Copyright 2000 The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
September 13, 2000, Wednesday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE, Pg. 8B
LENGTH: 495 words
HEADLINE:
CAMPAIGN-TIME LEGISLATION
BODY:
Congress is
back on the Hill for its final session, and vowing to stay as long as necessary
to do the people's business. Never mind that the people's business will be
defined largely in campaign terms as members run for re-election -- there's
still hope that some needed work may get done despite the mix of politics and
policy.
Congress, for example, should take a hard look at the havoc the
Balanced Budget Act of 1997 unintentionally caused for hospitals now suffering
from low Medicare reimbursement rates. Unfortunately, chances of that are slim,
especially since debate over health-care reform now has shifted to the
presidential campaign, and the congressional agenda is crowded with major
environmental, trade and worker-benefit issues.
The Senate still has to
act on a slightly amended version of the Conservation and Reinvestment
Act that passed the House on a bipartisan 315-102 vote in May. With a
threat of lengthy debate by a few opponents if it's considered as a separate
bill, backers may have to attach CARA to one of the 11 federal spending bills
that still must be acted on -- eight of which carry the threat of a White House
veto.
CARA basically channels some of the revenue from offshore oil and
gas leases, about $ 2.8 billion a year, into state and local environmental and
conservation projects. In the Senate version, New York would
get an estimated $ 79.4 million a year in program funding, in categories from
Great Lakes cleanups to Adirondack land purchases; the House version would
commit an annual $ 100.7 million to New York.
The Senate also has
promised to act on a China trade bill passed earlier by the House. Unless it's
derailed by amendments -- the traditional kiss of death for bills in the busy
waning days of a session -- approval of normal trade status for China will more
fully open a market of 1.2 billion people, increase U.S. food and manufacturing
exports by an estimated $ 13 billion by 2005 and more closely link China to a
world of ideas and freedom.
There's also still a chance to hike the
minimum wage from the $ 5.15 an hour set in 1996 to $ 6.15 by 2002. This time of
national posterity ought to include some overdue help for the working poor.
Also on the table are House and Senate proposals to encourage more
retirement savings in 401(k) and IRA plans. The White House prefers tax credits
for low-income people saving for retirement, but the congressional bills have
bipartisan support and would at least encourage more Americans to set aside some
of today's prosperity for future needs.
Other issues, business tax
breaks and the repeal of telephone excise taxes among them, also remain for
Congress to tackle in the month ahead. It is likely adjournment will be delayed,
but the campaign trail strongly beckons. It's a dangerous time on the Hill --
one in which Americans can only hope that decisions will be made for the good of
the country, and not just to make the other party look bad.
LOAD-DATE: September 18, 2000
