** Dems to Force Vote on Gulf Coast Wage Cut **

[Carla in Ca]

UPDATE Action Item

This is BIG! Another potential embarrassment for the WH



Invoking a never-before-used parliamentary rule included in the National Emergencies Act, the Democratic Leadership of the House are demanding an up-down vote on Bush's suspension of the Davis-Bacon law in the Gulf Coast.


As a press release from George Miller's office explains:

Miller today introduced a Joint Resolution under the 1976 National Emergencies Act, which provides for fast track action by Congress when the President unilaterally suspends a law, as he did with Davis-Bacon. Although the National Emergencies Act is nearly 30 years old, this is the first time that a lawmaker has ever invoked its fast track procedures. By law, Congress must act on Miller's Joint Resolution within 15 calendar days - in this case, by November 4.

37 Republicans have written to the President opposing his suspension of the Act, more than enough to overturn Bush's action, and they may have to put their votes where there's mouths are if the Democrats succeed with this maneuver.

A key to GOP unity has been avoiding tough votes on labor issues for Republicans in labor-friendly districts.

But that gambit may be coming to an end.

MORE

<http://alliance-for-a-better-california.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/10/20/152156/09>

[expatriot]

1. link doesn't work.

[Carla in Ca]

2. Sorry about that

Should be OK now.:)

edit for link, courtesy of Sepia Steel
<http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/fairpaynow>

[expatriot]

3. thanks for posting this. nt

[newswolf56]

4. Thank you! Already linked the petition to my friends. This is...

exactly the kind of political hardball our elected representatives should have been playing all along: make the Republicans (and the class-traitor DLC Democrats too) show where they really stand on vital paycheck issues -- either with us, or with the capitalist oligarchy that now ever more brazenly seeks to reduce us all to sweatshop poverty.

In which context bear in mind anyone who votes with the oligarchy (i.e., for CAFTA, bankruptcy "reform" etc.) demonstrates themselves to be the personal enemy of every American who has to work for a living, or is retired, disabled, or chronically impoverished due to misfortune and/or disease.

(By the way the bad link problem reported above seems to have been due to heavy site traffic: first try got me nowhere, second try got me on.)