American workers have been the driving force behind our economy throughout our history. Hardworking men and women who play by the rules deserve to be treated fairly by their employers and their government.

Fighting for Fair Pay
I was proud to support the Fair Minimum Wage Act, H.R. 2, to provide a well-deserved raise to 140,000 minimum wage workers in Indiana. Until the bill passed, the minimum wage had not been increased in over a decade. And over those years, the $5.15 hourly wage had been eroded by inflation, reducing the buying power of a worker's paycheck to its lowest point in 30 years.  This long overdue pay raise will provide Hoosiers some relief by ensuring they receive at least $7.25 per hour. 

Women in the workforce also face a significant challenge: Today, American women make an average of 77 cents for every dollar men earn working the same job. In a country built on the promise of equality for all, this disparity is unacceptable.  That's why I voted for the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which gives all American employees the ability to seek recourse for illegal pay discrimination within a reasonable time period-a right taken away from many workers in the recent Supreme Court decision Ledbetter v. Goodyear. 

Of course, one way Congress can ensure workers are paid fairly is to keep the U.S. out of bad trade deals. I recognize we live in a global economy, and I know Hoosier workers can compete with anyone in the world as long as they are on a level playing field.  Unfair trade agreements create great hardships for working Hoosier families by giving preferential treatment to countries that ignore forced labor in sweatshop conditions and other violations of international labor law. That's why I will scrutinize every trade deal that comes before Congress to keep more jobs here at home and ensure American businesses won't be forced to slash wages and benefits to compete in the global market.

Keeping Workers Safe
Some jobs will always be more dangerous than others, but American workers should be able to go to work each day knowing that someone is working to keep them safe. 

Thousands of Hoosiers work in Indiana coal mines every day. Unfortunately, we can never eliminate all mine accidents, but we can take steps to make these workplaces safer and increase successful rescue efforts when accidents happen. That's why I offered an amendment to the S-MINER Act to establish a Mine Safety Trust Fund. The Fund will ensure that every coal mine in the country receives the safety inspections necessary to keep coal miners safe.  My amendment, which passed the House unanimously, will mean millions of dollars more available for mine inspections at no cost to taxpayers. 

Of course, other industries have their own dangers.  Manufacturing plants in almost every sector of our economy produce various forms of combustible dust, which can become fuel for plant fires or explosions if it is not cleaned and disposed of appropriately.  While effective safety and health standards are available to provide guidance to plant managers in how to avoid a combustible dust accident, these standards are currently only voluntary.  Unfortunately, too many employers have ignored these standards, leading to 119 worker deaths and over 700 serious injuries in recent years.  I voted to hold plants with combustible dust accountable for providing a safe workplace by following these basic standards.    

Preserving Worker Benefits
For decades, the unemployment insurance program has served as an effective safety net for millions of American workers who have lost work involuntarily and are looking for their next job. In today's weakened economy, the percentage of workers who have exhausted their regular unemployment compensation is higher than at the start of the past five economic recessions. And many experts believe extending unemployment benefits is an important economic stimulus tool to get America's economy back on track. That's why I supported the Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act, which allows for 13 additional weeks of unemployment benefits for workers who have exhausted the traditional benefit period.  Signed by the President in June 2008, this change will help over 114,000 Hoosiers looking for work.

Sometimes Congress also needs to hold private companies accountable for how they treat their workers.  When I learned that some military contractors were using shell corporations in the Cayman Islands to avoid paying taxes for their American employees, I authored the Fair Share Act.  This bill was signed into law by the President, closing the loophole these corporations had used to cheat the federal government and leave their workers without the benefits they earned.

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