Appearing on MSNBC, Senator also discusses avoiding debt default and Space Command updates
In case you missed it, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper joined MSNBC’s Ayman Mohyeldin to discuss alleged child labor law violations at major U.S. companies, as well as news of the day.
Watch HERE or see highlights below.
On his letter, sent jointly with Senator Alex Padilla, to 27 companies accused of violating child labor laws and next steps Congress can take
“First, this shouldn’t happen. The fact that we’re even writing the letters is a reflection of a problem that shouldn’t be here…We received responses from all but two of these companies, but they were carefully curated words written by lawyers. We’re going to continue to pursue this and follow up to make sure that these companies are doing everything they can to make sure that children are not put in dangerous situations.”
On companies attempting to shift blame to smaller, contracted companies
“These large corporations have to recognize that they’re going to be held responsible for what happens in their facilities, even if it’s by a company that is coming in to clean after hours on a contract basis. There has to be a level of accountability and we are going to start looking at how to make sure that we get that level of accountability.”
Hickenlooper chairs the Subcommittee on Workplace Safety within the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
While on air, Hickenlooper was also asked about Congressional action to avoid a debt default and on keeping Space Command in Colorado Springs.
On the need for commonsense measures to avoid default and Senator Hickenlooper’s support for the recently-passed bipartisan agreement
“Let’s be frank. The full faith and credit of the United States of America is an essential part of our economy, on every level. And we should never let it be held hostage for political purposes. That clearly has happened in the past, it happened here, and I believe that we should find a way to separate it. Once the federal government spends money, we are obligated to pay that debt. I am all for finding ways to reduce our spending, make government more efficient, and make sure that the deficit is reduced. But not at the expense of putting the full faith and the credit of America at risk.”
On Space Command
“There is an amazing concentration of aerospace and technology, and intelligence capability in Colorado Springs…They are within a couple of months of what they call FOC – full operational capability. Given Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the tensions with China…to start moving one of our most key elements of our national defense just doesn’t make sense. And so when President Trump said he was going to move it because Colorado didn’t perform properly, in his opinion, in the 2020 elections, that’s the last thing that should ever happen with an important decision like this.”
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