Legislation & Politics

Week Ending May 22, 2009

Congress – The Week of May 18, 2009 Health Care Reform at Critical Juncture

Congress now begins its Memorial Day recess. The next weekly report will be issued on Friday, June 5.

Health Care Reform at Critical Juncture

With the strong backing of President Obama, health care reform legislation is moving forward towards a critical juncture. Key Senate committees – Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and Finance – are preparing for deliberations to review and amend legislation in early June. AFSCME has been pressing for health care reform which builds upon employer-based coverage and includes a choice of options, including a public health insurance plan. A public coverage option would guarantee that families will always have high quality coverage no matter what happens to their private insurance. Providing a public plan option along side private coverage would create healthy competition that would encourage private insurers to be more efficient. AFSCME supports requiring all employers to be responsible and provide comprehensive coverage or make a substantial payment to the cost of coverage so their workers can obtain insurance. AFSCME opposes taxing the value of employer-sponsored health care benefits as if it were income. 

KEEP HEALTH CARE REFORM ON TRACK
CALL YOUR SENATORS TODAY!
Now is the time to press senators to support guaranteed, quality, affordable health care coverage for all, which includes a choice of a public health insurance plan.
Call 202-224-3121
Tell your senators to support health care reform that continues the employer-based system and offers everyone the choice of a public health insurance plan.

Democratic Senators Introduce Resolution Requiring Public Health Insurance Plan Option in Health Care Reform Legislation

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and 27 Democratic co-sponsors introduced a resolution this week demanding that any health care reform legislation include a public health insurance plan option. This is an extremely important show of commitment and strength to including this policy in health care reform. As one co-sponsor, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) said, "Our goal now is to provide meaningful and affordable coverage to all Americans, including the more than 45 million among us who lack health insurance. I think a federally-backed health care option is an important part of the solution."  We should thank all the co-sponsors of this resolution:  Sens. Edward Kennedy (MA); Chris Dodd (CT); Charles Schumer (NY); Dick Durbin (IL); Barbara Mikulski (MD); Tom Harkin (IA); Barbara Boxer (CA); Jack Reed (RI); Carl Levin (MI); Patrick Leahy (VT); Robert Menendez (NJ); Sheldon Whitehouse (RI); Debbie Stabenow (MI); Bob Casey (PA); Kirsten Gillibrand (NY); Jeff Merkley (OR); Tom Udall (NM); Daniel Inouye (HI); Bernie Sanders (VT); Ted Kaufman (DE); Roland Burris (IL); Frank Lautenberg (NJ); Claire McCaskill (MO); Jeanne Shaheen (NH); and Benjamin Cardin (MD). 

Recent Studies Support Need for Health Care Reform

This week, two studies were released that add to the urgency that Congress get health care reform done this year. The annual Milliman Medical Index found that medical costs for a typical American family of four increased to $16,771 in 2009, compared with the 2008 figure of $15,609, an increase of 7.4%. And, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, an independent health care research group, released a study that projects the number of uninsured Americans could soar to more than 65 million in 10 years if no reforms are adopted.

Republicans Introduce Health Care Reform Legislation

 This week, Republican senators and House members introduced health care reform legislation that runs completely counter to attaining comprehensive, affordable coverage for everyone. The Senate bill (S. 1099), sponsored by Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC) and Tom Coburn (R-OK), proposes tax credits for individuals and families to buy health insurance, paid for by taxing employer-sponsored health benefits as income. This approach was rejected by voters when they elected President Barack Obama over Sen. John McCain, recognizing that taxing benefits would destabilize our employment-based health care system. The bill also does not require employers to contribute at all to covering their employees. The Burr-Coburn plan not only fails to include a public health insurance option to bring down health care costs and drive quality, it would gut the Medicaid program, allowing governors to shift the lowest-income Americans into the private insurance market. Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) is a co-sponsor of the bill. The companion House bill (H.R. 2520) is sponsored by Reps. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Devin Nunes (R-CA). 

Senate Passes 2009 Supplemental Spending Bill with $1.5 billion for Pandemic Flu

By a vote of 86-3, the Senate passed its version of a supplemental fiscal 2009 funding bill (S. 1054) for military and other operations, primarily in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Senate bill includes $1.5 billion to prepare and respond to the 2009 H1N1 virus outbreak, which is less than the House-passed bill (H.R. 2346) level of $2 billion. The Senate bill, unlike the House bill, does not specify how much of these funds would go to state and local governments. AFSCME will advocate for the higher funding level to be included in the final bill. 

Patient Lifting and Nurse Staffing Bills Introduced

Reps. John Conyers (D-MI) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) introduced the "Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2009" (H.R. 2381), which would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to establish a safe patient handling standard. The standard would largely eliminate manual patient lifting by requiring the use of mechanical equipment. Establishing such a safe patient handling standard for direct-care nurses and health care workers is a critical component to protecting them from back and musculoskeletal injuries and promoting patient safety. Sen. Barbara Boxer introduced the "National Nursing Reform and Patient Advocacy Act" (S. 1031), which would set minimum nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals, create a Registered Nurse Workforce Initiative, and require OSHA to establish a safe patient handling standard. The ratios established are similar to those in the "Nurse Staffing Standards for Patient Safety and Quality Act" (H.R. 2273), which was introduced earlier this month by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). 

Senate Approves FAA Administrator; FAA Reauthorization Passes in the House

This week, the Senate approved President Obama's nominee, J. Randolph Babbitt, to head the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Babbitt was formerly chief executive of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).

The House this week approved the FAA reauthorization bill (H.R. 915) by a vote of 277-136. The bill establishes a system to resolve labor-management contract disputes at the FAA. The previous administration misinterpreted current law to impose onerous work rules and conditions on FAA unions, including AFSCME. H.R. 915 would reverse this approach to bargaining and ensure that future disputes are settled in a fair manner. Unlike many of the other FAA unions, AFSCME members have a signed contract that was reached after a long negotiations process. 

Paid Sick Days Bills Introduced

This week Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced (H.R. 2460) and Sen. Edward Kennedy introduced the Healthy Families Act (S. 1152). This bill would guarantee workers up to seven paid sick days a year to recover from short-term illness, to care for a sick family member, for routine medical care, or to seek assistance related to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. No federal law, even the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), currently guarantees paid sick days, and 48% of private sector workers do not get paid when they miss work due to illness.

House Honors Police and Law Enforcement Officers

The House passed a resolution (H.R. 426) honoring police and law enforcement officers who, in these tough economic times, continue to serve bravely and risk their lives to create safer and more secure communities. 

Stimulus Oversight Bill Approved by Senate Panel

A Senate panel approved a bill (S. 1064) that would allow state and local governments to set aside some funding received under the economic recovery law to pay for activities needed to meet the law's oversight requirements. The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the measure by voice vote. The House passed a companion bill (H.R. 2182) also this week. 

Some States Slow in Accessing Economic Recovery Funds; Federal Agencies Moving Ahead

 U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan noted this week that more than half the states have not yet completed their applications to receive their share of the economic recovery law's $48.6 billion state fiscal stabilization fund, which is targeted primarily to funding K-12 education. It is anticipated that all states will send in their applications by the July 1 deadline. One of the primary purposes of this funding is to save the jobs of teachers, aides, and other school personnel, as well as to adopt education reform measures.

 The U.S. Department of Labor issued initial plans for awarding $500 million in competitive green job training funds under the economic recovery law so that interested organizations can begin to plan for the application process. Click on: http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?docn=2755

The U.S. Department of Transportation has released its agency-wide recovery act plan: http://www.dot.gov/recovery/2009/DOTARRAPlan.pdf. 

Sign Up to Receive the Weekly Report and Action Alerts via Email and Become an AFSCME e-Activist!!

In an effort to move toward electronic transmissions which will allow us to put important federal legislative updates in your hands sooner, we urge you to sign up to receive the Federal Legislative Report via your email address.

Please go to http://www.unionvoice.org/afscme/join.html and check the "Federal Legislative Report" box under Subscriptions on the bottom of the page.


Print Version