Hahn Happenings

Rep. Janice Hahn took positions on abortion rights, labor policy, free trade agreements and other legislation in recent weeks.

In a Small Business Committee hearing, Hahn energetically defended the generic workplace posters that advise employees of their National Labor Relations Act rights.

“While small businesses call out to Congress for the help they need to hire and grow, Republicans are wasting time with their anti-union obsession,” said Hahn. “With millions of unemployed Americans depending on the Small Business Committee to create jobs, Republicans thought it was more important to debate a poster.”

Following a meeting with more than 50 local businesses, Hahn also voiced their concerns to the Small Business Administration. Arguing that businesses are hindered by bureaucratic paperwork and cumbersome procedures to apply for loans, Hahn called for reforms to expedite the loan process and invited the SBA administrator to visit the district.

Saying “I will not vote to fill the coffers of foreign governments at the expense of hard-working Americans,” Hahn voted against free trade agreements with Korea, Panama and Columbia.

The legislation passed the House and Senate on Oct. 13. According to the Washington Post, “the South Korea deal is widely hailed as the most consequential trade pact since the North American Free Trade Agreement was ratified in 1994.”

Hahn introduced an amendment to a piece of Republican environmental legislation that lessened restrictions on industrial boiler emissions. Hahn’s amendment would have upheld hazardous emissions standards for industrial boilers in the most polluted regions of the US.

Hahn’s amendment was defeated and the main EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011 (H.R. 2250) passed the House on Oct. 13. Authored by Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), the bill now goes to the Senate.