mr. chairman , pursuant to the order of the house of june 23 , 2005 , the gentlewoman from connecticut ( ms. delauro ) xz4001030 and the gentleman from ohio ( mr. regula ) xz4003340 each will control 5 minutes . 
the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from connecticut ( ms. delauro ) xz4001030 . 
mr. chairman , i yield myself 3 minutes . 
mr. chairman , my amendment would prohibit the department of labor from using federal funds to enforce or carry out item 6b of the settlement agreement between the wage and hour division of the department and wal-mart stores , the provision providing wal-mart with 15 days of advance notice prior to any audit or investigation . 
this amendment is important to ensuring the safety of our children . 
on january 6 , the department of labor entered into an agreement with wal-mart to settle violations of child labor laws in 3 states : connecticut , new hampshire , and arkansas . 
it found that wal-mart employed 85 minors , ages 16 and 17 , who performed prohibited activities , including operating cardboard balers and chain saws , which are considered particularly hazardous jobs , jobs wal-mart and other employers can not legally permit anyone under the age of 18 to perform . 
for these violations , the labor department fined wal-mart , a company with $ 285 billion of revenues last year , a total of $ 135 , 540 . 
perhaps the most egregious part of the agreement is the provision , 6b , that grants wal-mart 15 days ' advance notice before the government investigates any wage-and-hour law complaints , notice that applies not just to child labor complaints in the three cited states but all wal-mart stores nationwide . 
wal-mart has a history of prior child labor violations . 
in 2000 , wal-mart was found to have 1 , 436 violations in 20 maine stores . 
last year , wal-mart 's own internal audit found 1 , 371 violations of child labor laws between 1997 and 1999 . 
granting 2 weeks ' advance notice is essentially daring repeated child labor law violators like wal-mart to conceal any further violations . 
and if we need any proof of that , i would point my colleagues to the weekend papers in connecticut which cite a state investigation that found 11 more violations of child labor laws at three of our wal-mart stores . 
three violations involved the store not even bothering to check the age of their workers . 
it is clear the settlement is not stopping wal-mart from violating child labor laws . 
in fact , the governor of connecticut has ordered periodic , unannounced visits by state inspectors at wal-mart stores to ensure that any future violations are promptly revealed and addressed . 
why can the federal government not do the same ? 
if a state government can get tough on a child labor violator , one that happens to be our nation 's largest private employer , there is no reason the federal government should not be able to do so as well . 
congress needs to send wal-mart a message that companies who violate child labor laws will not be tolerated . 
our society long ago stopped tolerating the kind of sweatshop conditions that my mother worked in when i was growing up . 
it is time that this administration did so as well . 
mr. chairman , i reserve the balance of my time . 
