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Legislation Department The Congress That Won't Go Home The "do nothing" 106th Congress, in a rare lameduck session, reconvened with a full plate of issues and with little likelihood that it will make much headway. Congress has yet to complete action on spending bills which account for approximately one quarter of the federal budget, including the massive measure which funds health, education and labor programs. Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX), the power behind the throne in the House, threatened a government shutdown if President Clinton did not accede to his demand that domestic government spending be frozen at last year's levels. But other GOP leaders appear eager to reach a deal with the Administration. Leaders Open Talks on Reorganizing Senate Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) and Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) began discussions on how to organize the Senate next year given the fact that the chamber will include 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats. Daschle has demanded a "power sharing" arrangement with membership on Senate committees divided equally between Democrats and Republicans, but GOP leaders are likely to oppose this demand. Needlestick Measure for Public Hospitals Still in Play AFSCME continues to press for a needlestick provision to cover public hospital workers who are not protected by the new needlestick law (H.R. 5178/ S. 3067) because they are in states where public employees are not covered by the rules of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). AFSCME is pursuing the needlestick measure as part of a larger Medicare bill that would increase payments to health care providers. While the inclusion of the needlestick measure has the strong support of the Administration and bipartisan support in the House, there is opposition from some GOP senators. Winning the needlestick measure also hinges on whether the larger Medicare bill is enacted. There is strong support among many Democrats and Republicans to pass the Medicare legislation before adjournment. However, negotiations over a final bill are threatened by the insistence of GOP leaders to provide unduly large increases for Medicare managed care plans at the expense of hospitals, nursing homes and other providers. Tax Cut/Minimum Wage Increase Bill Dead GOP leaders have dropped plans to enact a $240 billion package of tax cuts — combined with a minimum wage increase — (H.R. 2614) before the end of the year. They acted based on their calculated gamble that Republicans will control the presidency with George Bush committed to a much larger tax cut. Business Gearing Up For Attack on Labor Law Next Year Not waiting for a final vote count but hopeful that George W. Bush will become the next president, business leaders have pledged to push to weaken federal labor law. Top on the business-lobby's list are changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act that would allow hourly employees to choose to receive compensatory time off instead of overtime pay and to eliminate bonuses when calculating overtime pay. The Clinton Administration opposed both changes. Business is also expected to push for passage of the so-called "TEAM Act" that would permit employers to chose employee committees with whom to bargain over conditions of work, i.e. company unions, and legislation to outlaw the "salting" organizing tactic by making clear that an employer is not required to hire a person who is planning to assist in an organizing drive. Push for Reform Of Government Pension Offset International Vice President and Executive Director of OAPSE Local 4 in Ohio Joe Rugola met with key staff for Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) and Rep. Rob Portman (R-OH) to urge enactment of the Government Pension Offset (GPO) reform legislation (H.R. 1217/ S.717) next year. The GPO has unintentionally harmed a disproportionate number of women and moderate and lower income state and local government retirees. Under the GPO, these retirees have their Social Security spousal benefits reduced by two-thirds the amount of their public pension check. This legislation would repeal the GPO for public pension recipients whose combined public pension and Social Security payment is less than $1200 per month. The bill in the House has 263 co-sponsors, including Rep. Portman. The Senate bill has 21 co-sponsors at this time. President Clinton Calls For "Performance-Based" Air Traffic Control On Thursday, December 7, 2000, President Clinton issued an executive order establishing a performance-based air traffic organization and named a five-member air traffic control subcommittee. The subcommittee is under the control of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) management advisory council (MAC) which was instituted as a result of language in the recent FAA reauthorization bill. The proposed organization will be headed by a chief operating officer (COO) who will report to the FAA Administrator. The Administrator may delegate responsibility for any operational activity to the COO but any safety, security and policy making functions for the national airspace system may not be delegated. Important for air traffic employees is a provision in the executive order which classifies the air traffic services as "an inherently governmental function," a key provision sought by AFSCME. Government functions classified as "commercial" are easily contracted-out or privatized.
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