AFSCME Legislative Report
AFSCME LEGISLATIVE REPORT
January 18, 2008
In this issue:
Economic Stimulus Plans Proliferating as Economic
Activity Starts to Sink
As the House of Representatives
reconvened this week and with the Senate scheduled to do so next
week, economic stimulus proposals have begun to proliferate in
Washington. Most economists now regard a recession as very
likely this year, with projections varying on its severity and
length causing Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke and even
President Bush to back the need for some economic stimulus.
Many Republicans, however, still remain skeptical about the need
for a robust response to the situation, and focused are primarily on
tax cuts, including making President Bush's tax cuts permanent
(which even conservative economists agree would have no helpful
impact on the current situation) to tax rebates to individuals and
corporate tax cuts. While Democratic proposals vary, they are
being talked about as needing to be "temporary, targeted, and
timely." In general they include plans to spend federal funds
on programs that can create an immediate boost to economic activity
and tax cuts targeted on low and middle income families.
AFSCME has taken the lead with a number of other labor and
advocacy groups to urge Congress to provide immediate fiscal relief
to the states and local governments as declining revenues,
especially from falling property taxes, threaten to force layoffs
and service cutbacks during the year. Among the proposals being
considered is an increase in the federal Medicaid match (FMAP),
which was enacted during the last recession, as well as increased
funds for other federally funded state and local government
services. In addition, we are urging enactment of a strong
program of extended unemployment benefits combined with the
unemployment insurance modernization bill that overwhelmingly passed
the House last year. That bill includes substantial funding to
shore up the badly frayed UI delivery system and state employment
services.
At one congressional hearing the Economic Policy Institute called
for a stimulus package with an increase in Federal Medical
Assistance Percentages (FMAP), a increase in Food Stamps, a targeted
tax rebate, and spending on repairs of schools and other public
infrastructure.
(Nanine Meiklejohn- nmeiklejohn@afscme.org)
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AFSCME Urges Congress to Eliminate Benefit Inequities for
Public Retirees
Joseph Rugola, International
Vice-President of AFSCME and Executive Director of the Ohio
Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE)/AFSCME Local 4,
testified before the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social
Security and called on Congress to repeal or drastically
reform two unfair federal laws – the Government Pension Offset
(GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) – that are
cutting into the retirement benefits of hundreds of thousands of
retired federal, state and local government employees. The
laws offset spousal Social Security benefits of public-sector
retirees who pay into public pension plans instead of Social
Security, nearly one-third of public sector employees, creating
significant hardships for many public retirees.
To learn more about GPO and WEP and to read Joseph Rugola's
full testimony, please visit the Legislation page on our
website: www.afscme.org.
(Becky Levin- blevin@afscme.org)
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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/
Produced by
Union Labor
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