Providing for Consideration of H.R. 1406, Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013

Floor Speech

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Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Colorado for yielding time.

I rise in opposition to H.R. 1406. This isn't the first time we've seen anti-worker legislation paraded as a pro-family solution. But it's embarrassing that here in 2013 we are considering a bill that would reverse over 70 years of worker protections.

The so-called Working Families Flexibility Act is out of touch with what real American working families need. Real working families need protections against egregiously long hours and unreasonable management demands. Real working families need fair wages paid to them in a timely manner. Real working families need predictable schedules with time to care for their families and themselves, and real working families need the ability to take earned leave when they have earned it and when they need it.

This bill does nothing to address those needs. Instead, it sets up a false choice between time and pay. It incentivizes excess overtime scheduling. It reduces the employee's control over her daily schedule, and it provides no guarantee that the time off earned could be actually used.

The only flexibility provided in this bill is to bosses who would be given the flexibility to choose to do whatever they choose without standards and without consideration for the needs of the families of their workers.

I urge my colleagues to come together and support policies that would truly support our working families. A real family-friendly bill would allow workers to earn paid sick days. It would extend access to job-protected leave. It would work to close the gender pay gap. Instead, this Mother's Day, all we have to offer our hardworking moms is a disingenuous bill that moves us backwards. Our mothers deserve better.

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