With U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley
Q: Why did you spearhead passage of the Congressional Accountability Act?
A: Lawmakers are elected to represent the people. It seemed to me rather disingenuous that the people’s branch wrote laws that applied to the men and women on Main Street but did not apply to the members of Congress who wrote them. For decades, Congress passed legislation setting workplace safety, civil rights, labor and health policies that directly impacted workers and employers in our hometown communities. And up until 1995, Congress was exempt from these federal laws. For more than three decades, I have conducted face-to-face meetings with Iowans in each of Iowa’s 99 counties. I am particularly glad when I get the opportunity to meet with Iowans in their places of work. During these meetings I hear directly from the employer and the employee how federal workplace laws impact productivity, morale, hiring, retention and recruitment. It seemed to me that members of Congress needed to be subject to the laws they pass for the rest of the country. Congress ought to be held to the same set of standards as everyone else.
At first, my good government effort wasn’t met with wide-open arms on Capitol Hill. It took nearly 10 years to secure enough support. In fact, the Congressional Accountability Act finally passed when Republicans gained majority control of both houses of Congress for the first time in four decades. So at the start of the 114th Congress, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Congressional Accountability Act that was signed into law on January 23, 1995, by President Bill Clinton. In the new Congress, I will continue my commitment to listen and learn from Iowans how proposals being debated in Washington would affect their daily lives. One of the priorities of the 114th Congress is to address the significant uncertainty and insecurity going on right now in workplaces around the country. The Affordable Care Act is disrupting the dynamics of the work week in the private sector and arguably causing more harm than good for employees who depend on working full-time to earn a living and make ends meet. During passage of the Affordable Care Act, efforts were made to exempt people in the legislative branch from the sweeping federal law. I worked to include an amendment that would require members of Congress and staff to join public insurance exchanges created by the law. The Affordable Care Act certainly opened a hornet’s nest of uncertainty in workplaces across the country. As the mandates, subsidies and penalties continue to add up, the sting from this massive federal law has only just begun to be felt. The landmark Congressional Accountability Act helps to ensure that members of Congress also are aware of the mayhem caused when burdensome federal rules, regulations and red tape are imposed in the workplace.
Q: Which federal workplace laws now apply to Congress?
A: The federal legislative branch employs 30,000 workers on Capitol Hill, local congressional offices in the states as well as associated offices and agencies, such as the Capitol Police. Thanks to the Congressional Accountability Act, these legislative employees are covered by 13 federal workplace laws that apply to the private and public sectors, including provisions that mandate minimum wage and regulate overtime; make accommodations for workers with disabilities; spell out anti-discriminatory policies for workers based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or military service; guarantee family and medical leave; require hazard-free workplaces; clarify collective bargaining rights for union members; and explain rules about lie detector tests for employees. Congress has a vested authority by the U.S. Constitution to write the laws of the land. Passage of the Congressional Accountability Act gave lawmakers a dose of reality. It’s good to get a taste of one’s own medicine to understand the side effects. During the President’s State of the Union speech in January, he proposed a laundry list of new workplace rules and regulations he’d like to see enacted. While lofty proposals might sound good in a speech, Congress must do real world investigating to see how even more new mandates would impact an employer’s ability to increase wages, hire new workers, improve productivity and grow his or her business. It helps that the nation’s congressional leaders would be subject to the same new rules and statutes. The Congressional Accountability Act provides a good reality check on Congress. What’s good for the goose ought to be good for the gander.