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Capital Letter, February 1999
106th Congress begins with new leadership in the House After the surprise resignations of Speaker Newt Gingrich and Speaker-Elect Bob Livingston, Congress has convened under the leadership of Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-IL-14). Trent Lott (R-MS) continues as Majority Leader in the Senate. While not a great deal of change is expected under Speaker Hastert in the way of legislative agenda, the internal administrative workings of the House, such as committee control, continue to evolve. Still, there is a general sense of relief that the solid Hastert is in the Chair. The agenda, as proposed, will focus on the bread-and-butter issues of tax reform, regulatory relief, some redressing of defense spending, and budget issues. PIA and other business groups have good access to the leadership in both Houses and good opportunities for moving the ball forward on our issues over the next two years. Fair warning of regulations PIA is taking the lead with a coalition of small business groups in promoting legislation that would require federal agencies to give "fair warning" of new or changed federal requirements. Currently, federal regulations are published in the Federal Register, which is available to the general public, but internal guidelines on proper procedures are often not published. If a change in an enforcement policy is made, the Regulatory Fair Warning Act would require agencies to give business owners fair warning about the new policy. If they failed to do so, the bill would ensure that no civil or criminal sanctions would be imposed on an employer if he or she did not have fair warning of how the rule would be implemented. This legislation was introduced a year ago by Rep. George Gekas (R-PA-17), but the Committee on the Judiciary was tied up with other issues and could not act on the bill. However, several members of Congress signed on as co-sponsors before Congress adjourned. In 1996, R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. testified on behalf of the printing industry in favor of the legislation. Health insurance reform: Legislative push expected Health insurance reform advocates are expected to introduce legislation early in the congressional session. If the proposals look anything like last year's, printers had better beware. Most of the reform proposals introduced in the last Congress would have increased the price tag for employers to provide health coverage to employees by up to 20 percent, while doing little to help the uninsured get access to insurance. With all the talk of increasing mandated benefits and requiring more coverage, it's not surprising that health insurance issues have become a number one priority for printers. Mandating that particular benefits be paid is usually done with the best intentions. However, every new mandate means an increase in the cost of health insurance. Most respondents to the health care priorities survey (Management Portfolio, November 1998) stated that their health insurance costs have increased, ranging from five to 50 percent, over the last three years. PIA will oppose any legislation that would make it more expensive for printers to provide health insurance to their employees. Before Congress reconvened, research on health insurance trends in the industry was completed. This information will be shared with legislators who will be making key decisions on health insurance reform in the next two years. Slow but sure progress on computer depreciation reform PIA's proposal to reduce the depreciation schedule for computers and peripheral equipment from five to two years continues to make slow, but sure, progress. Our bill, introduced by Reps. Mac Collins (R-GA) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) in the last Congress, provided one of the spurs to encourage Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Archer (R-TX) to mandate that the Department of the Treasury provide a full report on depreciation schedules and their problems by March 2000. At that time, Mr. Archer intends to use the information to totally revamp the depreciation system. Between now and the return of the report, PIA will work to add co-sponsors to the reintroduced bill to increase support for the initiative. '99 Legislative Conference Make your voice heard--attend PIA's annual Graphic Arts Legislative Conference on April 26-27, 1999. This is your chance to get the most up-to-date information on the industry's key issues. More important, it's an opportunity to meet with your legislators to ensure they understand how issues affect your bottom line. This year's conference will start off with the Chairman's Club Dinner with guest speaker Mike McCurry, former White House Press Secretary. For more information about the conference, call Colleen Eubanks at (703) 519-8110 or e-mail her at ceubanks@printing.org.
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