Regulatory Relief for Small Businesses, Schools, and Nonprofits Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. POCAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 6094. There has been a lot of talk about what small businesses think about this law. We put it in the name of the bill. Well, let me give you a perspective of a small-business owner for 29 years.
I am, this week--maybe not right now; they might have left--paying overtime to one of my employees. They are working extra hours because we are extra busy at this time of year.
You know what that means when I pay them extra money? That means I am making more money because we have got more hours that we are billing out. All I am doing is sharing it with the employees who, otherwise, are spending less time with their families. That is why we pay overtime pay. It is a pretty basic concept.
The problem is, if you delay this rule for 6 months, you will deny Americans $600 million in pay during that time. There will be 4.2 million Americans newly eligible for overtime pay, under the proposed rule. Another 8.9 million working Americans will have their overtime protections strengthened under this rule.
Let's make sure people really understand what it is really about. The
current level that is in place for overtime is $23,400. The Federal poverty line for a family of four, Mr. Speaker, is $24,300. We are asking people to work overtime--extra hours--for free who are living below the Federal poverty line at the current level. That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. As an employer, I would feel terrible that I have an employee putting 60 hours a week in and living below the Federal poverty line.
So the problem is there are some employers and some business models that simply aren't sufficient because they are taking advantage of the current overtime rule because it is so antiquated--it is from 2004--and that is simply why we have to have it increased.
Only 7 percent of the full-time salary workforce right now is under that rule. If you go back to 1975, that was at 60 percent. Even with this rule, we are only bringing that up to a third of full-time salaried workers. It is long overdue.
So what does this bill do? This would delay it for 6 months. Let's be honest. This isn't about delaying it for 6 months. This is about trying to kill the bill outright.
This is about trying not to have an increase in overtime pay. It was very clear from the hearings that a lot of these businesses make money off of their current model. We have seen that in the economy. Wages have generally been flat; although, recently, we have seen a little uptick. Corporate profits have soared. CEO profits have soared. The stock market has soared. The only thing left behind are wages.
This is one of those things to deal with it for someone who could be living on the Federal poverty line, giving free hours to an employer who, I would argue, needs a better business model.
What will happen if this rule goes into effect? One of three things: First, you will see people working fewer hours for no less pay and able to spend more time with their family or time to get a second job if they need additional money to support their family; Second, they will receive more compensation in their current jobs in the form of overtime pay;
Third, many unemployed or underemployed people will see new opportunities for jobs or extra hours at their current jobs once those extra hours are no longer worked for free and, instead, spread out among workers.
It is a scare tactic to say that people are going to be fired and lose work before the holidays. I am an employer. I am happy. I make money this week because I am paying someone overtime. I know I am making even more money for my business.
I learned this once when I talked to a very successful businessowner in Wisconsin about taxes. He said, I don't mind paying taxes. If I am making money, I pay taxes. If I am not making money, I am not paying.
That is the way it should be. That is how I look at this. I want to share it with my employees because, if they are making the sacrifice away from their families, that is why we have overtime pay in place.
That is why we have this rule in place.
This delay is a bad idea.
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