AFSCME Legislative Highlights
AFSCME LEGISLATIVE
REPORT
September 22, 2006
In this issue:
Republican Hill Leaders Block Tax Relief for Middle Class
& Minimum Wage Increase
With Congress' campaign
recess looming, Republican leaders continue to hold hostage helpful
tax breaks for the middle class and a minimum wage increase in a
misguided attempt to enact their "Trifecta" bill, which guts the
estate tax and would benefit multi-millionaires and billionaires.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said, "American families
and businesses are paying the price for this Republican Do-Nothing
Congress' failure to extend these tax breaks. Millions of families
are facing higher taxes today as a result of this failure."
Despite strong bipartisan support, Republican Senate Majority Leader
Bill Frist (R-TN) vowed not to vote separately on any pieces in the
Trifecta bill (minimum wage increase, tax extenders, estate tax).
Frist's action blocks the tax relief below:
- Tuition Deduction: Grants parents and students income tax
deductions for qualified tuition and related expenses.
- Teacher Classroom Expenses: Grants teachers above-the-line
deductions of up to $250 for their personal spending on classroom
supplies.
- State and Local Sales Tax Deduction: Grants federal income tax
deductions to individuals for their state and local sales taxes.
- Work Opportunity Tax Credit and Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit:
Incentives for employers to hire economically disadvantaged
Americans to move them from welfare to work.
- R&D Tax Credit: Incentives for business investment in
research and development in the U.S.
- New Market Tax Credit: Incentives for investment in
economically underdeveloped areas. Mental Health Parity:
Requires group health plans to provide the same coverage for
mental health benefits provided for medical and surgical health
benefits.
(Marc Granowitter- mgranowitter@afscme.org)
Senate Abandons Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill
The Senate GOP leadership has abandoned, at least until
after the November elections, efforts to negotiate a comprehensive
immigration reform bill with the House. Rather than go to conference
this summer with the Senate immigration overhaul bill (S. 2611) and
an enforcement-oriented House measure (H.R. 4437), House Republican
leaders chose to hold field hearings around the country and returned
to Washington, D.C. determined to push forward with a narrow border
security agenda before recessing September 29 to campaign for the
midterm elections.
This forced the Senate to reconsider its approach and so the
Senate voted, 94-0, on a procedural vote to limit debate and move to
consider the House-passed border security bill (H.R. 6061). H.R.
6061 would authorize 700 miles of double-layered fencing along the
U.S.-Mexico border – at an estimated cost of at least $3 million a
mile – and a "virtual fence" of cameras, sensors and unmanned aerial
vehicles along other portions of the border. That is nearly double
the size of the fence approved by the Senate in May as part of its
comprehensive immigration bill. A vote on this bill in the Senate is
expected next week. If the Senate succeeds in passing H.R. 6061, it
is likely that it would be attached to a conference report for the
FY 2007 Homeland Security appropriations bill (H.R. 5441).
(Marge Allen- mallen@afscme.org)
Voter Photo ID Bill Passed in the House
Approved on a mostly party-line vote of 228-196, the
House approved the so-called "Federal Election Integrity Act" (H.R.
4844) legislation that would require voters to show a photo ID in
2008 in federal elections, and in 2010 display an ID that also
proves citizenship. H.R. 4844 imposes new and unnecessary barriers
to vote in federal elections by establishing a single form of
identification that proves citizenship before a person is allowed to
vote. Amendments to the legislation were not allowed during
consideration of the bill.
AFSCME joined 40 other
organizations, sending a letter to the House in opposition to H.R.
4844. The letter urged House members to vote against the legislation
because citizens should not have to pay to vote. Many U.S. citizens
do not have proof of citizenship and cannot easily access this
proof. Therefore, H.R. 4844 would encourage racial and ethnic
discrimination at polling places and prevent many eligible voters
across the country from participating in elections. Also, while
voter fraud does exist, the type of fraud addressed in H.R. 4844,
misrepresentation of one's identity, is rare.
(Cynthia Bradley-
cbradley@afscme.org)
Congressional Briefing Held on Health Problems of
Ground Zero Workers
On Wednesday, Reps. Carolyn Maloney
(D-NY) and Vito Fossella (R-NY) held a briefing to educate House
members and staff about the serious health problems that continue to
be experienced by those who were involved in the rescue, recovery
and cleanup operation after the attack on the World Trade Center.
Maloney, Fossella, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and others have urged
the Bush Administration to get behind efforts to address the health
care needs of the workers–some of which are AFSCME members–and also
of residents and students of the area who are suffering from
respiratory and other illnesses.
(Barbara Coufal- bcoufal@afscme.org)
House Committee Approves Ryan White Reauthorization
Bill
The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved a
five-year renewal of the Ryan White CARE Act by a vote of 38-10. The
measure provides approximately $2 billion per year to states and
cities for the treatment of people with HIV and AIDS. Debate on the
bill focused on formula funding. The reauthorizing legislation would
alter the formulas to distribute the grant money based on numbers of
HIV patients instead of a state's number of full-blown AIDS cases.
This change would result in large urban states, especially New York
and California, losing money while rural states would receive more
money. Amendments to extend from three to five years a
"hold-harmless" period during which grants could not be reduced more
than five percent from FY 2006, and to extend the current funding
formula for one year were defeated. The bill could be considered on
the House floor next week. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions Committee approved a bill earlier this year that would also
alter formulas for distributing Ryan White funds in a similar way.
(Fran Bernstein- fbernstein@afscme.org)
Advocates Urge Congress to Take Action to Avert
SCHIP Funding Shortfalls
A coalition of more than 80
groups, including AFSCME, has asked Congress to take immediate
action to help states avert projected federal funding shortfalls in
FY 2007 for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
The program, created in 1997 to help states provide health coverage
for children, has reduced the number of uninsured children by
one-third. However, up to 18 states face an estimated $800 million
to $950 million in total funding shortfalls in 2007. Without
additional federal funding to address these shortfalls, states may
have to reduce their SCHIP enrollment, placing health insurance
coverage for over 500,000 low-income children at risk. States may
also be forced to enact harmful changes to their SCHIP programs,
such as curtailing benefits, increasing beneficiary cost-sharing or
reducing provider payments.
(Fran Bernstein- fbernstein@afscme.org)
Nominee to Head Transportation Department Testifies
on Hill
Mary E. Peters, President Bush's nominee to head
the Department of Transportation, appeared before the Commerce,
Science and Transportation Committee on September 20. Peters was
questioned about her views on highway funding, safety and congestion
issues as well as foreign ownership of U.S. airlines and Amtrak.
Known for her support of using private money to build and maintain
public roads and highways, Peters once again spoke about the merits
of privatizing the nation's transportation infrastructure.
(Cynthia Bradley- cbradley@afscme.org)
88% of New Medicare Drug Program Enrollees at Risk
of Falling Into "Doughnut Hole"
Nearly seven million
seniors and individuals with disabilities–88 percent of new drug
plan enrollees–who purchased stand-alone prescription drug coverage
are now at risk of falling into the "doughnut hole" of having to pay
the full cost of their medications, according to a report released
this week by Senior Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee.
"Folks in the prescription drug plan who have not hit the doughnut
hole yet are in for a rude awakening" cautioned Ranking Member
Charles B. Rangel (D-NY). "The doughnut hole is so big that millions
will fall in and many will never come out. People are going to be
angry when they show up to get their medications and are told they
don't have coverage, even though they still pay their monthly
premiums." As Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) noted, "the opportunity
to purchase plans that fill the hole is a mirage. Beneficiaries are
no more able to afford expensive, full-coverage plans than minimum
wage Americans are able to afford a Mercedes. With insurance company
profits up, it is clear that this program caters more to special
interests than it does to seniors and people with
disabilities."
Looking to a change of leadership after the
mid-term elections in November, House Democrats have offered an
alternative plan to fix the new prescription drug program. They
propose to make the Medicare drug benefit simple, affordable, and
reliable for senior citizens and people with disabilities. Medicare
could be required to use its bargaining power to negotiate lower
drug prices, and the savings would be used to fill the doughnut
hole. The Democrats' plan would also waive the late enrollment
penalty for millions of beneficiaries who are now locked out of
coverage until 2007, and simplify the program by creating a
Medicare-sponsored option.
(Fran Bernstein- fbernstein@afscme.org)
Drug Reimportation Included in Homeland Security
Spending Bill
Supporters of drug reimportation were
successful in attaching a provision to the Homeland Security
spending bill that would allow seniors to personally transport up to
a 90-day supply of legal drugs over the border from Canada. It would
continue to prohibit Internet purchases. The bill is expected to be
voted on next week.
(Diane Burke- dburke@afscme.org)
U.S. Health Care System Fails to Make the
Grade
In a report compiled by the nonpartisan
Commonwealth Fund, a "scorecard" of our nation's health care system
gives the U.S. an average of 66 out of a possible 100 on a series of
health quality measures, with shortcomings costing as many as
150,000 lives and $100 billion annually. The U.S. was not a top
scorer in any of the 37 national indicators of health outcomes,
quality, access, equity and efficiency despite the fact that
Americans spend more on their medical care than citizens in Germany,
Canada, France, Australia, or the United Kingdom. The U.S. ranks 15
out of 19 countries in deaths potentially preventable with timely
and effective medical care, and it scored a 67 on access due to our
country's high uninsured rate and the fact that one-third of adults
under age 65 have problems paying their medical bills or have
medical debt they are paying off. The U.S. scored a 51 on
efficiency, in part because of high insurance administrative costs.
"We have very high overhead costs to run our insurance system,"
stated Cathy Schoen, Commonwealth Fund Senior Vice President.
(Fran Bernstein- fbernstein@afscme.org)
Real ID Act Implementation Will Cost States More
Than $11 Billion
An analysis of the consequences and
costs of implementing the federal Real ID Act revealed a cost to
states of more than $11 billion over five years. The report, which
reflects findings from a survey conducted by the National Governors
Association (NGA), National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL),
and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators
(AAMVA), was released this week.
The federal Real ID Act
creates national standards for using state driver's licenses and
identification cards. Among the likely new costly requirements
created by the act are re-issuance of drivers licenses and
identification cards to all 245 million current holders within five
years, establishing on-site identification procedures where the
cards are issued, and meeting specific security and production
requirements for the new card. Detailed data provided by the 47
jurisdictions that responded to the survey indicated that among the
cost of the changes to the driver's licensing process are a one-time
calculable expense of nearly $1 billion and ongoing costs of more
than $10 billion for the first five-year enrollment
period.
The report outlined several recommendations to the
federal government, including extending the compliance deadline,
providing states with the funds needed for states to comply with
Real ID, providing federal electronic verification systems necessary
to comply with the law, and implementing a 10-year re-enrollment
schedule. While states want to make driver's licenses as secure as
possible, "the $11 billion question is, "Who's going to pay for it?"
asked NCSL Executive Director William T. Pound.
(Fran Bernstein-
fbernstein@afscme.org)
AFSCME Council 4 Urges Congress to Stop Ducking
Responsibilities
AFSCME Connecticut members and the
Emergency Campaign for America's Priorities (ECAP) held a press
conference in Bridgeport, CT to demand that Congress stop "ducking"
their responsibilities and vote for critical funding before leaving
for the campaign cycle. AFSCME was joined by over 60 activists
holding orange wooden ducks to illustrate their point. Activists
included other labor groups and the Connecticut Citizen Action
Groups.
(Jessica Weinstein- jweinstein@afscme.org)
Click here
to join the AFSCME e-Activist Network.
AFSCME Department of Legislation
Phone:
202/429-5020 or 800/732-8120
Fax: 202/223-3413
E-mail:
legislation@afscme.org
Website:
http://www.afscme.org/action/index.html
Produced by Union Labor
Return to Index
Click here
to join the AFSCME e-Activist Network.
AFSCME Department of Legislation
Phone:
202/429-5020 or 800/732-8120
Fax: 202/223-3413
E-mail:
legislation@afscme.org
Website:
http://www.afscme.org/action/index.html
Produced by Union Labor
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