AFSCME Legislative Report
AFSCME LEGISLATIVE REPORT
May 18, 2007
Congress - The Week of May 14, 2007
In this issue:
Congress Passes FY 2008 Budget Resolution
On
May 17, largely along party lines, both the House and Senate
approved the fiscal year 2008 budget resolution, which sets
parameters for spending and tax policy. The budget resolution
(S.Con.Res. 21) takes an important step towards reversing six years
of harmful cuts to a wide range of domestic programs administered by
state and local governments. While President Bush proposed to cut
almost $10 billion in yearly-appropriated, non-defense programs,
Congress voted to increase funding by $13.5 billion, thus providing
$23 billion more for these programs than the Bush budget.
The budget agreement allows up to $50 billion in new spending
over five years for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program
(SCHIP) to prevent current enrollees from losing their health
coverage and to cover more uninsured children. It also identifies
needed additional spending boosts for veterans’ programs, special
education, No Child Left Behind, child care, Pell grants, and other
pressing domestic needs.
On the tax side, the budget resolution assumes that President
Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy would be allowed to expire in 2010,
including the tax cuts on stock dividends and capital gains, and
rate cuts for those in the top tax brackets. It also assumes a
two-year extension of middle-class tax breaks, including marriage
penalty relief, the child tax credit, and the 10 percent tax bracket
for low-income taxpayers.
The budget agreement reinstates a Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) rule in
the Senate, consistent with a rule instituted in the House earlier
this year. The PAYGO rule prohibits the consideration of legislation
that would cut taxes or increase entitlement spending unless the
cost of such action is paid for by increases in other taxes or
reductions in other entitlements. The PAYGO rule can be waived by a
supermajority.
Congress will now begin consideration of the 12 annual spending
bills it plans to complete before October 1st, the end of the fiscal
year. President Bush has vowed to veto any spending bill that
exceeds his proposed domestic spending limits.
(Fran Bernstein -
fbernstein@afscme.org)
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Deal Announced on Immigration Reform in the
Senate
A bipartisan group of senators announced that
they had reached a delicate compromise on what could be the biggest
overhaul of immigration law in more than 40 years. The measure,
which has the backing of the Bush Administration, would offer the
nation's 12 million undocumented workers a route to legal status but
would also bolster border patrols and enhance enforcement of rules
for hiring aliens. In addition, a point system would be used to
determine who would qualify for a green card - a permanent visa - in
the future. Under the bill, points would be awarded based on
education levels, work experience and English proficiency, as well
as family ties. The point system would shift immigration preferences
away from the extended families of citizens toward more skilled and
educated workers. A number of unskilled parents would be allowed in,
but that flow would be capped.
Under the deal, undocumented workers who crossed into the country
before January 1, 2007 would be offered a temporary-residency permit
while they await a new "Z Visa" that would allow them to live and
work here lawfully. The head of an illegal-immigrant household would
have eight years to return to his or her home country to apply for
permanent legal residence for members of the household, but each Z
Visa itself would be renewable indefinitely, as long as the holder
passes a criminal background check, remains fully employed and pays
a $5,000 fine, plus a paperwork-processing fee.
A separate, temporary-worker program would be established for
400,000 immigrants a year. Each temporary work visa would be good
for two years and could be renewed up to three times, as long as the
worker leaves the country for a year between renewals.
Organized labor, including AFSCME, immigration rights groups and
some key Senate Democrats have already expressed deep reservations
about aspects of the deal. AFSCME will be working with allies to
reduce the size of the guest-worker program. Senators hope to bring
the bill to the floor for debate and a vote next week before they
leave for the Memorial Day holiday recess. House leaders have said
that they would wait until the Senate completes action on
immigration before considering a bill in that chamber.
(Marge
Allen - mallen@afscme.org)
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Transportation Workers Stage a Day of Action Rally in
Washington, D.C.
AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee
addressed thousands of transportation workers who rallied near the
Capitol under banners reading “Enough Is Enough." The rally, which
brought together transportation workers in the public and private
sectors, called for action on a pro-worker agenda that includes
passing the Employee Free Choice Act, making quality health care
affordable for all Americans, and defending good pensions and Social
Security. Members of the House and Senate, including several
presidential candidates, and other labor leaders addressed the
workers and vowed to help elect more labor allies to the Congress
and put a worker-friendly president in the White House.
(Marge
Allen - mallen@afscme.org)
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House Hearing on Child Welfare Highlights Inadequate
Federal Funding for States
On May 15th, the House Ways
and Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support held a
hearing on the challenges that state child welfare agencies face in
serving children who have been abused or neglected. All of the
panelists agreed that additional federal financial investments are
required to ensure that all children are in safe homes and have the
services and support they and their families need. A witness
from the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
announced a new partnership - of which AFSCME is a member - to call
on Congress to address these funding problems. Among the
partnership’s proposals is a higher federal match rate to fund
casework services. Other partners include the Child Welfare League
of America, the Children’s Defense Fund, Voices for America’s
Children, Catholic Charities USA, the Center for Law and Social
Policy, and the National Child Abuse Coalition.
(Fran Bernstein -
fbernstein@afscme.org)
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Senate FAA Authorization Bill Includes Personnel
Reform
On May 16th, the Senate Committee on Commerce,
Science and Transportation approved a bill (S.1300) to reauthorize
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Introduced by Sen. John
D. Rockefeller (D-WV), the bill contains AFSCME-supported language
to settle negotiation impasses through binding arbitration.
This would replace the current impasse procedure which allows the
FAA to unilaterally impose its own terms on employees after advising
Congress of a bargaining impasse. The House will introduce its
version of the bill soon and it will also include language to reform
the FAA personnel system.
(Jayne Clancy - jclancy@afscme.org)
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