Select a State * NATIONAL MAP * Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

• ISSUES
  • Budget & Taxes
  • Health & Safety
  • Health Care
  • Pension Security
  • Privatization
  • Women
• JOBS WE DO
  • Child Care
  • Corrections
  • Emergency Response
  • Environmental Protection
  • Health Care Workers
  • Higher Education
  • Home Care
  • K-12 Education
  • Law Enforcement
  • Library Workers
  • Mental Health
  • Nurses
  • Public Works
  • Social/Welfare Services
  • Transportation
• LEGISLATION & POLITICS
  • Legislation
  • Politics & Elections
• MEMBERS ONLY
  Savings, Resources & more…
• PUBLICATIONS
• PRESS ROOM
• ABOUT AFSCME

Letter to Senators urging vote against cloture on the Department of Defense (DoD) appropriations bill

December 20, 2005

Dear Senator:

On behalf of the 1.4 million members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), I urge you to vote against cloture on a Department of Defense (DoD) appropriations bill that includes provisions that will harm working families as well as state and local governments. Specifically, AFSCME is strongly opposed to the proposed across-the-board cuts which would bring already low spending even lower and whose sole purpose is to finance a portion of tax cuts that primarily benefit the wealthy. We additionally oppose inclusion of school vouchers and immunity for makers of pandemic flu vaccines.

We are specifically opposed to the following provisions contained in the conference agreement:

Across-the-board spending cuts: Congress this year has cut FY 2006 funding for domestic programs by nearly $9 billion below the 2005 level adjusted for inflation. An additional across-the-board cut would more deeply cut programs that benefit low-income and middle-class families, and state and local governments -- all to pay for enormous tax cuts disproportionately benefiting the wealthiest Americans.

Private school vouchers: In addition, AFSCME strongly opposes the inclusion of a private school voucher program within a hurricane relief package that would then be voted on within the DoD spending bill. The most urgent current need for the hurricane-affected areas is to restore a sense of normalcy for the more than 300,000 displaced students. AFSCME represents more than 3,000 members in the Gulf Region, and we believe that our nation should be focusing its efforts on meeting the needs of these students, not opening up a divisive ideological debate on vouchers. If enacted, this plan will create the first national voucher program.

Inadequate Compensation Program for Vaccine Flu Injuries: The DoD conference report is being used to rush through unprecedented legal immunity not only for pandemic flu vaccine makers, but for makers of any device or product that might be used in a response to pandemic flu. While a compensation program has been added, the measure does not include funding for it. The failure to provide any funding raises a question about whether there truly is a commitment to provide compensation for injured individuals or whether it is simply a promise being made to advance the liability protections. Also, the measure adopts the compensation features of the smallpox compensation program rather than the more equitable compensation provided under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Fund.

AFSCME urges you to vote against cloture and oppose the Department of Defense appropriations bill.

     Sincerely,

     Charles M. Loveless
     Director of Legislation

Print Version Email This Page

What's This?