The House and Senate returned from their annual summer recess after Labor Day. They are expected to remain in session until the first or second week of October.

The pace of legislative activity during final weeks of the 106th Congress will be quite hectic, as the House and Senate grapple with a myriad of issues. With the November elections looming on the horizon, both parties will be jockeying for partisan political advantage on many key issues.

Senate to Vote on PNTR
The Senate is continuing to debate legislation that would grant permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) to China. Although various Senators are offering amendments to this bill, it is expected that all of the amendments will be rejected. The UAW and our allies in the labor, human rights, environmental and other progressive movements are still strongly opposing PNTR. We are emphasizing that the U.S.-China trade deal does not require China to recognize basic worker and human rights, and does not protect American workers against import surges that could threaten their jobs. The Senate may vote within the next couple of weeks on final passage of the legislation granting PNTR to China.

Battles Over Appropriations and Tax Bills
Most of the remaining four to five weeks of legislative activity will be taken up by intense battles over the annual appropriations bills that fund all government programs and agencies. So far the GOP controlled Congress is far behind schedule in dealing with these critically important funding measures.

The UAW is working closely with the Clinton Administration and Congressional Democrats to make sure there is adequate funding for the NLRB, OSHA and other vital worker protection programs. At the same time, we are vigorously opposing several anti-worker riders that have been pushed by the business community and their GOP allies. In particular, we are opposing an anti-ergonomics rider that has been added to the Labor-HHS appropriations bill. The White House and top Democratic leaders have assured the labor movement that they will insist that this terrible rider be dropped from this appropriations bill. However, this could be one of the last items decided before Congress adjourns.

We are also opposing another anti-worker rider that would block the so-called "Responsible Contractor" regulations. The UAW and other unions strongly support these regulations, which would allow federal agencies to deny federal contracts to law breaking companies. We are working with the Administration and our Democratic friends to make sure this rider is also dropped from the final appropriations bills.

Most observers are predicting that the battles over the appropriations measures will continue until the very end of the 106th Congress and that the House and Senate will eventually forge some compromise that will be included in an omnibus-spending package. Many pundits believe that President Clinton holds the upper ground in the spending battles, and that GOP Congressional leaders will acquiesce in most of the Administration's demands in the end game on these appropriations bills.

At the same time, GOP leaders have tried to dramatize their differences with the Administration over tax cuts by attempting to override President Clinton's vetoes of two major tax cut bills. In the first week of September, House Republicans tried to override the President's veto of the bill repealing estate taxes on the rich. But this effort failed by a vote of 274-157 (it takes a two thirds vote to override a presidential veto). During the week of September 12, the House voted on an effort to override the President's veto of the so-called "marriage penalty" tax legislation. However, this effort failed.

The UAW strongly opposes both the estate tax and the marriage penalty tax bills. Both of these GOP measures are heavily skewed towards the rich. In addition, these bills would lead to huge drains on the federal treasury, wasting resources that are needed to strengthen Social Security and Medicare. The differences between the two parties over how to use the projected federal surpluses - tax cuts for the rich, or strengthening Social Security and Medicare - promises to be a defining issue in the upcoming elections.

Minimum Wage Bill
GOP Congressional leaders appear to have concluded that they need to go along with an increase in the minimum wage in order to avoid being punished by voters in the November elections. As a result, House Speaker Dennis Hastert made a proposal to the White House, offering to accept a $1 increase in the minimum wage over two years, provided this was packaged with various tax breaks for business and wealthy individuals, a repeal of the unemployment insurance surtax on companies, and a number of anti-worker changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act that would exempt millions of workers from the overtime and minimum wage protections of this law.

The UAW and other unions have joined with the White House and Democratic Congressional leaders in welcoming the GOP's new found willingness to hike the minimum wage by $1 over two years. This increase is urgently needed to help millions of low wage families. However, we are making it clear that we adamantly reject any tampering with the overtime protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Also, instead of simply repealing the UI surtax, we believe Congress should adopt a bi-partisan package of reforms to the UI system that has broad support among labor and business groups.

The jockeying over the minimum wage bill will probably continue for several more weeks. In the end, however, there is a good chance that some package will be worked out between the two parties and signed into law. Stay tuned for further action on this key issue.

Medicare Drugs
Recognizing the strong political appeal of the proposals by Vice President Gore and Congressional Democrats to expand Medicare to cover prescription drugs, Governor George W. Bush and GOP Congressional leaders have been scrambling to play catch up on this issue. Recently Bush and the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Bill Roth (R-Del.), put forward alternative proposals dealing with this issue. Not surprisingly, these proposals were entirely unacceptable. The GOP proposals would simply provide subsidies to promote private prescription drug policies for seniors and disabled persons. Benefits, co-pays and deductibles would vary from plan to plan. Significantly, millions of middle-income seniors and disabled individuals would be left without any affordable prescription drug coverage.

The UAW is strongly opposing these sham GOP proposals, and emphasizing that the only way to truly guarantee affordable prescription drug coverage for all seniors and disabled persons is to expand Medicare to cover this vital benefit. The Medicare program has been a tremendous success in providing health coverage to seniors and the disabled. We should build on what works, by expanding Medicare to include prescription drugs.

It is possible the Senate will vote on the competing prescription drug proposals later this month. The UAW will be urging Senators to support the Medicare drug proposals offered by Vice President Gore and Democratic Congressional leaders, and to reject the sham proposals advanced by the Republican leaders.

It is unlikely that the Medicare drug issue will be resolved in this session of Congress. But this issue promises to be one of the dominant isssues in the November elections.