LEGISLATIVE REPORT June 8, 2007

[Omaha Steve]

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

AFSCME LEGISLATIVE REPORT
June 8, 2007

In this issue:

* Senate Immigration Bill Hits Roadblock
* House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee Approves FY 2008 Spending Bill
* Hearing Held on Public Safety Officers Collective Bargaining Bill
* Congress Moves to Reverse U. S. Supreme Court Decision Limiting Workers' Anti-Discrimination Protection
* House Subcommittee Caps IRS Outsourcing

Senate Immigration Bill Hits Roadblock
Late Thursday, the Senate reached an impasse on the fragile bipartisan immigration compromise when it failed to get enough votes needed to shut off debate and move forward on the bill (S. 1348). While there were many twists and turns in the debate, the bill ultimately failed due to strong GOP opposition to establishing a path that would allow many of the country's illegal immigrants to achieve legal status. After the vote, press from around the country declared the failure of the bill a major defeat for President Bush, who urged its adoption.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) was forced to pull the bill from further consideration after supporters fell well short of the 60 votes needed to end debate and move to a vote on final passage. Reid held out the hope that the Senate would return to the measure in coming weeks. In addition to providing a path to legal status, the base immigration bill would tighten borders, hike penalties for employers who hire undocumented workers and establish a new temporary worker program.

Several important amendments were adopted in earlier action. In particular, on Wednesday, the Senate voted 49-48 to support an amendment offered by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) to phase out the bill's temporary worker program after five years. Senate Republican Conference Chairman Jon Kyl (AZ) called the Dorgan amendment a deal killer especially since the Senate had rejected the same amendment just before the Memorial Day recess. The AFL-CIO supported the Dorgan amendment while the business community opposed it. The Bush administration, along with business interests and their congressional allies, were already angry that the temporary worker program had been cut in half from its original 400,000-person-a-year target.
(Marge Allen- [e-mail])

House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee Approves FY 2008 Spending Bill
With bipartisan support, a House Appropriations Subcommittee approved the FY 2008 spending bill which funds the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education. The bill provides $151.5 billion for programs that receive annual funding. This reflects an increase of $6.9 billion, or 4.8 percent, over FY 2007, and $10.6 billion more than President Bush's budget request. The bill's spending levels represent a significant, positive shift in our nation's priorities towards increasing investments in human needs programs administered by state and local governments and other vital services and support that aid low- and middle-income families.

Specific funding levels in the bill include:

* The largest single increase is a $2 billion, or 14.6 percent, boost over FY 2007 for Pell grants that fund college scholarships for low-income students. The maximum grant would rise by $390, to $4,700.
* $75 million increase for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), which would be the first funding increase since FY 2002.
* $75 million increase for Head Start, which is $175 million more than President Bush proposed in his budget.
* $10 million increase for the Employment Service, a major shift after multiple years of flat funding and cuts.
* $53 million increase for state operations of the unemployment insurance program.
* $200 million increase for community health centers.
* $50 million for health care treatment for 9-11 responders at the World Trade Center.
* $948 million for pandemic flu preparedness.
* $2 billion increase for No Child Left Behind programs. Almost all of the increase would go to schools with high numbers of poor and disadvantaged children.
* $465 million increase for special education.
* $30 million increase for the Community Services Block Grant.

The Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee's funding bill is an important step towards achieving adequate funding for all of the programs that serve our communities. Additional federal investments are clearly needed. The full House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to vote on the Subcommittee's bill June 14. The Senate's Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee is expected to take up its funding bill in the next few weeks.
(Fran Bernstein- [e-mail])

Hearing Held on Public Safety Officers Collective Bargaining Bill
A hearing was held in the House Education and Labor Committee, Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions on a bill (H.R. 980) providing collective bargaining rights for public safety officers. The legislation requires states without collective bargaining laws to establish minimum standards for these rights and provide a mechanism for resolving impasses. The hearing focused on the authority of the federal government to enact a collective bargaining law for state and local government employees. A constitutional law expert testified that ensuring that states pass laws granting minimal collective bargaining rights was sanctioned under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The bill now has over 230 cosponsors and may be voted on by the Subcommittee within the next couple of weeks. Leaders of AFSCME Corrections United, David Moffa (CT) and Tim Shaffer (OH), attended the hearing and were recognized along with the firefighters and police officers for their service and dedication to their communities.
(Jayne Clancy- [e-mail])

Congress Moves to Reverse U.S. Supreme Court Decision Limiting Workers' Anti-Discrimination Protections
Congressional Democrats have vowed to move legislation to reverse a U.S. Supreme Court decision that severely limits the time within which workers must sue their employers for pay discrimination. In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled in Ledbetter v. Goodyear that a female employee who alleged that she was paid less than comparable male employees for almost 20 years could not sue under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court held that Ms. Ledbetter filed her complaint too late, and that Title VII requires employees to file a formal complaint within 180 days after the alleged discrimination first occurred, even though the wage difference continued over a period of years. The court majority insisted that it did not matter that Goodyear was still paying her far less than comparable male coworkers when she filed her complaint. In her dissenting opinion, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg urged Congress to address this timing issue, noting: "Pay disparities often occur, as they did in Ledbetter's case, in small increments; cause to suspect that discrimination is at work develops only over time."

Several members of Congress have spoken out in favor of congressional action in response to this ruling. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) said she would introduce legislation "to clarify congressional intent," and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) vowed to "restore full protection against wage discrimination." Rep. George Miller (D-CA), Chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, plans to introduce legislation that would reverse the Supreme Court's decision. Lilly Ledbetter will testify about her case before the House Education and Labor Committee on June 12.
(Fran Bernstein- [e-mail])

House Subcommittee Caps IRS Outsourcing
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services approved their FY 2008 spending bill which included language capping at $1 million the amount that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) could use to oversee and implement the private tax collection program. It is believed that this action will effectively kill the program, which has been criticized as being wasteful and the wrong policy for the IRS to follow. The outsourcing program puts taxpayer privacy rights in jeopardy, and has fostered illicit activities by private companies. The full Appropriations Committee will soon consider the bill. Amendments to attempt to restore the program are expected to be offered.
(Ed Jayne- [e-mail])

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