AFSCME Legislative Report
June 24, 2005
AFSCME LEGISLATIVE REPORT
GOP introduces Social Security privatization bills in House and Senate. House
passes Labor-HHS-Education spending bill with major cuts. Agreement reached on
transportation spending bill.
In this issue:
Public Warning: Republican Leaders Playing Three-Card Monte With
Social Security
Leading Republican members of the House and Senate are trying to keep
President Bush's Social Security privatization scheme alive by offering the
equivalent of the classic three-card monte trick. And just as the unsuspecting
player always loses money in three card monte, American workers would be the
losers under the GOP plans unveiled this week.
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) together with House colleagues, Ways and Means
Chairman Rep. Bill Thomas (R-CA) and Rep. Jim McCrery (R-LA), Social Security
Subcommittee Chairman, joined together to announce a privatization plan, which
is really just a variation on the Bush plan and would still use Social Security
funds to create private accounts. Thomas said that the proposal, which was
instantly endorsed by the GOP House leadership, would become part of the
retirement security legislation that he will bring before his committee shortly.
This latest GOP privatization scheme would use Social Security payroll taxes
that now go into the Social Security Trust Fund to pay future benefits. This
year, the Social Security program is collecting more in taxes than it is paying
out in benefits to current beneficiaries. Under current law, the surplus money
is placed in the trust fund, where it earns 3 percent interest, so that Social
Security has the money to pay 100 percent of guaranteed benefits when the baby
boomers retire. Instead of putting the money in the trust fund, the new
Republican plan would allow all workers under age 55 to put their proportional
share of the surplus — about 2 percent of wages or about $588 this year — into a
private account with their name on it. When they retire, workers would receive
two checks — one from Social Security and one from their private account.
The GOP authors of this Rube Goldberg scheme say that if a worker's private
account tanks, then the government would make up the difference, but there are
no guarantees that at the point of retirement — 20 or 30 years from now -the
promise would be honored because they offered no clue about how these private
accounts would be paid for when the surplus runs out, now projected to occur
sometime in the mid-century. Although the sponsors did not refer to benefit
cuts, they cannot be avoided under their plan because taking money away from
Social Security would automatically force benefit cuts or an increase in the
debt just like the original Bush plan would. Furthermore, the latest GOP plan
does nothing to address the only real issue which is how to insure that Social
Security has the funds to pay 100 percent of benefits after the surplus is
exhausted.
In sum, this GOP scheme is not a new approach but an attempt to package a
wolf in sheep's clothing. This plan is really no different from other
privatization proposals. It would take money out of the Social Security program
and put it into private accounts. That is the definition of privatization — it
doesn't matter whether the total size of the accounts is limited to the amount
of each year's surplus rather than a percentage of workers' payroll taxes as the
Bush plan would do. What matters is that the money to fund the accounts is taken
from Social Security and therefore will weaken the program and lead to cuts in
benefits.
Also, this week Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT) announced another variation on the
same privatization scheme which would make huge cuts in benefits for all but the
lowest wage workers and would accelerate those benefit cuts as Americans life
expectancy lengthens.
President Bush, reacting to congressional efforts to administer CPR to his
privatization proposal, told senators at a White House luncheon that he remained
committed to private accounts and welcomed their help.
Return to Index
House Debating Severely Underfunded Labor-HHS-Education
Appropriations Bill
Today, the House is finishing consideration of the FY 2006 Labor-Health and
Human Services (HHS)-Education bill, the largest of the appropriations bills.
The bill, as passed by the Labor-HHS Appropriations Committee, is the most
severely underfunded in years. It cuts funding by $1.6 billion below the FY 2005
level, and by $5.7 billion when adjusted for inflation. Rep. David Obey (D-WI)
is expected to offer an amendment that would invest an additional $11.8 billion
for priority education, health care, human services and workforce development
programs and offset these funds by scaling back tax cuts for millionaires. Some
of the actions taken in the Appropriations Committee bill include:
- Cuts funding for the Employment Service by $116 million (or by 14
percent) below FY 2005 level, eliminating job search assistance to 2.5
million people.
Cuts Adult Training grants by $31 million (or by 3.4 percent) and
dislocated worker assistance by $71 million (or by 5 percent).
Shortchanges No Child Left Behind (NCLB) education programs by $13.2
billion, including cuts to Title I for schools serving disadvantaged
children.
Decreases the federal share of special education costs down to 18
percent, moving in the opposition from fulfilling the federal promise of
providing at least 40 percent of these costs as envisioned in the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). (The House already
rejected an amendment that would have increased funding.)
Cuts spending for vocational education by $14 million (President Bush
proposed total elimination of this program).
Underfunds Head Start by providing an increase of only 0.7 percent, a
significant cut when adjusted for inflation.
Again freezes funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG),
marking the fourth year in a row in which this funding stream, which is used
by states to assist with child care expenses for low-income families, has
been either frozen or cut.
Slashes the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) in half, a funding
stream that supports a wide variety of anti-poverty programs.
Prohibits OSHA from enforcing its standard to protect first responders,
nurses and other workers from occupational exposure to tuberculosis (TB) by
prohibiting funding to enforce a requirement that hospitals conduct annual
testing of respirators. (The House rejected an amendment to strike this
provision.)
Cuts grants to health departments for emergency preparedness against
bioterrorism and other public health emergencies by $75 million (or 9
percent), and grants for hospitals by $19 million (or 4 percent).
Eliminates the Healthy Community Access Program, a key funding source
for states to address health care services for the uninsured.
Slashes the CDC's Preventive Health Block Grant by 24 percent, severely
limiting flexible spending for public health needs identified by states.
Freezes funding for most Ryan White AIDS programs, a large cut when
adjusted for inflation.
The Senate is expected to take up Labor-HHS-Education appropriations in
mid-July.
Return to Index
Transportation Negotiators Reach Funding Agreement
House and Senate negotiators reached an agreement on the funding level for
the surface transportation bill (H.R. 3) on June 23rd. The negotiators agreed on
$286.5 billion through 2009, an amount that is slightly larger than the amount
requested by the President, but far less than what both the House and Senate
originally wanted.
The Administration had issued several veto threats if the Congress sent him a
bill with a funding level above $284 billion. The agreement removes one of the
biggest obstacles and moves negotiators closer to approving a bill before the
seventh temporary highway bill extension expires at the end of June. Several
other potentially divisive issues remain to be resolved before the bill can be
approved and sent to the President.
Return to Index
House Committee Approves Transportation-HUD Spending Bill & Retains
CDBG at HUD
The House Appropriations Committee approved the
Transportation-Treasury-Housing & Urban Development (HUD)-Judiciary-District of
Columbia FY 2006 spending bill. Although the bill rejected President Bush's
proposal to move the popular Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program
from HUD to Commerce and merge it with other development programs, it still cuts
CDBG funding by $250 million. The committee voted 27-34 along party lines to
defeat a Democratic amendment to increase funding by $250 million for CDBG; $800
million for states to pay for new voting equipment; $1.2 billion for Amtrak; and
$180 million for IRS enforcement. These increases would have been offset by
suspending tax breaks for the richest Americans. The bill funds federal aid for
highway programs at $37 billion to match the level in the House's surface
transportation reauthorization bill (H.R. 3). This is an increase of $1.6
billion over the President's request and $1.9 billion over the FY 2005 enacted
level. Transit program spending is set at $8.482 billion, $836 million above FY
2005 and $701 million above the President's request. The federal payment to the
District of Columbia is set at $604 billion; $30.6 billion above the President's
request. The full House expects to vote on this bill in July and the Senate
Appropriations Subcommittee will also consider it in July.
Return to Index
Senate Appropriations Committee Approves Agriculture Spending Bill
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its FY 2006 spending bill that
provides slightly more funding than the companion House bill for agriculture
programs that depend on yearly appropriations. The bill's total spending would
increase 18 percent over FY 2005, mainly due to increased mandatory spending
(outside the appropriations process) for food stamps and farm subsidies. The
Farm Service Agency would receive a small increase of $44 million over FY 2005
for salaries and expenses. The bill includes a slight increase for the
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and
retains its $125 million contingency fund. The bill will now go to the Senate
floor.
Return to Index
Enhanced Funding for State and Local Law Enforcement
Following the lead of House appropriators, the Senate Subcommittee on
Commerce-Justice-Science approved its 2006 spending bill with an increase in
funding for state and local law enforcement which was $1 billion more than the
President's budget request. The Senate bill directs $177 million for the Edward
Byrne grants and $137 million for the COPS program. Bush's previous budgets cut
local police programs also but appropriators have repeatedly added funds back
into the spending bill.
Return to Index
DC 37 Works to Restore Federal Funding for 9/11 Workers
New York City Local 375 Treasurer Ronaldo Vega and DC 37 Health and Safety
Director Lee Clarke traveled to Washington, D.C. on Thursday to lobby and
participate in a press conference with Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) regarding
federal funds for workers injured during rescue and cleanup at Ground Zero after
9/11. Brother Vega, an employee of the New York City Department of Design and
Construction, worked at Ground Zero for 10 months.
Following the 9/11 attack, President Bush and congressional leaders promised
$175 million in health care treatment and monitoring for Ground Zero workers and
volunteers. However, the President's budget rescinds $125 million of the
funding, leaving thousands of workers and volunteers without health care or
monitoring.
Rescue workers and those who assisted with the cleanup in the months after
9/11 were exposed to an array of harmful airborne substances with potential
serious and long term health effects. Many Ground Zero workers have been
afflicted by chronic and disabling diseases and cancer rates are expected to be
high among this group due to exposure to carcinogens.
On Thursday, Rep. Maloney and Rep. Vito Fossella (R-NY) offered an amendment
to restore the $125 million for New York in the spending bill for the
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education. GOP leaders ruled
that the amendment was not in order, forcing Maloney and Fossella to withdraw
it. However, through the efforts of the entire New York House delegation, DC 37
and injured workers, House GOP leaders have indicated that they may be willing
to agree to the spending if the Senate provides the money in its appropriations
bill.
Return to Index
House Votes Against Protecting Workers from Exposure to Tuberculosis
The Labor-HHS spending bill includes a provision that prohibits the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from enforcing part of a
safety standard that would protect first responders, nurses and other health
care workers from exposure to tuberculosis (TB). Specifically, the provision
prohibits OSHA from requiring employers to conduct an annual fit test for
respirator masks that they must provide workers who are at risk of exposure to
TB. Without annual fit testing, masks are much less likely to fit properly and
provide adequate protection against TB and other airborne contaminants,
including biological agents, like anthrax, that could be used in a terrorist
attack.
During House debate on the bill, Reps. Major Owens (D-NY) and Steven
LaTourette (R-OH) offered an amendment to restore OSHA's authority to enforce
the annual fit testing requirement. The amendment failed by a vote of 206 to
216. Two Democrats voted against the amendment — Collin Peterson (MN) and Jim
Marshall (GA). In addition to Rep. LaTourette, the amendment won the support of
the following eleven Republicans: Reps. Michael Ferguson (NJ), Timothy Johnson
(IL), Ray LaHood (IL), Frank LoBiondo (NJ), Thaddeus McCotter (MI), Timothy
Murphy (PA), Todd Platts (PA), Christopher Shays (CT), John Shimkus (IL), Lee
Terry (NE), and Curt Weldon (PA).
Return to Index
Wal-Mart Disclosure Bill Introduced in Congress
Sens. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Jon Corzine (D-NJ), along with Rep.
Anthony Weiner (D-NY), introduced the Health Care Accountability Act. The
legislation would require states to report the number of employees of large
companies, like Wal-Mart, that receive government-sponsored health coverage such
as Medicaid. The sponsors said that this information would reveal the true cost
of Wal-Mart's low prices to taxpayers.
Return to Index
Senate HELP Committee Chairman Enzi Advocates Weakening the
Successful Family and Medical Leave Act
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Chairman Michael Enzi
(R-WY) increased pressure on the U.S. Department of Labor to tighten rules for
the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that would result in limiting workers'
access to the protections in this family-friendly law. At a HELP Committee forum
this week, Enzi specifically targeted FMLA provisions that define "serious
medical condition" and the rules on "intermittent leave," alleging that
vagueness had led to abuse by workers. Ranking member Edward Kennedy countered
that "these changes would be flagrantly inconsistent with the needs of today's
workers and would eliminate much needed flexibility," and argued in favor of
expanding the FMLA to include employers with fewer than 50 employees.
Return to Index
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