AFSCME
AFSCME FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE REPORT
-
House Debates Fast Track and Other Trade-Related Bills; Results are
Inconclusive
-
Sen. Warren Proposes Comprehensive Plan to Make College Affordable
-
House Approves Inadequate Funds for Transportation and Housing
-
House Approves Permanent Ban on State and Local Government Taxation
of Internet Access
-
House Workforce Protections Subcommittee Contemplates Changes to
Fair Labor Standards Act Regulations
House Debates Fast Track and Other Trade-Related Bills; Results are
Inconclusive
On Friday, the House debated Trade Promotion Authority, or fast track
legislation, and a bill to renew the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)
program. The TAA renewal bill, which was opposed by AFSCME and the
broader labor movement, was defeated by a wide margin of 126 to 302.
The fast track bill, also opposed by AFSCME and labor broadly, was
approved by the very narrow margin of 219 to 211. Because the fast
track bill was combined in the Senate with TAA, it cannot be sent to the
President for his signature. Therefore, it appears that the House
Republican leadership plans to hold another vote on TAA next week.
AFSCME has long supported the Trade Adjustment Assistance program.
But this version of TAA was deeply flawed. First and foremost, the
bill failed to cover public sector workers at risk of losing their jobs
as a consequence of trade agreements. More and more, trade
agreements are aimed at opening up public services to privatization by
global firms. Given the increased risk to public employees, it is
indefensible that the TAA bill excludes public workers. The TAA
bill was also greatly underfunded, especially given the size of the
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement that the administration
hopes to conclude in the next couple months. The bill also
included a cut in Medicare in order to pay for the cost of TAA. We
cannot afford to allow Medicare to be raided to pay for programs that do
not support health care for seniors.
The bottom line is that the fight over fast track and this version of
TAA is not over. We succeeded this week in blocking progress on
the bill. But, the challenge of defeating fast track and this TAA
bill continues next week.
Sen. Warren Proposes Comprehensive Plan to Make College Affordable
This week Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) proposed a comprehensive
framework for making college affordable. The Senate Health, Education,
Labor and Pensions Committee has been holding hearings to prepare to
update the Higher Education Act later this year and considering issues
including college affordability. In response to the crisis of $1.3
trillion in total student debt, Warren's proposal calls for streamlined
measures to access student loans, increase investments in higher
education at the state and federal levels, and accountability
requirement for colleges to keep costs down. These would include
simplifying financial aid, allowing students to refinance student
loans, requiring colleges to share in the risk of student
loans, rewarding colleges that keep costs down, requiring colleges to
focus resources on education rather than other expenses, and penalizing
colleges and student loan servicers that break the law and cheat
students. AFSCME strongly supports efforts to improve access to college
and make it more affordable.
House Approves Inadequate Funds for Transportation and Housing
The House voted 216 to 210 largely on party lines to narrowly approve a
Republican leadership spending bill, which underfunds housing and
transportation services and infrastructure for the next fiscal year
beginning October 1. The bill’s total funding is nearly $10
billion below President Obama’s budget request. AFSCME opposes
this bill (H.R. 2577) because its overall funding level is too low and
it cuts funding for key AFSCME priorities in public housing, community
development, and transportation. Only three House Democrats voted
to approve the bill, and 31 Republicans voted against their leadership
to reject the bill.
More specifically, the bill underfunds Public Housing Operating Fund at
a flat-funded $4.4 billion, which funds public housing authorities
(PHAs) at less than 85% of their needed operating budgets. The
bill cuts the Public Housing Capital Fund by 10%, or $194 million.
This is less than PHAs’ annual capital needs and does nothing to
reduce public housing's $26 billion modernization backlog. In
transportation, the bill undermines the Federal Aviation
Administration’s (FAA) modernization efforts by cutting $100 million
from the program. This harmful cut comes amidst congressional hearings
investigating FAA’s modernization delays, which are largely due to
Congress’ failure to appropriate adequate funds. And, despite the
recent crash of an Amtrak train and resulting deaths in Philadelphia
along the heavily traveled Northeast corridor, this bill cuts Amtrak
grants by $250 million below last year’s level.
The White House has threatened to veto this bill due to inadequate
funding levels. It is not clear when the Senate will vote on its
version of this bill. Much of the bill’s federal funding goes
directly to state and local governments, which in turn employ many
AFSCME members.
House Approves Permanent Ban on State and Local Government Taxation of
Internet Access
The House approved via voice vote the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act
(PITFA) (H.R. 235). AFSCME opposes this bill because it restricts
state and local government taxing authority, which reduces the ability
of state and local governments to raise funds to invest in needed
infrastructure, education, health care, workforce programs, and other
vital public services. Federal involvement in states’ taxing
authority is typically unwarranted, narrows the tax base, reduces
revenues collected, and often leads to harmful unintended consequences.
In this case, the internet’s huge economic value, its vast and expanding
importance to daily life, and the vague statutory definition of
“internet access” makes this particular taxing prohibition especially
troubling and will likely cause fiscal problems for state and local
governments. The current temporary ban on internet access taxes is
scheduled to expire on September 30. AFSCME led union opposition to this
bill and 12 unions signed a joint letter opposing it, including the
AFL-CIO, AFSCME, AFT, NEA, and SEIU.
The lead Senate bipartisan sponsors of the Marketplace Fairness Act of
2015 (MFA) (S. 698), which allows state and local governments to require
internet sellers of goods to collect sales tax, issued statements urging
passage of both a temporary ban for internet access tax and MFA.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said: “The Marketplace Fairness Act that would
level the playing field for small businesses passed overwhelmingly in
the Senate last Congress. … I hope we can move both measures as soon as
possible.” Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) said: “Let’s pass both of these
needed bills together to help level the playing field and give small
businesses, as well as individuals and families, fixes they deserve.”
AFSCME supports the Durbin-Heitkamp approach.
House Workforce Protections Subcommittee Contemplates Changes to Fair
Labor Standards Act Regulations
On Wednesday, the House Education and the Workforce’s Subcommittee on
Workforce Protections held a hearing titled “Reviewing the Rules and
Regulations Implementing Federal Wage and Hour Standards.” The hearing
focused primarily on proposed changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act
(FLSA) overtime rule expected from the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL)
in the coming weeks. The FLSA, passed in 1938, establishes the federal
standards for minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping, and youth
employment in the private and public sectors. While all parties seemed
to agree that the FLSA needs updating, the House majority and minority
disagreed on needed policy changes.
Currently, the FLSA requires employers to pay most employees overtime
pay at one and one-half times their regular pay rate for the hours they
work above 40 in a workweek. However, it exempts from overtime pay
executive, administrative and professional employees who earn a weekly
salary of at least $455 and have job duties that include managerial
responsibilities or require the use of advanced knowledge. The USDOL is
expected to raise the salary threshold, thus including an additional 6.1
million American workers eligible to receive overtime pay. The GOP
majority panel members and their witnesses argued that allowing more
employees to become eligible for overtime protections would be
burdensome to businesses. They also said that employers could offer
“comp time” — that is, give employees time off instead of overtime pay,
which they insisted employees would prefer. Seth Harris, former
Deputy Secretary of Labor and a Democratic witness, noted that
increasing the number of employees eligible to receive overtime pay
would benefit local economies because when working people earn more,
they spend more. Subcommittee Ranking Member Frederica Wilson (D-FL)
stated that further erosion of the overtime rule would increase income
inequality and harm an already weak middle class. AFSCME fully
supports the expansion of the overtime rule and legislation such as the
Raise the Wage Act that would increase the minimum wage to $12.00 by
2020, and the Paycheck Fairness Act, which addresses gender income
disparity.
House Panel Examines Harm of Current Social Security Rules for Public
Sector Retirees
The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security held a hearing
highlighting the current inequities from the Windfall Elimination
Provision (WEP) and proposals to modify WEP, such as the Equal Treatment
of Public Servants Act of 2015 (H.R. 711). The current WEP law can
reduce up to $423 a month from Social Security benefits that a public
sector employee duly earned by offsetting the alleged windfall they
receive from an earned state or local pension accrued from work not
covered by Social Security. AFSCME’s statement for the record also
raised concerns about the current Government Pension Offset (GPO), which
can cut or wipe out Social Security spousal benefits because the retiree
received a non-Social Security covered public pension benefit. AFSCME
called upon Congress to eliminate the harmful consequences and serious
inequities of both these provisions by repealing both GPO and WEP. Click
here to view AFSCME’s statement for the record.
DOL Issues Rule Requiring Employers to Report Consultations With
“Persuader” Union Busters
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released a new rule
that requires employers to report consultant or “persuader” agreements
pertaining to union organizing campaigns. Unions are already required to
report on their organizing expenditures. “Workers should know who
is behind an anti-union message. It’s a matter of basic fairness,” said
U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez. “Full disclosure of persuader
agreements gives workers the information they need to make informed
choices about how they pursue their rights to organize and bargain
collectively.” The change will be applicable to arrangements, agreements
and payments made on or after July 1, 2016.
Before the new rule, employers and their consultants only had to file
reports when the consultants communicated directly with workers. The new
rule closes this loophole, requiring employers to file reports even if
the consultants are giving anti-union guidance to the employer without
contacting employees directly. This could include conducting
union-avoidance meetings or providing written materials employers use to
persuade workers to oppose unionizing. AFL-CIO General Counsel
Lynn Rhinehart noted: “I think employees would be interested to know the
dollars being spent” on anti-union campaigns when their employers claim
they cannot afford to give them raises.
GOP congressional leadership immediately issued a press release opposing
this transparency rule. House Education and the Workforce
Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Health, Employment, Labor and
Pensions Subcommittee Chairman Phil Roe (R-TN) blasted the DOL, claiming
its rule somehow “will stifle debate and undermine the ability of
workers to make a fully informed decision.” And, Chairmen Kline and Roe
made clear their intention to “push back” against this rule.
Congressional Briefing on Ending Immigration Raids Targeting
Unaccompanied Children
A wide range of advocates for immigrant children spoke at a briefing on
Capitol Hill this week to urge members of Congress to act immediately to
address the serious issues impacting unaccompanied children seeking
refuge in the U.S. Among the issues addressed was a call to end “rocket
dockets” that abridge the due process rights of these children, and
ceasing deportations targeting unaccompanied children and other
vulnerable individuals. Speakers representing educators and legal
aid providers urged the federal government to put the safety and
well-being of the tens of thousands of unaccompanied children first.
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA), chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus,
and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Ranking Member on the House Judiciary
Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, discussed the Fair Day
in Court for Kids Act (H.R. 4646; S. 2540), legislation introduced last
month that would ensure access to counsel, legal orientation programs
and post-release services to children and other groups in immigration
proceedings. Rep. Lofgren declared: “Targeting women and children for
deportation who are fleeing violence and persecution is wrong. Until we
can be sure that no mother or child will face abuse, torture or death in
their home country, the United States should end raids and
deportations.”
This Week, We Celebrate the Sixth Anniversary of the Affordable
Care Act
Wednesday was the sixth anniversary of the enactment of the Affordable
Care Act (ACA), a law that has survived two U.S. Supreme Court
challenges and dozens of efforts by Congress to repeal it. And
while 31 states and the District of Columbia have expanded their
Medicaid programs under the ACA, 19 states have failed to do so.
As a consequence, 4.4 million, mostly poor, working adults in these 19
states have been denied Medicaid coverage.
But during this anniversary week, we celebrate what the ACA has
achieved. Some 20 million Americans have gained health coverage
due to the ACA. More than 90% of Americans now have health
coverage. For millions more, their coverage is better. The
ACA improved Medicare prescription drug benefits for seniors and
extended the solvency of the Medicare trust fund. Out-of-pocket
costs were eliminated for 39 million seniors and millions of others
seeking preventive care such as certain cancer screenings, contraception
and immunizations. Annual and lifetime limits on insurance
coverage have been eliminated, protecting those who experience a
catastrophic illness or accident. The law requires health insurers
to provide rebates if the amount spent on health benefits is too low.
Like any major law, the ACA needs to be improved and strengthened.
While we have made some progress, such as delaying the implementation of
the 40% tax on high cost, employer-provided insurance, we look forward
to the day when we no longer expend so much energy defending the law and
can turn our full energies to making it better.
January 15, 2016
- Congressional Hearing on Puerto
Rico’s Economic Crises
- President Obama’s Final State of the
Union
- Hillary Clinton Proposes Tax
Fairness for Multi-Millionaires
- GOP Presidential Candidates’ Poverty
Solutions Would Harm More Than Help
- Legislation Threatens Federal
Employees’ Workplace Protections
Congressional Hearing on Puerto Rico’s Economic Crises
On January 12, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) wrote
to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to propose a bipartisan
Senate Task Force on Puerto Rico, composed of six to eight Senators, to
develop a reasonable solution to the Commonwealth’s economic crisis by
the end of February. Sen. McConnell has not responded.
On the same day, the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral
Resources held a narrowly-focused hearing entitled Exploring Energy
Challenges and Opportunities Facing Puerto Rico. The committee’s
Republican leaders noted their committee lacks jurisdiction over
bankruptcy and restructuring Puerto Rico’s debt. Similarly, it lacks
jurisdiction to address other needed federal assistance for Puerto Rico,
such as parity with states for funding Medicaid, Earned Income Tax
Credits (EITC) and Child Tax Credits (CTC). Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT)
said “arguments being made that enacting Chapter 9 for Puerto Rico
without broader fiscal reform are naïve” and that energy provisions
would need to be part of any related legislative package. AFSCME
continues to strongly advocate for Congress to enact legislation to
address these issues before Puerto Rico’s fiscal problems worsen and
default spreads. Another hearing is scheduled in the House Natural
Resources Committee on January 26 that will focus on potential oversight
or a control board. This hearing is more likely to address debt
restructuring and bankruptcy issues.
(Marc Granowitter-
mgranowitter@afscme.org)
President Obama’s Final State of the Union
President Obama delivered his final State of the Union address
to Congress and the nation this week. The president focused on his
vision for the future, which included the importance of unions in
building a strong economy: “Middle-class families are not going to feel
more secure because we allowed attacks on collective bargaining to go
unanswered.” From the AFSCME blog on the speech (http://www.afscme.org/blog/the-state-of-our-union-afscme-strong):
“Those words, though brief, tell volumes about the importance of strong
unions in building the middle class and why we need to stand strong in
the face of such attacks coming from Wall Street and corporate interests
that are more concerned, as President Obama noted, about their quarterly
earnings than improving the wages of hard-working people who help them
make those profits.” The president also addressed workers’ retirement
security, saying: “Social Security and Medicare are more important than
ever; we shouldn’t weaken them, we should strengthen then.”
The president detailed many of the successes of his presidency,
which include expanding health insurance, sustaining job growth,
stemming the threat of Ebola, and bringing Osama bin Laden to justice.
He also discussed using his remaining time as president to address
pressing current challenges such as curbing gun violence, fighting ISIL
and foreign policy threats, and creating a cleaner and safer
environment. In discussing the economy, he pushed back on those peddling
doom and gloom, saying: “The United States of America, right now, has
the strongest, most durable economy in the world.” As he acknowledged
persistent wage inequity he cited the longest streak of private-sector
job creation in history, the auto industry’s best year ever, and 14
million new jobs. “Anyone claiming that America’s economy is in decline
is peddling fiction,” he said. He also renewed his calls for an increase
in the minimum wage, a new war on cancer, and immigration reform. In
summation he said: “We’ve made progress. But we need to make more.”
(Ed Jayne- ejayne@afscme.org)
Hillary Clinton Proposes Tax Fairness for Multi-Millionaires
Hillary Clinton recently announced new federal tax proposals to
ensure multi-millionaires pay their fair share. First, she proposed a
"Fair Share Surcharge," which would impose a four percentage point
federal tax on annual earnings above $5 million. This is estimated to
raise taxes on only about 2 of every 10,000 taxpayers. Second, she
reiterated her support for a minimum federal tax rate of 30% on those
annually earning above $1 million. This is typically labeled the
"Buffett Rule," named after Warren Buffett who famously said
millionaires should not pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries.
Third, she would close egregious tax loopholes that allow
multi-millionaires and their lawyers to exploit the tax code's gaps and
ambiguities. For example, she would close the loophole on "carried
interest," which allows private equity, hedge funds, and similar Wall
Street fund managers to pay much lower tax rates on their earnings. She
also would raise tax rates on capital gains from short-term stock
trades. Fourth, she would reform the estate tax on multi-millionaires by
returning it to the more progressive rules that applied in 2009 that had
higher tax rates and fewer exemptions.
AFSCME supports her proposed tax reforms and loophole closures,
which are expected to raise an estimated $500 billion during the next
decade that could be used for domestic investments and job creation.
(Marc Granowitter-
mgranowitter@afscme.org)
GOP Presidential Candidates’ Poverty Solutions Would Harm More
Than Help
Last Saturday, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) moderated a forum
for GOP presidential hopefuls to talk about poverty. Six candidates
participated, although the top two contenders – Donald Trump and Ted
Cruz – were not there. The consensus view was reached by participants
that poverty is largely the fault of federal government programs, which
in their view foster dependency and stop people from looking for jobs.
Their solution is to convert the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) and other dependable safety net
programs that expand when poverty grows, into a “block grant” to states.
Under this scenario, states would receive a fixed amount of federal
funding that would not increase even when need explodes, as it did
during the recent Great Recession. This would leave cash-strapped states
and local governments to decide between pulling funds from schools, law
enforcement, infrastructure and other key priorities to meet basic
nutritional needs, or allow very low-income families – including
millions of children – to go hungry. Instead of proposing policies that
will exacerbate poverty, the GOP presidential candidates and
congressional leadership should support policies that tackle the
unprecedented, growing concentration of wealth at the top that harm
everyone else. The top 1% and profitable corporations should be required
to pay their fair share of taxes and no longer be allowed to use
loopholes that keep their taxes low. A fairer tax system would not only
provide additional resources for SNAP and other federal anti-poverty
safety net programs, it would also expand the shrinking middle class.
(Fran Bernstein-
fbernstein@afscme.org)
Legislation Threatens Federal Employees’ Workplace Protections
Federal workers’ current workplace protections would be
significantly weakened by legislation passed on January 12 by the House
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The committee voted 20 to
16 along party lines to approve Rep. Ken Buck’s (R-CO) H.R. 3023, which
would lengthen most federal workers’ probationary period from one to two
years. Furthermore, this probation would start after certain training
periods are completed and licenses obtained. The committee earlier voted
on party lines to reject two helpful Democratic amendments to replace
the bill with a report on the issue and affirmation of a one-year
probation period. The committee also approved by voice vote Chairman
Jason Chaffetz’s (R-UT) amended Official Personnel File Enhancement Act
(H.R. 4360), which would require a federal agency to record any adverse
findings from a resolved investigation in a former employee’s official
personnel file. Chairman Chaffetz withdrew the harmful The
Administration Leave Reform Act (H.R. 4359), which would set a 14-day
limit for a federal employee to serve administrative leave for reasons
related to misconduct or poor performance. AFSCME opposes these three
bills because they would weaken sensible safeguards protecting federal
workers.
The committee approved by voice vote the Government Neutrality
in Contracting Act (H.R. 1671), which would repeal President Obama’s
Executive Order 13502 that provides agencies with the authority to
require “project labor agreements” on federal government construction
projects. AFSCME opposes this bill.
(Marc Granowitter-
mgranowitter@afscme.org)
Union Plus scholarships ranging from $500 to $4,000 are
available for union members and their children. The 2016 Union Plus
Scholarship application deadline is Sunday, January 31, 2016.
The Union Plus Scholarship Difference:
Above: Irrawaddy Lamouth, AFSCME
Local 685, 2011 Union Plus Scholarship
recipient
Union Plus Scholarship Program
Since 1992, the Union Plus Scholarship Program has
awarded more than $3.7 million to students of working
families who want to begin or continue their post-secondary
education. Over 2,500 families have benefited from our
commitment to higher education. The Union Plus Scholarship
Program is offered through the Union Plus Education
Foundation, funded in part by donations from the provider of
the
Union Plus Credit Card. (You do not need to be a Union
Plus Credit Card holder to apply for this scholarship.)
See eligibility in the tab below.
Outstanding Scholarship Recipients
Congratulations to the 2015 scholarship winners.
This year, 106 union members and union family members have
been awarded $150,000 in scholarships, ranging from $500 to
$4,000.
The students selected for university, college, trade
school or technical scholarships represent a wide sampling
of backgrounds, union affiliations, goals and
accomplishments. The selection process is very competitive
since we receive over 5,000 applications each year.
How does the Union Plus Scholarship Program
work?
Evaluation criteria:
This is a competitive scholarship. Applicants are
evaluated according to academic ability, social
awareness, financial need and appreciation of labor.
A GPA of 3.0 or higher is recommended.
The required essays can account for up to half
your total score.
Scholarship applicants are judged by a committee
of impartial post-secondary educators.
Application Timeline:
Applications are available starting in mid-June,
and a complete application must be received on or
before 12:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on January
31, 2016. Applications received after this
deadline will not be considered.
Scholarship Award Amounts:
Amounts range from $500 to $4,000. These one-time
cash awards are for study beginning in the Fall of
2015. Students may re-apply each year.
Award date:
The Scholarship Committee will determine
recipients of scholarship awards by May 31 each
year. During the first week of June award recipients
will be individually notified by mail, and all
applicants will be sent an email with notification
that the
award list is posted here. Please note that due
to the volume of applications we cannot provide any
information on the status of an application before
award announcements are made.
Eligibility
- Current and retired members of participating
unions, their spouses and their dependent
children (as defined by IRS regulations). At
least one year of continuous union membership by
the applicant, applicant's spouse or parent (if
applicant is a dependent). The one year
membership minimum must be satisfied by May 31,
2016.
- Participating union members from the U.S.,
Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands
and Canada are eligible. But students must
attend an U.S. accredited college.
- Union members do not have to purchase any
Union Plus program product or participate in any
Union Plus programs to apply for the
scholarships and scholarship awards are not
based upon participation in a Union Plus
program.
- The applicant must be accepted into a U.S.
accredited college or university, community
college or technical or trade school at the time
the award is issued. Awards must be used for the
2015 - 2016 school year.
- Undergraduate and graduate students are
eligible.
- Your application must be complete and
received by 12:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on
Saturday, January 31, 2015.
Help more union families reach their education goals
Donate Now to the Union Plus Education Foundation