AIRules Committee sets floor debate for five labor and retirement bills

Education and Workforce MarkupsHouse Rules · 2026-01-12 · 119th Congress
The House Rules Committee met to set the terms of floor debate for five bills reported by the Education and Workforce Committee: H.R. Begins at 0:03:11
Transcript
Highlights

Title

Rules Committee sets floor debate for five labor and retirement bills

Purpose

The House Rules Committee met to set the terms of floor debate for five bills reported by the Education and Workforce Committee: H.R. 2262 (Flexibility for Workers Education Act), H.R. 2270 (Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act), H.R. 2312 (Tipped Employee Protection Act), H.R. 2988 (Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act), and H.R. 4366 (Save Local Business Act). Chairman Michelle Fischbach and Ranking Member Jim McGovern led discussion of the rule's structure, followed by member questioning of Rep. Tim Walberg (chairman of Education and Workforce, presenting the bills) and consideration of two Democratic amendments to the rule. Begins at0:03:11

Who spoke

Chairman Michelle Fischbach (R-MN)0:07:34: Opened the markup, introduced the five bills, and later presided over discussion, amendment votes, and roll calls on the rule1:22:111:28:051:29:34.

Ranking Member Jim McGovern (D-MA)0:07:34: Argued the bills are giveaways to powerful interests that weaken labor protections while undermining retirement savings and child-labor/discrimination accountability0:08:060:08:22; later offered an amendment directing information from the bipartisan tariff working group1:25:23 and forced a recorded vote (3 ayes) that failed1:28:05.

Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), Ranking Member, Education and Workforce0:11:11: Summarized opposition to all five bills, saying H.R. 2988 would let retirement plan fiduciaries ignore ESG-related financial risk factors such as sea-level rise0:19:470:20:15; said H.R. 2270 would let employers count child-care benefits toward overtime pay calculations, effectively cutting overtime0:22:140:23:34; and said H.R. 4366's joint-employer changes would let companies escape accountability for child labor or wage violations0:24:210:24:51.

Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), Chairman, Education and Workforce0:11:47: Presented H.R. 2988 as codifying a ban on considering diversity or ESG factors in retirement investment decisions0:11:470:12:22; presented H.R. 4366's joint-employer standard0:12:54, H.R. 2270's child/elder-care exclusion from overtime calculations0:13:50, H.R. 2262's voluntary professional-development provision0:14:27, and H.R. 2312's tipped-worker/80-20 rule changes0:15:11; fielded extensive questioning on all five bills through the hearing0:27:22.

Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN)0:26:35: Thanked the chair for the bills as pro-growth for rural-district businesses0:26:58.

A committee member (questioning on H.R. 2988's ESG provisions)0:27:22: Pressed Walberg on whether considering litigation risk, wildfire liability, or sea-level rise in investment decisions counts as "woke," citing a 2021 PG&E wildfire filing0:28:500:29:21.

A committee member (raising BlackRock ESG litigation)0:33:13: Cited Florida's suit against BlackRock over ESG-driven energy investment decisions and framed H.R. 2988 as restoring investor neutrality0:33:260:34:14.

Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO)0:37:34: Questioned Walberg on H.R. 2312, arguing loosening the 80-20 rule lets employers push more workers under the $2.13 tipped minimum wage0:38:250:38:47; noted the federal minimum wage has not been raised since 20090:40:41; pressed Walberg on H.R. 2270, getting him to acknowledge an employer could offer only a token child-care benefit while still removing it from overtime-rate calculations0:48:190:48:51; questioned H.R. 2988's rationale given that roughly 1.4% of the U.S.'s ~$82 trillion in managed assets are managed by women- or minority-owned firms0:50:590:51:46.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC)0:52:54: Described his own business hiring practices and argued market competitiveness, not mandates, should determine wages and employment decisions0:53:220:54:29; criticized applying the 80-20 rule the way sports teams are not judged by demographic quotas0:56:380:57:10.

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM)0:59:14: Challenged Walberg on job-growth figures under the current administration0:59:461:00:09; questioned joint-employer liability for child-labor violations in meatpacking subcontracting, citing a Labor Department figure on illegal 15-to-17-year-old workers1:01:301:01:55; raised concerns about ICE enforcement actions in her district1:06:151:06:42.

A committee member (Georgia, on ICE arrests in Minnesota)1:08:39: Cited a list of alleged criminal histories among individuals detained by ICE, including convictions for sexual assault and arson1:08:391:09:06.

A committee member (asking about H.R. 2988's brokerage window provision)1:10:25: Asked Walberg whether investment options outside a plan's vetted fund menu — via self-directed brokerage windows — bypass fiduciary review1:10:531:11:37.

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA)1:12:31: Said roughly 80% of people currently arrested/detained by ICE have no criminal record, contrasting with deportation figures under the Obama administration1:12:551:13:26; criticized the bills' titles as misleading, saying H.R. 2262 mandates unpaid training and H.R. 2270 lets employers claim child-care benefits while cutting workers' overtime pay1:14:471:15:101:16:11; argued ESG investing reflects consumer demand within a capitalistic system1:18:511:19:11.

Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA)1:19:55: Asked Walberg to confirm H.R. 2262's professional-development provision applies only to voluntary, not mandatory, coursework1:20:111:20:34.

Key moments

McGovern said the bills amount to a "corporate wish list" and cited a 37-year-old mother detained by ICE and a related criminal investigation as evidence of misplaced congressional priorities0:09:140:09:30.

Walberg confirmed, under repeated questioning, that H.R. 2988 would prohibit retirement-plan fiduciaries from considering ESG factors such as corporate governance or climate risk in investment decisions0:29:510:31:47.

Neguse got Walberg to concede that under H.R. 2270 an employer could provide a minimal child-care benefit — not covering the actual cost of care — while still removing that amount from the regular-rate calculation used for overtime pay0:48:190:48:51.

Cited GAO/asset-management figures: roughly $82 trillion in U.S. financial assets, with only about 1.4% managed by women- or minority-owned firms, raised by both Neguse and Scanlon as central to the debate over H.R. 2988's stated rationale0:50:591:18:18.

On H.R. 2312, Neguse noted the federal minimum wage ($7.25) and tipped minimum wage ($2.13) have not been raised since 2009, arguing the bill's 80-20 rule change would let more tipped workers fall under the subminimum wage0:40:410:38:47.

Leger Fernández cited a Labor Department finding of minors aged 15-17 in illegal, dangerous meatpacking jobs and pressed Walberg on how H.R. 4366's joint-employer standard would affect accountability for such violations1:01:301:02:21.

McGovern's amendment directing the bipartisan tariff working group to brief members and report recommendations failed by voice vote, then on a recorded roll call, 3 ayes to majority no1:25:231:28:051:28:37.

McGovern's amendment cited Rep. McClintock's account that Republican leadership agreed to "immediately convene a working group" on tariffs to secure a vote switch in September, which McGovern said had produced no public output since1:26:111:27:09.

A second Democratic amendment, offered regarding H.R. 2988, sought to preserve consideration of climate-related and corporate-governance risks in retirement investing without sacrificing investor protections; it failed on a recorded vote1:28:371:30:02.

The rule was ultimately agreed to by roll call vote with three recorded nays, after which the committee adjourned1:30:291:31:26.

Metadata

Official titleH.R. 2262 – Flexibility for Workers Education Act; H.R. 2270 – Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act; H.R. 2312 – Tipped Employee Protection Act; H.R. 2988 – Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act; H.R. 4366 – Save Local Business Act
CommitteeHouse Rules
Chamber / CongressHouse · 119th Congress
Date2026-01-12
TypeMeeting
Witnesses
(none listed in event metadata)
Videoyoutube
Transcript204 caption blocks · 7,366 words · 1:31:35 runtime
EventCongress.gov 118829