Date: 1998-03-30
Speaker: BOB SCHAFFER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Colorado

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself the balance of time that has been allotted. Mr. Speaker. this is a simple bill. It is one and a half pages long. It is not complicated. It applies to paychecks. period. paychecks across the board. Whether they are union paychecks. whether they are corporate paychecks. whether they are paychecks associated with banks or any other organization. this bill protects the wage earners who earn paychecks wherever they may be. It says this. no portion of their wages can be siphoned off and directed toward political causes unless we previously have the consent of the wage earner. The other side who have come up and opposed this campaign finance reform measure have time and time and time again mentioned every topic under the sun except for the issue at hand. They have talked about extremist agendas. worker gag rules. overtime pay. minimum wage. DavisBacon Act. McCainFeingold. and on and on and on. Let me tell you. Mr. Speaker. why there is a reluctance to address the issue at hand. And 80 percent of the American public agrees with us when surveyed and polled. Union households. 80 percent of union households agree that the Paycheck Protection Act needs to be passed in order to protect their paychecks. For the other side here who says this is radical. they agree with 16 percent of the union households in America. For the other side that says protecting paychecks is radical. they are agreeing with 16 percent of voters overall. When it comes to teacher union households. they agree with 13 percent of teacher union households 16 percent of nonunion households. Mr. Speaker. I cannot say it loudly enough: 80 percent of the American public believes that it is right and just to protect paychecks and prevent a portion of someones wages from going toward a political cause unless the wage earner agrees and approves. Let me say this. the people of America tonight have a big question. They want to know who is in control of Congress and who is listening to whom here. They want to know whether this Congress is going to listen to the 80 percent of the American people. union households and nonunion households alike. who want their paychecks protected or whether this Congress is going to listen to the very small. extreme minority who believes that it is fair and just to steal cash out of someones wages without their consent and without their approval. That is the question that needs to be resolved today. and I say. Mr. Speaker. this question needs to be resolved as forcefully and clearly as it possibly can. Mr. Speaker. Thomas Jeffersons name has come up a couple times. and the quote has come over three times tonight. Let me make it a fourth time. Mr. Speaker. because I believe it is most compelling. Thomas Jefferson said. to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical. The question. also. tonight is whether Thomas Jeffersons legacy is correct or whether it will be ignored and trampled by those who believe that union bosses should have their voices heard over and above the voices of common. everyday. hardworking Americans. There is precedence for this. Mr. Speaker. The State of Washington passed similar legislation where 72 percent of the voters approved the Paycheck Protection Act. The teachers union. 48.000 members strong. dropped their political contributions down to 8.000 members when voluntary standards were applied to those laws. That is freedom. Mr. Speaker. That is liberty. That is real fairness. That is why the Paycheck Protection Act has more cosponsors in this House than any other campaign finance reform effort. It is the compelling reason that we put the voices. the concerns of every honest American hardworking taxpayer ahead of those of large. loud union interests. Mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time.