Down time, and overtime
Blogger was down for most of today, which not only made it impossible for us million-plus Blogger users to post, it kept our readers away as well. Blogger Control reports the problem was due to "too many packets being sent our way."
Anyway, back to the subject of overtime. Here's what George W. Bush said on that topic yesterday in an interview with CNBC's Ron Insana:
INSANA: And recently you changed some federal rules to exempt more workers from overtime pay, something now that Senator Tom Harkins says he has the votes to overturn or block in the Senate. How do you go about dealing with that?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, explain it clearly, that what we've really done is increase the number of workers that get overtime pay. This was a--the Labor Department looked at old regulations that had been on the books for a long time, and tried to make the regulations fit the modern-day workforce. And the truth of the matter is more people will get overtime pay, not less.
INSANA: Senator Harkins said 8 million fewer people will get it. Why such a big disparity--
PRESIDENT BUSH: I guess what Senator Harkin ought to do is call up the Secretary of Labor and let her explain our position in an open hearing so everybody gets to hear the facts.
An open hearing! What a great idea! If these revisions were in the form of a law rather than administrative regulations, then Congress would indeed be having hearings and most likely would invite the Secretary of Labor to explain. But that's not what's happening. These are rule changes within the Department of Labor, and until this interview, the Bush administration hasn't even hinted at including our elected representatives in the process. So I endorse Mr. Bush's suggestion: let's have open hearings. I do not endorse his threat to veto the bill if Senator Harkin's amendment is approved.
posted by Janet Dagley Dagley @5:54 PM
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6.9.03 |
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