AFSCME Legislative Highlights
AFSCME LEGISLATIVE
REPORT
September 8, 2006
In this issue:
Social Security Privatization Is
Back!!
Hundreds of AFSCME retirees, joined by seniors
from other retiree groups, came to Washington, D.C. and held a rally
on the steps of the Capitol to kickoff Americans United's "Golden
Promise" campaign calling on members of Congress to sign a pledge to
protect Social Security and to oppose efforts to privatize it.
President McEntee opened that rally by welcoming Senate Democratic
Leader Harry Reid, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and dozens
of members of the House and Senate who have pledged to protect
Social Security from President Bush's renewed push to privatize the
popular retirement, survivorship and disability program.
President Bush and his congressional pro-privatizer allies have
recently renewed their calls for the privatization of Social
Security. In a speech in June, President Bush referred to his plan
to privatize Social Security by saying, "I'm not through talking
about the issue. I spent some time today in the Oval Office with the
United States senators, and they're not through talking about the
issue either." Bush continued by saying, "I'm going to try next
year. And if we can't get it done next year, I'm going to try the
year after that". Earlier this month, Washington Post columnist
Robert Novak reported that President Bush, in a private
conversation, is talking about trying to revive his tax and Social
Security reform proposals after the 2006 elections. Other
Administration leaders including Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson
and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) chief Josh Bolton, as well
as House GOP leaders John Boehner (OH) and Jim McCrery (LA), have
made recent statements saying that if the House was still in GOP
control next January, the privatization of Social Security would be
a top agenda item.
(Marge Allen- mallen@afscme.org)
Return to Index
Senate May Revisit Estate Tax Repeal
Senate
Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) has made it clear he would like to
revisit repeal of the estate tax, even though efforts to bring the
so-called trifecta bill (H.R. 5970), which cynically links the
estate tax repeal to an increase in the minimum wage, failed on
August 3, by a vote of 56-42, three votes short of the 60 needed to
overcome procedural objections. Nevertheless, Frist has vowed to try
again to win approval of the costly $800 billion bill that cuts
estate taxes for the wealthiest individuals, benefiting less than
one percent of all estates.
(Ed Jayne- ejayne@afscme.org)
Return to Index
Legislation to be Introduced to Provide Health Care for
Ground Zero Workers
This week, Rep. Jerrold Nadler
(D-NY) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) announced plans to
introduce legislation that would extend the Medicare program to
cover those who were injured or made ill due to exposure to
contaminants released in the collapse of the World Trade Center in
2001. The bill would provide coverage to those who worked and
volunteered in the rescue, recovery and cleanup of Ground Zero, as
well as individuals who lived, worked or went to school near the
attack area. The collapse of the World Trade Center buildings
created a heavy cloud of caustic dust and airborne toxins that
included pulverized cement, glass, asbestos, lead and numerous
chemicals. Workers, volunteers and residents continued to be exposed
to toxic substances for months as the recovery and cleanup
activities at Ground Zero constantly stirred them up and caused them
to become airborne.
This week, researchers at the Mt. Sinai
School of Medicine released a report on medical screenings conducted
on nearly 10,000 Ground Zero workers and volunteers. The screenings
found that 69 percent of the workers and volunteers suffered new or
worsened respiratory symptoms as a result of their work at Ground
Zero. The report also highlights the expectation that higher than
normal rates of cancers, asbestos-related diseases and other
ailments will emerge among these workers in the decades to come.
(Barbara Coufal- bcoufal@afscme.org)
Return to Index
Congressional Hearing and News Program Highlight
Plight of 9/11 Workers
At the urging of Rep. Carolyn
Maloney (D-NY), a congressional hearing was held on Friday at AFSCME
District Council 37 headquarters to explore the health effects of
the 9/11 attack on workers.The hearing was conducted by the National
Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations Subcommittee
of the House Government Reform Committee.
Lee Clarke, DC 37's
Director of Safety and Health, also worked with producers of the
news program 60 Minutes, on a report about 9/11 workers. The report
is scheduled to air this Sunday, September 10.
(Barbara Coufal-
bcoufal@afscme.org)
Return to Index
Bush Makes Recess Appointment of Paul DeCamp to Head
Wage and Hour Division
While the Senate was in recess,
President Bush appointed Paul DeCamp to head the Wage and Hour
Division of the U.S. Labor Department (DOL). The Wage and Hour
Division is responsible for enforcing the nation's wage and hour
laws, including overtime laws, workplace discrimination laws, and
child labor laws. The position, which had been vacant since 2004,
had been filled by a deputy acting administrator who resigned in
early August. Just prior to leaving for its August recess, the
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee had held a
confirmation hearing on the DeCamp nomination at which time Sen.
Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) announced he would not support DeCamp
because of DeCamp's work on DOL's Gulf Coast initiatives. As a
recess appointee, DeCamp will serve without Senate confirmation
until the end of the Senate's 2007 session.
In challenging
DeCamp, Kennedy focused on DeCamp's work on DOL's efforts in the
Gulf Coast after hurricanes Katrina and Wilma. Those efforts,
Kennedy said, represented a "fierce indictment" of the Labor
Department because of allegations that little has been done to
respond to workers' concerns. A recent report by the National
Immigration Law Center suggested that employees in the
reconstruction effort had been subjected to violations of wage and
hour laws and immigrant workers have been especially targeted.
Prior to joining DOL, DeCamp worked as a lawyer in private
practice representing Wal-Mart where he opposed class certification
of sex discrimination claims that would have included some 1.6
million class members. In addition, DeCamp's written views on the
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) include criticisms of the recovery
of back overtime pay and advocate FLSA changes to broaden the
overtime exemptions.
(Marge Allen- mallen@afscme.org)
Return to Index
Bush Nominates Pro-Privatization Advocate to Top
Transportation Post
President Bush has nominated Mary
Peters to replace Norman Mineta as the Secretary of the Department
of Transportation (DOT). Peters is a strong advocate of bringing
private companies into the construction and operation of roads and
highways. She has been an outspoken advocate of public-private
partnerships for new transportation projects and is opposed to using
gasoline taxes to fund these projects. Peters is a former head of
the Arizona Transportation Department and served as the head of the
Federal Highway Administration in President Bush's first term.
Peters reportedly has strong ties to pro-privatization organizations
and is on the advisory board of the Reason Foundation, a
conservative research and policy group. As federal highway
administrator, Ms. Peters helped push through highway legislation
that allows public highways to be turned over to private companies
for maintenance and toll collection.
(Cynthia Bradley- cbradley@afscme.org)
Return to Index
Incomes Stagnate for Most Americans; No Progress in
Reducing Poverty
The impact of failed economic policies
from the Bush Administration and the Republican leadership in
Congress continue to come home to roost. Last week, the Census
Bureau released its 2005 Income, Poverty and Health Insurance data,
which showed that despite an economic recovery that has been
increasing wealth for the richest Americans for the past four years,
earnings for full-time workers fell again. And, poverty rose from
11.5 percent to 12.7 percent between 2001 and 2005, with 37 million
individuals still living in poverty. Children remain the age group
most likely to be poor. In fact, the last decline in poverty was in
2000, the final year of the Clinton presidency. The Census data also
show that the number of Americans without health insurance coverage
went up to 46.6 million in 2005, and for the first time since 1998,
the number of children younger than 18 without coverage increased
last year. "Four years into an economic recovery, the country has
yet to make progress in reducing poverty, raising the typical
family's income, or stemming the rise in the ranks of the uninsured,
compared to where we were in the last recession," noted Robert
Greenstein, Executive Director of the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities, a Washington, D.C. think tank.
(Fran Bernstein- fbernstein@afscme.org)
Return to Index
National Governors Association Weighs In on Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Regulations
At the
end of June, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
issued interim final regulations for the reauthorized Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The National Governors
Association (NGA) submitted comments in late August urging HHS to
temper many of the harsher new requirements, particularly those
relating to work activities. Specifically, NGA argued that the work
documentation required in the current regulations is unduly
burdensome for state TANF programs, TANF recipients, employers, and
educational institutions. And, the NGA urged HHS to remove the
overly-strict limitations on education, rehabilitative and
supportive services, job search/job readiness activities, vocational
educational training, and on-the-job training, all of which
undermine state flexibility in tailoring welfare-to-work strategies.
If the TANF requirements are not changed to be more practical and
achievable, the NGA foresees more states subjected to financial
penalties and increased state costs. The NGA urged the
Administration to seek remedial legislation if necessary to provide
states the flexibility necessary to achieve the goals of TANF.
(Fran Bernstein- fbernstein@afscme.org)
Return to Index
National Conference of State Legislatures Supports
Increase in the Minimum Wage and Positive Medicaid
Policy
At its annual meeting in mid-August, the National
Conference of State Legislatures (NSCL) passed a policy resolution
supporting an increase in the federal minimum wage to $7.25 per
hour, and allowing states to disallow tip credits against an
employer's minimum wage obligation. NCSL's lobbyists will now stand
with AFSCME and the rest of the labor movement in support of a
long-overdue increase in the minimum wage from the current $5.15 per
hour. In addition, NCSL's Medicaid Reform Task Force– at AFSCME's
urging– added a section in its Medicaid policy on workforce issues
for the first time, including the need for increased federal funding
to help develop a pipeline of staff for the delivery of long-term
care services and work supports to improve staff retention.
(Fran Bernstein- fbernstein@afscme.org)
Return to Index
Sign up now for the AFSCME e-Activist Network!
Signing up is your ticket to staying informed and making a difference! You
will receive informative updates on issues that are important to working
families. Plus, the AFSCME e-Activist Network allows your voice to be heard by
giving you the capability to send e-mails and faxes to the decision makers on
issues you care about most!
To sign up, click here. Be sure to check the box under Federal
Legislation to receive the Weekly Legislative Report.
AFSCME Weekly
Report Archive
|
