AFSCME LEGISLATIVE REPORT May 23, 2008

[Omaha Steve]

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

AFSCME LEGISLATIVE REPORT
May 23, 2008

The Congress now begins its Memorial Day recess. The next weekly report will be issued on Friday, June 6.

In this issue:

* Senate Passes Emergency Supplemental Funding Bill with AFSCME-Supported Provisions
* Federal Budget Agreement Reached
* House Passes Tax Extenders Measure
* Genetic Discrimination in Health Insurance and Employment Now Prohibited by Law
* House Committee Approves Airport Worker Legislation

Senate Passes Emergency Supplemental Funding Bill with AFSCME-Supported Provisions
The Senate voted 75 to 22 to adopt key domestic spending provisions in an emergency funding bill (H.R. 2642) to provide additional funds for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. AFSCME-supported provisions include: an expanded GI bill for our veterans; extended unemployment insurance (UI) benefits beyond 26 weeks plus $110 million to meet a shortfall for UI operations; a temporary moratoria on seven Administration-proposed Medicaid regulations which would cut funds to states and hospitals; delaying an Administration State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) directive which would limit funds to states; $490 million for state and local law enforcement Byrne formula grants; and $400 million for rural schools and community public services. The Senate provided, by a vote of 70-26, nearly $170 billion for the ongoing wars and voted 34 to 63 to reject a package that tied war funding with restrictions on war operations. The path to enactment still has a number of hurdles. The two chambers must resolve key funding and policy differences in their respective bills and the final bill may need to overcome a threatened veto.
(Linda Bennett- [email protected] (Medicaid); [email protected] (UI); [email protected] (secure rural schools); [email protected] (Byrne grants)

Federal Budget Agreement Reached
This week, House and Senate negotiators reached agreement on a budget blueprint for fiscal year 2009 that provides an additional $21 billion over President Bush's proposed budget for spending on annually-funded domestic programs. The conference agreement on the budget resolution rejects the Administration's proposed cuts to vital programs, including many that fund state, county and city services. Among the programs saved from the Administration's ax are Medicaid, Medicare, state and local law enforcement programs, and the Community Development Block Grant. The budget agreement also expresses support for a $50 billion increase to expand SCHIP, an additional $5 billion in funding for child care, funding restoration for child support enforcement, and new infrastructure investments. Moreover, the budget agreement requires that any tax cuts be paid for to prevent unaffordable revenue losses. Both houses of Congress are expected to vote on the FY 2009 budget resolution after the Memorial Day recess.
(Fran Bernstein- [email protected])

House Passes Tax Extenders Measure
On Wednesday, the House passed a tax package (H.R. 6049) that extends several tax provisions that expired last year or are due to expire. The bill includes continuation of the deductibility of state and local sales taxes, restoration of the tax exclusion for employer-provided legal assistance plans, new energy bonds to finance state and local government programs and efforts to lessen greenhouse gas emissions, extension of deductions to promote economic growth in Puerto Rico, and expansion of the refundable child tax credit. The bill is offset by tax changes to the treatment of deferred compensation paid by managers of offshore hedge funds and by a delay in the implementation of the worldwide interest allocation rule. AFSCME supports this legislation, while President Bush has threatened to veto it over the offset.
(Fran Bernstein– [email protected])

Genetic Discrimination in Health Insurance and Employment Now Prohibited by Law
The President signed into law a bill (H.R. 493) that prohibits discrimination in health insurance coverage and employment based on genetic information. The new law will prevent health insurers from canceling, denying, refusing to renew or changing the terms or premiums of coverage based solely on a genetic predisposition toward a specific disease. State and local government health plans will be covered as well as Medigap insurance used by many retirees. The prohibition against employment discrimination will protect public and private sector employees.
(Linda Bennett- [email protected])

House Committee Approves Airport Worker Screening Legislation
The House Homeland Security Committee on May 20th approved legislation (H.R. 5982) that would authorize a study on how airports could implement biometric identification systems for employees who work beyond the security checkpoints. Biometric systems use fingerprints and retina scanners to identify employees entering sensitive areas of the airport. The bill, introduced by committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS), will be folded into the Homeland Security Department's reauthorization bill that has already passed in the House.
(Cynthia Bradley- [email protected])

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