LEGISLATIVE REPORT for the week of April 25, 2008

[Omaha Steve]

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

April 25, 2008

In this issue:

* House Defies President Bush and Votes to Block Medicaid Cuts to States
* AFSCME Continues to Press for Relief for States
* Senate Passes Genetic Discrimination Bill
* Administration Violated Law in its Effort to Reduce Children's Health Coverage
* Bill to Overturn National Labor Relations Board Decision Introduced
* House Committee Approves Housing Foreclosure Prevention Bills
* House Approves Plan to Eliminate IRS' Private Collection Agencies
* Senate Republicans Block Wage Discrimination Legislation


House Defies President Bush and Votes to Block Medicaid Cuts to States
The House passed legislation (H.R. 5613) to block implementation of seven harmful rules issued by the Bush Administration that are designed to cut federal Medicaid payments to states. The rules, which would mean cuts to states of up to $50 billion over five years, would be delayed until April 2009. The overwhelming vote (349 to 62) was a resounding victory for AFSCME and a substantial defeat for the Administration, which has threatened to veto the bill. The Senate has not yet acted on S. 2819, which not only puts a hold on the Medicaid rules, but would also provide cash-strapped states with additional temporary federal funds.
(Linda Bennett- [e-mail])

AFSCME Continues to Press for Relief for States
Thirty states are facing budget shortfalls; for FY 2009, states will struggle to cover $39 billion in deficits. Many states, counties and cities are considering job cuts and cuts to important public services. H.R. 5268 would provide all states with $13 billion in new temporary federal funding for Medicaid. S. 2819 would provide states with key indicators of fiscal crisis with $12 billion in new temporary federal funding for Medicaid and state aid grants.
(Linda Bennett- [e-mail])

Urge Congress to Act Now to Save Public Services

Please call the Capitol switchboard at 1-888-460-0813 and ask to speak to your Senators and Representative. Tell them your state, cities, and counties are suffering painful budget problems, and that Congress needs to act now. Urge them to support a temporary increase in federal funding for your state's Medicaid program and for flexible grants to states and local governments. Let them know you are member of AFSCME and oppose federal budget cuts that reduce public services or hurt government workers.

Senate Passes Genetic Discrimination Bill
By a vote of 95 to 0, the Senate passed legislation (H.R. 493) banning genetic discrimination by insurance companies and employers. The bill would prohibit insurers, including self-insured state and local government plans, from restricting enrollment or charging higher premiums based on genetic information. It would also bar employers from discharging, refusing to hire or otherwise discriminating against employees on the basis of genetic information. The bill will return to the House, and is expected to be passed again. The Bush Administration had previously threatened to veto the bill but has more recently signaled it would be signed into law.
(Linda Bennett- [e-mail])

Administration Violated Law in its Effort to Reduce Children's Health Coverage
The Bush Administration violated federal law last August when it issued a directive to states restricting their ability to provide health coverage to children in families with incomes that exceed 250% of the poverty line (or $42,925 for a family of three). Two nonpartisan congressional agencies, the Government Accountability Office and the Congressional Research Service, issued legal opinions finding that the Administration circumvented procedures that are legally required for pursuing significant changes to the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). In its directive, the Administration informed states that federal funds could not be used to help cover children at the higher income level, except under new standards that no state can meet. The policy affects 23 states that had expanded, or were planning to expand, children's health coverage.

The Administration dismissed the legal opinions and stated that it planned to enforce the new policy beginning August 2008. Legislation (S. 2819) has been introduced to reverse the SCHIP policy and maintain funding to states that expand children's coverage.
(Barbara Coufal- [e-mail])

Bill to Overturn National Labor Relations Board Decision Introduced
This week, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Rep. George Miller (D-CA) introduced legislation (S. 2891/H.R. 5838) to overturn the National Labor Relations Board's anti-union decision in Brown University. The bill amends the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to allow teaching and research assistants at private universities to bargain collectively. Brown University overturned a prior decision which held that graduate assistants are employees within the meaning of the NLRA and exemplifies how the current Board has chipped away at the NLRA in a systematic effort to deny workers their fundamental rights.
(Andrea Zuniga DiBitetto- [e-mail])

House Committee Approves Housing Foreclosure Prevention Bills
On April 23, a House committee voted to approve a $15 billion bill (H.R. 5818) to create a state loan and grant program to buy and redevelop foreclosed properties to stabilize afflicted communities. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), provides $7.5 billion for grants and $7.5 billion for loans. Under the bill, states could fund housing authorities or nonprofits to buy, rehabilitate, and sell homes, and to rehabilitate and operate rental dwellings. The full House is likely to consider H.R. 5818 the week of May 5. Recently, the Senate passed a similar bill (H.R. 3221) providing $4 billion to states and localities. The Bush Administration criticized and suggested that it would veto that plan.

Other related housing bills are being developed, and the final legislative package should include an overhaul of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), expanded FHA programs to help at-risk borrowers refinance loans, tax incentives to encourage home purchases and assist low-income renters, and other reforms.
(Marc Granowitter- [e-mail])

House Approves Plan to Eliminate IRS' Private Collection Agencies
On April 15, the House voted 238-179 to approve legislation (H.R. 5719) to ban the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from contracting out tax collections to private collection agencies. The ban would terminate the IRS' current privatization pilot program, which is more expensive and less effective than having the work done within the IRS with government employees. Rep. David Scott (D-GA) said, "personal financial information of our American people is too precious, is too confidential, to be in the hands of private contractors." Although there is bipartisan support for most of the tax package, the ban is opposed by most House Republicans and key Senate Republicans. The White House threatened to veto the bill mostly due to this anti-privatization language.
(Marc Granowitter- [e-mail])

Senate Republicans Block Wage Discrimination Legislation
Republicans in the Senate successfully blocked legislation that would have restored longstanding protections for employees facing pay discrimination. The legislation (S. 1315) would reverse the 2007 Supreme Court decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Inc. The Ledbetter case was based on a complaint filed in 1998 by Lilly Ledbetter who worked as the only female supervisor at a Goodyear tire plant. Upon learning that for 19 years her employer had been paying her male co-workers several thousands dollars more, Ledbetter sued and initially won her discrimination case. But last year, the Supreme Court ruled that she acted too late to file her case and that workers filing suit for pay discrimination must do so within 180 days of the actual decision to discriminate against them. The Ledbetter decision placed an unrealistic timetable on employees who are unknowing victims of pay discrimination, while protecting employers who discriminate from liability. The case removed an important legal remedy that was established in the 1963 Civil Rights Act.
(Cynthia Bradley- [e-mail])

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AFSCME Department of Legislation
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