Week Ending June 8, 2018

  • House and Senate Spending Bills Advance
  • Farm Bill Action Pending in the Senate
  • House Sends Water Infrastructure Bill to Senate
  • Tackling Prescription Drug Prices
  • Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds Report Released
  • Hurricane Maria’s Death Toll in Puerto Rico Nearly 5,000

House and Senate Spending Bills Advance

The House voted 235 to 179 to approve the three appropriations bills “minibus” combining FY 2019 funding for (1) Energy and Water, (2) Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, and (3) Legislative Branch appropriations. The bill includes many poison pill policy riders.

The House also approved H.R. 3, the president’s proposed cuts (known as “rescissions”) to already approved spending, including billions from the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). It passed 210-206, mostly along party lines with 19 Republicans joining all Democrats in opposition. H.R. 3 undermines the recent budget deal agreed to in late March, which finally ended an 18-month delay in funds going out to states and local governments. It is unclear if the rescissions package will advance in the Senate.

The House Appropriations Committee approved by a party-line vote the Interior and Environment bill, which includes a cut of $100 million from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) below the FY 2018 level.  The bill also reflects the administration’s ongoing attack on the EPA’s regulatory programs.  A total of $2.6 billion is approved for the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Loan fund, which states and localities use for water infrastructure projects, which includes a $300 million cut from the FY 2018 budget agreement. A total of $75 million for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program is provided to leverage federal dollars to provide financing, which is a $12 million increase over last year’s funding level. 

Meanwhile, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved funding for the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) appropriations bill for FY 2019 (which starts October 1). Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), ranking Democrat, praised it as “a good, bipartisan bill free of poison pill riders.”  The committee refused Trump’s request to zero out funding for the Public Housing Capital Fund and instead provided $2.775 billion, which is a slight increase of $25 million compared to both current fiscal year funding and the bill approved two weeks ago by the House Appropriations Committee.  The Public Housing Operating Fund was funded at $4.754 billion, which is an increase of about $200 million compared to both current funding and the House committee bill.  These federal funds to operate public housing are vital because they typically are the only funds for AFSCME members working at Public Housing Authorities (PHAs).  While these FY 2019 funding levels exceed those of the last few years, they are significantly less than PHA’s ongoing operating cost and would not provide enough to reduce the huge and increasing $30 billion backlog to modernize public housing.

What you need to know: The three-bill funding package for FY 2019 adds an additional $1.2 billion to veterans funding, which will lower available funding for other programs, jeopardizing funds for labor, health, human services and education programs that are slated to be flat-funded.

Farm Bill Action Pending in the Senate 

While the House of Representatives’ farm bill (H.R. 2) is on hold until later in June, the Senate will mark up its own bipartisan bill without harmful work requirements or deep cuts. A committee vote is scheduled for June 13, and a Senate floor vote as early as the week of June 19. While the initial bill is expected to be bipartisan, amendments could make the bill harsher, including stripping merit staff requirements for SNAP eligibility determination, similar to what was done in the House with the adoption of an amendment from Rep. John Faso (R-NY) that attached to H.R. 2. AFSCME strongly opposes SNAP cuts, harsh work requirements, and any weakening merit staffing requirements that lead to privatization.

Please call your member of the House of Representatives at 1-877-960-3726 and urge them to vote NO on H.R. 2, the Farm Bill.

We must block this bill from moving forward with harmful changes to SNAP that include promoting SNAP privatization and the displacement of public workers and elimination of food assistance for two million vulnerable Americans.

What You Need to Know: AFSCME strongly opposes these extreme changes to SNAP in H.R. 2, especially privatization efforts that failed previously in states like Texas and Indiana. We must continue advocating for the defeat of the House bill and to ensure that the Senate bill will not include harmful changes.

House Sends Water Infrastructure Bill to Senate

The House overwhelmingly passed the new Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) (H.R. 8), voting 408 to 2 to improve ports, inland waterways, locks, dams, flood protection, ecosystem restoration and other water resources infrastructure. The Senate has not set a timetable for floor action on its WRDA legislation (S. 2800), though its passage is expected by the end of August. 

What You Need to Know:  WRDA legislation provides the framework for how states get federal funding for drinking water and wastewater systems under the authority created by the Safe Water Drinking Act and the Clean Water Act.  For example, the EPA’s State Revolving Funds for wastewater and drinking water provide millions of dollars each year for states to construct municipal wastewater facilities, pollution control, improve drinking water treatment, fix leaky or old pipes (water distribution), improve sources of water supply and fund other water-quality projects. These programs provide steady funding for AFSCME members’ jobs working in those sectors. 

Tackling Prescription Drug Prices

Prescription drug prices are rising faster than wages and eating up more and more of working families’ incomes.  Rising drug prices hit older Americans the hardest. A report to Congress released this week from the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General  found Medicare beneficiaries are feeling the squeeze when drug corporations raise drug prices.  The report highlighted how Medicare beneficiaries are paying more out-of-pocket costs for maintenance medications for common chronic conditions, like diabetes, high-blood pressure and asthma.  

What You Need to Know:  Next week, the Senate will hear from the HHS Secretary Alex Azar about the administration’s plan to tackle drug prices and out-of-pocket costs.   AFSCME will be looking to see if the Secretary, a former drug corporation CEO, will concede that corporations will keep raising prices as high as they can unless Congress acts to give Medicare authority to put a stop to this profit greed.

Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds Report Released 

The Boards of Trustees for the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds released annual reports on the status of both programs. AFSCME President Lee Saunders said in a statement, “At a time of instability, uncertainty and rising income inequality, vital programs like Social Security and Medicare are more important than ever.” The Social Security report confirms that the Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) is extremely affordable and will remain fully solvent until 2034. The report also established that in 2017, Social Security amassed a reserve totaling $2.9 trillion, and working families’ contributions exceed scheduled benefits by $44 billion.  After 2034, Social Security will be able to cover about 79 percent of scheduled benefits.  On Medicare, the Trustees report shows that the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund (HI) will be able to pay full benefits until 2026. After 2026, it is estimated that 91 percent of benefits can be covered. In addition, it also reveals that implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) significantly improves Medicare.

What You Need to Know:  Social Security and Medicare provide basic protections for working families. AFSCME opposes any effort to reduce Social Security or Medicare benefits, especially as a means to pay for deficits created by recently enacted tax cuts benefiting the wealthiest Americans and corporations.  We do support efforts to strengthen and expand Social Security and Medicare.

Hurricane Maria’s Death Toll in Puerto Rico Nearly 5,000

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine estimated the death toll linked to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico is 70 times higher than the original official count of 64.  The deaths of at least 4,654 U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico is due primarily to the interruption of medical care, which continues months after the storm. 

What You Need to Know:  The Commonwealth is treated very differently under the Medicaid program. Unlike states that are guaranteed a federal match for Medicaid costs, the island of Puerto Rico receives a capped amount of Medicaid funds.  This limited funding structure is inequitable and has weakened the health care system on the island, severely impacting its citizens.  AFSCME continues to seek redress for Puerto Rico’s Medicaid funding.

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