AFSCME LEGISLATIVE REPORT JULY 13, 2007

Below are the top stories of the week from Capitol Hill.

AFSCME LEGISLATIVE REPORT
JULY 13, 2007

In this issue:

* House Appropriations Committee Passes Labor-HHS-Education Funding Bill for FY 2008- Floor Vote Set for Next Week
* Transportation-Housing Spending Bill Approved in House
* Commerce-Justice-Science Spending Bill Approved by House Panel
* Head Start Readiness Act Approved by Senate
* House Passes Legislation Revising Federal Drug Review Process
* Student Loan Overhaul Passes the House
* Future Trade Deals in Doubt
* House Extends Transitional Medicaid Program
* Honoring Fallen Military Service Members

House Appropriations Committee Passes Labor-HHS-Education Funding Bill for FY 2008- Floor Vote Set for Next Week
By voice vote on July 11, the full House Appropriations Committee approved its bill to fund the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education for FY 2008. The bill includes a $7 billion, or 4.8 percent, increase in discretionary spending over last year's funding level, and $10.6 billion more than President Bush's budget proposal. It provides for increases for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, Head Start, and the Employment Service, as well as larger increases for K-12 Title I funding and Pell grants.

In an initial victory for health care workers, the committee rejected an amendment to the bill that would have undercut worker protections from potentially fatal airborne hazards. The amendment, offered by Rep. Roger Wicker (R-MS), would have forbid the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from enforcing its requirement that hospitals and other employers annually test the fit of respirators that protect workers who may be exposed to tuberculosis (TB). Properly fitted respirators not only safeguard against TB, but provide some protection against other airborne hazards such as avian flu, SARS, and other biological agents that could be released in a terrorist attack. Since 2003, Republican leaders have inserted a rider in the Labor-HHS-Education bill to block OSHA enforcement of this requirement. The fight to protect health care workers is expected to continue when the full House of Representatives debates the Labor-HHS-Education bill and the anti-health care worker amendment is offered again.

A floor vote on the House Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill is expected during the week of July 16. The Senate Appropriations Committee has already passed its Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, which is expected to go to the floor either later this month or after the August recess. Then, a House-Senate conference committee will iron out differences between the two bills. President Bush has already threatened to veto the final bill and all other appropriations bills that exceed his FY 2008 budget request. GOP leaders are pushing Republicans to oppose the bill in order to show support for the President's veto threat. Therefore, it is imperative that GOP members are urged to vote for the bill.
(Fran Bernstein- fbernstein@afscme.org and Linda Bennett- lbennett@afscme.org)

We Need Your Help!

Call Your Representative today at 1-888-460-0813. Urge him/her to vote for the Labor-HHS-Education spending bill. Tell him/her that it makes needed investments in domestic priorities. Also, urge your Representative to oppose the Wicker amendment because it puts health care workers and first responders at risk of exposure to tuberculosis.

Transportation-Housing Spending Bill Approved in House
The House Committee on Appropriations approved the FY 2008 Transportation-Housing spending bill on July 11 by voice vote. The bill provides $40.2 billion for highway spending, an amount that is $631 million more than the President requested in his budget and a 3.2 percent increase over the FY 2007 level. The bill also provides $9.7 billion for transit programs, $782 million above current 2007 levels. In addition the bill grants a $134 million increase in Capital Investment Grants for commuter rail or other light rail systems to increase public use of mass transit, alleviate traffic congestion and reduce gas consumption. The increase above the President's request for these grants is expected to generate as many as 17,400 new jobs and will provide $1.8 billion in economic benefits to state and local communities.

The housing provisions of the bill provide $2.4 billion for the Public Housing Capital Fund, money that is used for the maintenance and rehabilitation of buildings. This amount is the same as the money provided in FY 2007 but is $415 million above the President's request. The bill also provides $4 billion for Community Development Block Grants, an amount that is $227 million above the FY 2007 level and $963 above the President's request. Finally the bill provides $4.2 billion for the Public Housing Operating Fund for the administration of public housing, including routine maintenance, anti-crime activities and energy costs.
(Cynthia Bradley- cbradley@afscme.org)

Commerce-Justice-Science Spending Bill Approved by House Panel
The House Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2008 spending bill for Commerce, Justice and Science by voice vote on July 12. The measure includes $53.6 billion in discretionary budget authority which is five percent more than President Bush's budget request and six percent more than was approved in fiscal 2007. The bill also includes $234 million in mandatory spending.

In particular, the bill includes $3.2 billion in funding for state and local law enforcement initiatives, which is 10 percent more than FY 2007 and 53 percent more than the president's request. Specific program funding levels include $600 million for Justice Assistance Grants, $725 million for COPS program, $85 million for methamphetamine "hot spots," $375 million for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program and $205 million for Violence Against Women Assistance grants.
(Jayne Clancy- jclancy@afscme.org and Cynthia Bradley- cbradley@afscme.org)

Head Start for School Readiness Act Approved by Senate
Just before the July 4th recess, the Senate passed the Head Start for School Readiness Act by unanimous consent, which means that there was no roll call vote. The House approved its Head Start bill earlier. Leaders in the House and Senate must now meet to hammer out the differences in their bills.

The Senate bill expands eligibility to Head Start programs for additional low-income children and families (up to 130 percent of the federal poverty guideline) and doubles the Early Head Start set-aside (currently 10 percent; would phase up to 20 percent over five years). The bill strengthens education standards for the Head Start workforce. It would require all Head Start teachers to have an Associate's degree within five years and half of all teachers in each state must have a Bachelor's degree in six years. Furthermore, all Head Start curriculum specialists must have at least a Bachelor's degree in five years and all Head Start assistant teachers would be required to have at least a child development associate credential in five years. The bill would also guarantee worker training and creates a career ladder for every Head Start employee.
(Marge Allen- mallen@afscme.org)

House Passes Legislation Revising Federal Drug Review Process
On Wednesday, the House passed legislation (H.R. 2900) to reauthorize and revamp the process at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for reviewing and approving new prescription drugs. The Senate passed its own FDA bill earlier this year. The House bill does not include a provision to create a process for the approval of generic biological drugs, such as insulin, similar to the process that allows for the manufacture of generic chemical drugs. Such a provision would help reduce the burden of costly biological drugs, or biologics, on health plans bargained by AFSCME locals around the country.

While there is not a consensus for addressing biologics in the House, the Senate plans to press for the inclusion of such a provision when House and Senate leaders meet in conference to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate bills.
(Linda Bennett- lbennett@afscme.org)

Student Loan Overhaul Passes the House
By a vote of 273 to 149, the House cleared a major overhaul in student aid programs that provides grants and low interest loans to students. Significantly, the bill cuts $19 billion, over five years, in federal subsidies that go to financial institutions that make student loans. This would include state guaranty agencies that assist students with loans. However, the bill includes provisions advocated by AFSCME that would mitigate the impact of cuts on the state agencies, which employ about 1,000 AFSCME members.

The House bill raises the maximum Pell grant by $500 over the next four years, to a total of $5,200 by 2011. With respect to loans, the bill gradually reduces the interest rate paid by students on federally-backed loans by half, from the current 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent. It also increases the maximum loan amount from $7,500 to $30,500 and limits monthly loan repayments to 15 percent of the borrower's discretionary income. The bill also grants $5,000 in loan forgiveness for teachers, early childhood providers, police, firefighters, prosecutors and other public servants, and a complete release from student loans for public servants after 10 years. It would also provide for complete forgiveness of federal student loans after 20 years for economic hardship.

While President Bush has threatened a veto over the loan-forgiveness provisions, it is widely expected that a broad overhaul of student aid will become law this year. And the Senate is expected to pass similar legislation later this month.
(Marge Allen- mallen@afscme.org)

House Hearing Spotlights Legislation to Improve Mental Health Insurance Coverage
The House Education and Labor's Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions held a hearing Wednesday on the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007 (H.R. 1424), bipartisan legislation, introduced by Reps. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN), designed to improve mental health insurance coverage. The goal of this legislation, and a somewhat different Senate version (S. 588), is to end discrimination against people with mental health disorders by requiring employers and insurers to provide comparable coverage, or parity, for mental and physical illnesses. Current law is set to expire at the end of the year and only prohibits group health plans and group health insurance issuers from imposing annual and lifetime dollar limits on mental health coverage that are more restrictive than limits imposed on medical and surgical. The law allows state and local plans to opt out of these requirements. Current law also allows plans to impose higher cost-sharing and more limits on visits or days of coverage. The full House Education and Labor Committee is scheduled to consider H.R. 1424 on Wednesday, July 18. The House Energy and Commerce Committee and House Ways and Means Committee must also consider the bill. As the House proceeds to consider mental health parity legislation, AFSCME will advocate to close the opt-out loophole for state and local plans and to strengthen mental health parity.
(Linda Bennett- lbennett@afscme.org)

Future Trade Deals in Doubt
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and the Democratic leadership announced their intention to oppose flawed trade agreements with South Korea and Colombia, which the Administration has negotiated, and to oppose any renewal of fast track trade negotiating authority until major changes are made to our nation's trade policy. Last month the House Democrats and the White House announced that there was progress on improving workers' rights and the environmental provisions.
(Marge Allen- mallen@afscme.org)

House Extends Transitional Medicaid Program
On Wednesday, the House passed legislation extending, through September 30, the recently expired Transitional Medical Assistance program, which guarantees Medicaid health care coverage to low-income families as they transition from welfare to work. For most low-income mothers moving from welfare to work, taking a job often means they will lose health insurance, either because their employer does not offer coverage or they are unable to afford coverage with a low-wage job. The bill also extends an abstinence education program. The Senate passed its bill (S. 1701) on June 27.
(Linda Bennett- lbennett@afscme.org)

Honoring Fallen Military Service Members
Legislation that will ensure that federal agencies lower their flags to half-staff in honor of fallen military service members, in accordance with state governors' proclamations, was signed into law by the President. The bill requires all federal government agencies in a state to comply with a governor's proclamation to fly the national flag at half-staff in honor of those who lose their lives serving their country. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) introduced the bill in the House because there were several instances in his state of federal facilities ignoring the governor's request to lower flags. In the Senate, the bill was backed by Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI), who said that flying the flag at half-staff was "one of the most powerful ways we honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice."
(Jayne Clancy- jclancy@afscme.org)

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