many high- The following Members (at the re- protection, we are receiving very favor- ranking Teamsters officials and in the quest of Mr. MCKEON) to revise and ex- able indications from our leadership end resulted in past Teamsters Presi- tend their remarks and include extra- that that will be the case, that we will dent Ron Carey being invalidated and neous material: have an open floor scenario where prohibited from seeking reelection to Mr. SESSIONS, today and April 30, for amendments by Members will be able the post, essentially clearing the way 5 minutes each. to be offered, including the Paycheck for James Hoffa, Jr. to become Presi- Mr. HORN, today, for 5 minutes. Protection Act, that the Paycheck dent of the Teamsters Union. Mr. SAXTON, today, for 5 minutes. Protection Act may in fact be folded When you see these kinds of scandals, Mr. RIGGS, today, for 5 minutes. into the base bill that comes to the if you are a member of the Teamsters f floor for campaign finance reform. But Union, you realize that maybe you EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS more importantly, I think it is impor- would rather have a greater portion of tant for this Congress to utilize its op- your union dues going toward repaying By unanimous consent, permission to portunity for national leadership to many of the expenses and costs associ- revise and extend remarks was granted speak out to the American people and ated with these internal crimes rather to: The following Members (at the re- to talk about the real travesty that ex- than seeing them going toward subsi- quest of Mr. KLINK) and to include ex- ists and takes place every single day. dizing campaigns and political organi- traneous matter: Mr. Speaker, most people really do zations that they may not support. not believe or do not understand that Let me tell you about one of the indi- Mr. KIND. Mr. COYNE. it is possible in America to have a por- viduals who testified before the Sub- Mr. DICKS. tion of an individual’s wages being si- committee on Employer and Employee Mr. HOYER. phoned off and spent on political Relations just last year, a man named Mr. LANTOS. causes without their knowledge and Kerry Gipe, a union member who testi- Ms. KAPTUR. without their consent. If we can say fied. He said, quote, I was told that Mr. DOYLE. that over and over and over again and joining the union was a mandatory Mr. HAMILTON. allow people to understand really how part of working for the company and Ms. DELAURO. sick politics has become at this par- absolutely no money was allowed to be Mr. TORRES. ticular level, I think that will give us used from our union dues for political Mr. BONIOR. the added impetus and the added incen- purposes. Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. tive here in Washington to put the Unfortunately for Mr. Gipe and mil- Mr. TOWNS. voice of the people ahead of the voices lions of other American workers, labor Ms. FURSE. of those small special interests who use bosses continue to use compulsory dues Ms. NORTON. these political funds to their political for political purposes. According to Mrs. MALONEY of New York. advantage. some estimates, unions spent as much Mr. SKELTON. Oh, and it pays off. There is no ques- as $200 million in the 1996 election. All Mr. VENTO. tion about that. Once again, I refer my that the Paycheck Protection Act that Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. colleagues to this chart. When you was proposed here in Congress did was Mrs. KENNELLY of Connecticut. have 80 percent of the American people empower the individual worker. It was, Mr. BENTSEN. in every column, again, average voters in all candor, at the expense of the Mr. CARDIN. in this column, union households in small number of union bosses who ben- Mr. STARK. this column, 84 percent of teacher efit from the funds of their members. Mr. BROWN of California. union households, 80 percent of non- Employees would decide under such a Mr. KLECZKA. union households, when you have those piece of legislation whether and to Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. kinds of numbers of individuals who whom they contribute their hard- Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts. tell us that they want paycheck pro- earned wages and that they could re- Mr. LEVIN. tection and yet the 16 percent of vot- voke that authorization at any time. Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut. ers, the 16 percent of union members, Mr. Speaker, this is a topic that we The following Members (at the re- the 13 percent of teacher union mem- will discuss again and bring to the quest of Mr. MCKEON) and to include bers and the 16 percent of nonunion floor at other occasions over the course extraneous matter: