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1. Education—(S. 280) Overcrowded schools make it difficult for teachers to teach and students to learn. Studies show that smaller class sizes help improve student achievement. President Clinton proposed a class size reduction program centering on the hiring of 100,000 new teachers over six years. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) offered an amendment to S. 280 that would have helped reduce class sizes across the country, by authorizing funds to help local school districts recruit, hire and train those 100,000 new teachers. But the Senate failed to act when it tabled the measure in a 55-44 vote March 3, 1999. Y=W N=R (DEM: 0-44; REP: 55-0).
—(S. CON. RES. 20) The nation's growing budget surplus provided a great opportunity for Congress to pass legislation to strengthen Social Security and Medicare and add prescription drug coverage to Medicare. During consideration of the Senate's FY 2000 budget resolution, the Senate rejected an amendment by Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) that would have saved the budget surplus to extend the solvency of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. The measure failed 45-54 March 24, 1999. Y=R N=W (DEM: 45-0; REP: 0-54) —(H.R. 975) As a result of a depressed world steel market, foreign steel producers began illegally dumping steel in the United States. In 1998, imports jumped 33 percent and some 10,000 steelworkers lost their jobs. The House overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill that called for the reduction in steel imports, established tougher import monitoring and imposed limits that returned foreign steel imports to 1997 levels. But Senate opponents filibustered against even considering the bill and the bill's backers, by a 42-57 vote June 22, 1999, could not overcome the filibuster. Y=R N=W (DEM: 27-18; REP: 15-39)
2. Social Security / Medicare.
Patients' Bill of Rights—(S. 1344) In a major grassroots campaign, working families called for a strong Patients' Bill of Rights. The real Patients' Bill of Rights ensures the right to have treatment decisions made by doctors and not insurance company bureaucrats, to see specialists when needed, to get emergency room care when and where needed, to appeal health care decisions and to hold managed care companies accountable when they wrongly deny patients care. But the Senate passed a managed care bill that excluded more than 100 million Americans, gave health plans the final say on medical treatment decisions and lacked important comprehensive patient protections such as patient advocacy language, access to specialist and clinical trials, continuity of care and an adequate provider network. It passed 53-47, July 15, 1999. Y=W N=R (DEM: 0-45; REP: 53-2)
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5. Tax Cuts for the Wealthy—(S. 1429) Working families believed that the nation's huge budget surplus should be used to strengthen Social Security and Medicare, add prescription drug coverage to Medicare and provide middle-class tax relief. Instead, the Senate passed S. 1429, which would have spent money essential to Medicare reform and a prescription drug benefit, given 76 percent of tax cut benefits to the wealthiest 20 percent of taxpayers, assumed devastating cuts in discretionary programs like education and cost $2 trillion in its second decade (2010-2019) just as baby boomers' retirement would begin to strain Medicare and Social Security. The bill passed 57-43, July 30, 1999. After a House/Senate conference, the final version was vetoed by President Clinton. Y=W N=R (DEM: 4-41; REP: 52-2).
—(S. 1650) Big business and its congressional cronies have sought to gut important worker initiative programs such the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Fair Labor Standards Act and the National Labor Relations Board. In 1999, corporate allies went after the NLRB with an amendment that would have slashed funding by $25.5 million. The Senate passed a motion to table, or kill, the measure 50-49, Sept. 30, 1999. Y=R N=W (DEM: 45-01; REP: 5-48)
6. NLRB / Funding.
Davis-Bacon— Prevailing Wage—(S. 1650) The Davis-Bacon Act ensures that workers on federal construction projects receive the local prevailing wage. This prevents contractors from slashing wages in order to win federal contracts with low-ball bids. During consideration of the FY 2000 Labor/Health and Human Services/Education appropriations bill, Sen. Bob Smith (R-N.H.) offered an amendment to prohibit applying Davis-Bacon in declared federal disaster areas. A motion to table the amendment passed 59-40, Oct. 7, 1999. Y=R N=R (DEM: 44-0; REP: 15-49)
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8. Trade / Africa—Caribbean Basin Initiative—(H.R. 434) Trade polices should include worker and environmental protections and provide economic benefits to workers. But H.R. 434, which the Senate amended to include Caribbean Basin Initiative nations, authorized a new trade and investment policy for sub-Sahara Africa without enforceable worker protections and extended NAFTA to CBI countries. It also allowed transshipments of foreign textiles and apparels through African countries, giving other nations the trade benefits intended for African nations. It also did nothing to address one of the major problems the sub-Saharan countries face, a crushing debt burden to developed nations. The Senate passed its version of H.R.434 76-13, Nov. 3, 1999.The bill was sent to conference and no further action was taken in 1999. Y=W N=R (DEM: 30-13; REP: 46-6)
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9. Minimum Wage—(S. 625) The national economy is stronger than it's been in a generation and unemployment is at a three-decade low, but today's minimum wage is too meager to keep even a small family out of poverty. Working families supported an amendment by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) that would have increased the minimum wage by $1 an hour over two years, to $5.65 an hour beginning Jan. 1, 2000, and $6.15 an hour beginning Jan. 1, 2001. Senate Republican leaders were able to defeat that amendment to bankruptcy legislation and instead approved an amendment to raise the minimum wage by $1 an hour over three years. But the amendment also included excessive tax breaks for the wealthy—worth more than $75.3 billion over 10 years. The amendment passed on a vote of 54-44, Nov. 9, 1999. Y=W N=R (DEM: 1-43; REP: 53-1)