THE DAILY WHIP: THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015

**Members are advised that, following last votes, the House is expected to complete debate of H.Res. 132.  Any recorded votes requested on H.Res. 132 will be postponed until next week.

H.Res. 152 – Rule Providing for Consideration of both S.J.Res. 8– Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5 (Congressional Review Act), United States Code, of the rule submitted by the National Labor Relations Board relating to representation case procedures (Sen. Alexander – Education and the Workforce) and H.Res. 132 – Providing for the expenses of certain committees of the House of Representatives in the One Hundred Fourteenth Congress (Rep. Miller (MI) – House Administration) (One Hour of Debate).  The Rules Committee has recommended one Rule which provides for consideration of two measures.

For S.J.Res. 8, the Rules Committee has recommended a closed Rule that provides for one hour of general debate equally divided between the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce. The Rule allows one motion to commit, with or without instructions, and waives all points of order against the resolution.

For H.Res. 132, the Rules Committee has recommended a closed Rule that provides for one hour of general debate equally divided between the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on House Administration. The Rule allows one motion to recommit, without instructions, and waives all points of order against the resolution. Members are urged to VOTE NO.

S.J.Res. 8– Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5 (Congressional Review Act), United States Code, of the rule submitted by the National Labor Relations Board relating to representation case procedures (Sen. Alexander – Education and the Workforce) (One Hour of Debate). The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) plays a critical role in addressing disputes both for workers and for employers, reviewing appeals on unfair labor practice rulings by administrative law judges and petitions for elections made by NLRB regional directors.

This resolution would prevent the NLRB from implementing the rule it adopted on December 15, 2014, regarding “representation case procedures,” which attempts to modernize the Board's election procedures and reduce unnecessary litigation and delay in the election process. The rule allows for electronic filing and transmission of documents, ensures that all parties receive timely information necessary to participate in the election process, reduces delays caused by frivolous litigation, unifies procedures across the country, requires additional contact information be included in voter lists, and consolidates appeals to the Board into a single process. The rule is aimed at making the election process run more smoothly and predictably, to the benefit of employers, workers, and unions.

The rule responds to concerns that current procedures are so inefficient that they deny workers a meaningful opportunity to organize.  In particular, employers can use a number of tactics (e.g., filing one appeal after another for the NLRB hearing officer to resolve before an election can be held, and then appealing each of those decisions) to delay votes while they engage in activities to discourage unionization.  As a result, the average time before workers can vote has now stretched to over 6 months in elections where companies use all the available delaying tactics, while in one case an election was put off for 13 years. 

In addition to scrapping these new procedures and the years of work that went into developing them, this resolution, brought under the Congressional Review Act, would prohibit the NLRB from ever adopting another rule in "substantially the same form."  This would effectively freeze NLRB election procedures forever and prevent the Board from adopting new technology – such as rules requiring electronic filing of election petitions, consistent with practices in all federal courts.

This resolution would prevent the NLRB from acting as a fully functioning board and continue denying workers a vote for representation. Wronged workers would have nowhere to turn for the enforcement of their rights under the law – and that is exactly its intent. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) even said that the Board being “inoperable is progress.” This resolution represents more of the same from the Republicans: partisan legislation aimed at achieving ideological goals instead of pursuing solutions to help the American people. House Republicans have made it their goal to break the NLRB any way they can, and this legislation is another step towards that end.  House Democrats agree with the White House’s SAP stating that the President’s senior advisors would recommend that he veto this resolution: “Instead of seeking to undermine a streamlined democratic process for American workers to vote on whether or not they want to be represented, the Congress should join the President in strengthening protections for American workers and giving them more of a voice in the workplace and the economy.” Members are urged to VOTE NO.

Bill Text for S.J.Res. 8:
PDF Version

H.Res. 132 – Providing for the expenses of certain committees of the House of Representatives in the One Hundred Fourteenth Congress (Rep. Miller (MI) – House Administration) (One Hour of Debate). The resolution sets spending levels for certain House committees. The measure authorizes a total of approximately $245 million for the 114th Congress, covering the period beginning January 3, 2015, and ending January 3, 2017. This represents an overall increase of 1.63% in 2015 and 1.57% in 2016. In addition, the measure provides $1.1 million for a reserve fund for unanticipated expenses of committees, consisting of any excess between the authorized amounts for committees and the amounts appropriated in the FY 2015 continuing resolution.

Bill Text for H.Res. 132:
PDF Version

Background for H.Res. 132:
House Report (HTML Version)
House Report (PDF Version)