AFSCME LEGISLATIVE REPORT December 12, 2008

[Omaha Steve]

Below are the top stories of the week from Capitol Hill.

AFSCME LEGISLATIVE REPORT
December 12, 2008

In this issue:

* Auto Loan Clears House, Stalls in Senate
* House Passes Pension Technical Corrections Bill
* Congress Urged to Aid States

Auto Loan Clears House, Collapses in Senate
The House passed legislation to make a $14 billion emergency bridge loan available to GM, Ford and Chrysler by a vote of 237-170. The loan would have provided funds necessary to cover operating expenses while the companies pursue restructuring plans. The legislation, however, failed to gather the 60 votes needed to proceed in the Senate on a 52-35 vote due to Republican opposition. Senate Republicans spewed anti-union rhetoric and refused to support the bill or compromise legislation unless workers were signaled out and treated differently than other stakeholders, despite numerous sacrifices and concessions already made by our UAW brothers and sisters.

The Senate's failure places our economy in great jeopardy. If financial assistance is not provided, the domestic auto industry could collapse. Every region of the country and every industry would be affected. Millions of jobs and billions of revenue would be lost, plunging our economy into a deeper, longer recession. State and local governments, already slashing budgets, will be overwhelmed with higher demand for social services.

As of press time, the White House is considering using funds from the financial industry bailout to assist the automakers.
(Andrea Zuniga DiBitetto- [e-mail])

Congress Clears Pension Technical Corrections Bill
Both houses approved the Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (H.R. 7327) (http://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/pdf/110/hr7327.pdf). Included were funding relief for ERISA single- and multi-employer plans and long-sought technical amendments affecting public plans to the Pension Protection Act (PPA)–such as the governmental defined benefit plan interest crediting rate fix, a clarification to extend the public safety retiree health exclusion to self-insured plans, and a modification to the tax treatment of certain state medical reimbursements to beneficiaries.
(Ed Jayne- [e-mail])

Congress Urged to Aid States
Today, the House Appropriations Committee heard testimony from the governors of New Jersey, Vermont and Wisconsin, in addition to education and human service experts, regarding the scope and impact of the fiscal crisis states are facing and potential remedies.

Governor Jon Corzine (D-NJ), former head of financial giant Goldman Sachs and a respected financial expert, stressed that states need substantial assistance. He proposed a $1 trillion, two-year package with $75-$100 billion for state operating costs, $150-$175 billion for ready-to-go infrastructure projects, and $225-$250 billion in tax relief to offset revenue declines and grow the economy.

Corzine stressed that funding for programs such as Medicaid, unemployment insurance (UI), food stamps, and public housing were critical for states to effectively administer these federal programs and help struggling families. He urged Congress to consider "whatever big is, make it bigger" with respect to the size of federal aid.

We will update you next year when Congress returns and prepares the final recovery package which is expected to be ready for President Obama to sign on January 20.
(Becky Levin- [e-mail])

Click here to join the AFSCME e-Activist Network.

AFSCME Department of Legislation
Phone: [phone] or 800/732-8120
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Website: http://www.afscme.org/
Produced by Union Labor