“I want Congress to pass my bill to stop companies from locking out their workers. BP has locked out union workers in my state for over six months, leaving them without pay or health care. My bill bans any company that locks out workers from getting federal money or federal tax credits.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my continued solidarity with the members of United Steelworkers Local 71 in northwest Indiana, who have surpassed 6 months of being locked out of work by British Petroleum. While I appreciate the indication that contract negotiations will resume, we must do more to ensure that American workers are never placed in this position again. It is wrong for union workers to be forced to go without their paychecks, their healthcare, and their livelihoods while our community also faced increased public safety risks from untrained replacement workers and for their employer to continue making billions of dollars in profits. That is why I introduced the PRO-WORK Act. This legislation will prohibit corporations that lock out their workers from doing business with the Federal Government. Specifically, a company engaged in a lockout would be prohibited from receiving Federal funds for a period equal to the duration of the lockout and would be ineligible for Federal tax credits for the corresponding taxable year. The principle is simple: Any company that locks out American workers should be locked out from receiving American tax dollars.”