{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://byrne.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/byrne-votes-to-delay-costly-regulation", "Byrne Votes to Delay Costly Regulation", "2016-09-29", "2016", "2016-09", "Republican", "House", "AL", "Bradley Byrne", "B001289", "byrne.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-AL), a member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, today applauded passage of legislation in the House of Representatives to delay the Obama Administration\u2019s \u201covertime regulation.\u201d\nOn Wednesday evening, the House passed H.R. 6094, the Regulatory Relief for Small Businesses, Schools, and Nonprofits Act. The bill would require a six-month delay of the Obama Administration\u2019s new regulation that would double the salary threshold for overtime eligibility.\nCongressman Byrne spoke on the House floor in support of the legislation, and he outlined real examples of how the change would negatively impact Alabama businesses, organizations, and families.\nThe bill was supported by a number of groups including the National Federation of Independent Business, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Association of Community Colleges, American Lodging and Hotel Association, National Restaurant Association, American Association of State Colleges and Universities, International Franchise Association, and Associated Builders and Contractors,\nThe bill passed by a vote of 246 to 177.\nA transcript of Congressman Byrne\u2019s remarks in support of his legislation can be found below.\nByrne said: \u201cI thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise in support of this legislation to require a six-month delay in the Department of Labor\u2019s new overtime rule.\n\u201cThis is an ill-advised regulation that will result in hardworking Americans losing their jobs and less economic growth.\n\u201cDon\u2019t just take my word for it. Let\u2019s look at what some actual business leaders and organizations had to say about the change.\n\u201cRichard, a businessman in Birmingham, says that he \u2018will cut back on employee hours as much as possible since raising their compensation is not any option.\u2019\n\u201cAbility Alliance of West Alabama, which provides assistance to more than 600 intellectually disabled individuals, wrote that \u2018the untenable financial pressure resulting from the proposed changes would force us into disastrous service reductions and program closures.\u2019\n\u201cGreg from Vinemont, Alabama is much more direct. He writes that he \u2018will have to lay people off to meet the overtime demands.\u2019\n\u201cFirst Heritage Credit LLC wrote to the Department of Labor that \u2018Increased costs cannot simply be passed on, and the proposed rule will mean fewer branch openings, fewer new hires, and fewer lending options to the communities we serve.\u2019\n\u201cOur nation\u2019s education institutions will be hit especially hard by this change. A representative from the University of Alabama wrote that the \u2018proposed regulation puts more pressure on the educational system as a whole. Institutions will either reduce the level of services and programs or will be required to maintain services and programs with inadequate staffing. Regardless, the quality of education will suffer.\u2019 All told, this change will cost the University of Alabama System $17 million dollars in just the first year.\n\u201cThese are just a few stories about the reality of the overtime change. These are real people and real families who will suffer. \n\u201cI think this change should be reworked altogether, but if that is not an option, we should at least delay this rule in order to provide relief to these businesses and organizations.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://byrne.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/byrne-votes-to-delay-costly-regulation"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6771999653428793, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}