AFSCME Federal Legislative Report October 5, 2007

[Omaha Steve]

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

AFSCME LEGISLATIVE REPORT
October 5, 2007

In this issue:

* President Vetoes Children's Health Bill/AFSCME Launches Media and Ground Campaign to Override Veto
* Holden Introduces Corrections Bills
* Deadline Nears for Current Moratorium on Internet Access Taxes
* Hundreds of Groups Urge Congress to Restore Child Support Enforcement Funds

President Vetoes Children's Health Bill/AFSCME Launches Media and Ground Campaign to Override Veto
On Wednesday, President Bush carried through on his threat to veto legislation to continue the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). In so doing, the President ignored the desire of more than 70 percent of the nation's citizens and of a large, bipartisan majority in Congress. The President also said no to the four million additional children who would have health coverage under this bill.

The House of Representatives will hold a vote on October 18 in an attempt to override the President's veto. While the White House will be pressing House members to sustain the veto, we are within striking distance, fewer than 20 votes, of overriding the veto. If the House succeeds in overriding, the Senate will then take up the bill. There is already enough support in the Senate to override. Next week, AFSCME is launching television ads urging targeted lawmakers to override the veto. The targets are: Reps. Joseph Knollenberg (MI-9), Tim Walberg (MI-7), Steve Chabot (OH-1), Thomas Reynolds (NY-26), Randy Kuhl (NY-29);, Sam Graves (MO-6), Marilyn Musgrave (CO-4) and Tom Feeney (FL-24). We are also activating our e-mail activist network and making thousands of phone calls to our members urging them to contact their representative to support a veto override.
(Barbara Coufal- [e-mail])

Holden Introduces Corrections Bills
Rep. Tim Holden (D-PA) introduced two bills this week to improve health and safety for correctional officers. The Office of Correctional Public Health Act (H.R. 3710) would create an office within the Department of Health and Human Services to help state and local facilities prevent and fight infectious diseases among inmates and officers.

Rep. Holden also introduced the Wayne "Cotton" Morgan Bulletproof Vest Act (H.R. 3711), which would waive the federal requirement for state and local funding matches for vests to protect officers in high-risk facilities and correctional officers transporting prisoners. The bill was first introduced in 2006 by then-Rep. Ted Strickland (D-OH) after Wayne "Cotton" Morgan, a correctional officer and AFSCME member, was shot and killed outside of the Kingston, TN court house by the wife of an inmate he was transporting.

AFSCME has sent letters to members of the House urging them to cosponsor both H.R. 3710 and H.R. 3711.
(Blaine Rummel- [e-mail])

Deadline Nears for Current Moratorium on Internet Access Taxes
In order to prevent a permanent ban on the ability of state and local governments to impose access taxes on the Internet, similar to telephone access taxes, AFSCME and state and local governments have pressed for another temporary moratorium on taxes to replace one that is set to expire on November 1. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) has introduced legislation (H.R. 3678) that includes a four-year moratorium, language to reduce corporate tax loopholes, and protective grandfather clauses for existing state and local taxes. The House Judiciary Committee, which Conyers chairs, is expected to take the bill up soon.

In the Senate, as Commerce Committee members struggle to reach a compromise, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen. John Sununu (R-NH) are attempting to bypass the Commerce Committee and force a floor vote in the Senate on legislation to impose a permanent ban.
(Marc Granowitter- [e-mail])

Hundreds of Groups Urge Congress to Restore Child Support Enforcement Funds
This week, AFSCME joined more than 500 national and state groups from across the country in urging Congress to prevent cuts to the child support enforcement program. In a letter to all members of Congress, the coalition urged lawmakers to pass the Child Support Protection Act of 2007 (S. 803/H.R. 1386), which would restore billions of dollars for the program that were cut in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.

The federal funding cuts went into effect on October 1. The impact of the cuts will vary among the states, but will be devastating to some programs. Some AFSCME-represented county child support programs may lay off as many as a third of child support workers who work directly with families to provide services and collect support.
(Fran Bernstein- [e-mail])

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AFSCME Department of Legislation
Phone: [phone] or 800/732-8120
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Website: http://www.afscme.org/
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