Bustos Withdraws Support From ‘Save America’s Pastime Act’ (UPDATED)
After initially co-sponsoring the “Save America’s Pastime Act” with Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) on Thursday withdrew her support for the bill, which sought to make minor league players exempt from the protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
She announced her decision on Twitter.
After hearing from you & learning more in the last 24 hours, I’ve immediately withdrawn my support from H.R. 5580: https://t.co/Oz0eg8g5dj
— Rep. Cheri Bustos (@RepCheri) June 30, 2016
The bill, which was introduced in Congress on June 24 and was supported on Wednesday in a release from Minor League Baseball, was met with near unanimous ire on the Internet.
Bustos, it should be noted, is the daughter of Gene Callahan, who was Major League Baseball’s first lobbyist. The Website OpenSecrets.org also noted that Bustos accepted $2,000 from the MLB Commissioner’s Office’s Political Action Committee during the last election cycle.
Later on Thursday, Major League Baseball released a statement supporting the bill along with Minor League Baseball. The league’s contention, much like MiLB’s, is that the minor leagues could not afford to stay afloat if salaries were raised. They also reaffirm their belief that players in the minor leagues are similar to interns or apprentices and are therefore exempt from the FLSA.
Their statement in full is below.
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