Legislation & Politics

Week Ending September 11, 2009

President Speaks to Country About Need For Health Reform; Congress Returns to Washington and Renews Debate

In a speech to a joint session of Congress and to the nation on Wednesday, President Obama issued a clarion call to move forward to enact health care reform.  Citing the skyrocketing costs of coverage and abuses by insurance companies that deny coverage and delay care, the President made a compelling argument for the need to change industry practices.  He also spoke at length about many AFSCME priorities, including the need for all employers to provide or help fund coverage for their workers and the need to establish a public health insurance option that will provide new competition to lower costs, give families new choices and keep the insurance industry honest.

After a month-long recess, the Congress returned to renew the debate over health reform legislation.  Three committees in the House are working to blend bills in order to put a final version up for a vote by the full House.  Such a vote could come in late September or early October. 

In the Senate, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee approved legislation in July, but the Finance Committee has not yet completed its work.  After several months of unsuccessful negotiations with Republicans, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), chair of the Finance Committee, indicated on Wednesday that he would move forward with a bill, announcing plans to release a draft bill next week and debate it in committee the following week.  The bill that had been under discussion with Republicans is likely to serve as the basis of debate in the Finance Committee despite a number of flaws.  AFSCME is working with our Senate allies to make improvements in the bill.

Once the Finance Committee acts, its bill will be combined with the HELP Committee bill.  This blending of the bills will give our allies in the Senate another opportunity to improve it before debate on the Senate floor.

In the meantime, it is important that we continue the drumbeat for comprehensive reform that will guarantee quality, affordable health care we can all count on.  

Now Is Not The Time to Let Up!
As President Obama said in his speech to a joint session of Congress, we must not fail to achieve health care reform this year. 
Congress is back from recess and moving forward.
Please call your Senators and Representative at 202-224-3121.
Urge them to support real health care reform, including a public health insurance option.   

HHS Secretary Sebelius Talks with AFSCME about Health Care Reform

On Thursday, AFSCME President Gerald McEntee hosted a conference call with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and AFSCME members, leaders and activists to lay the groundwork for the final weeks in the fight to win real health care reform.
 
More than 600 AFSCME members, leaders and activists participated in the call and asked Secretary Sebelius questions about what reform will mean for them.  Participants were encouraged to write a letter to the editor of their local newspaper and sign up to receive text message updates from AFSCME as the bills approach key votes in the House and Senate. 

Make America Happen Campaign for Health Care Reform a Raucous, Rousing Success

This summer, AFSCME ramped up our Make America Happen campaign for health care reform, including stepped up advertising, field mobilization and an RV tour of swing states.  We ran ads in conservative Democrat "Blue Dog" districts as well as against Republicans who voted against the three House committees' and Senate HELP Committee's bills.  One national ad features AFSCME nurses looking directly into the camera and demanding that Congress pass health care reform legislation (H.R. 3200).  You can view the ad at our health care reform website: www.MakeAmericaHappen.com.

During the August recess, we also beefed up our field mobilization program in states that are home to swing votes on health care reform.  In addition to sending more professional organizing and communications professionals into the field, we engaged the AFL-CIO's Working America program to run full-time canvasses in Arkansas, Maine, North Dakota, Nebraska and Delaware through the next few months.  These canvasses are generating handwritten letters and phone calls at the doors of non-union voters.  To date we have generated well over 120,000 calls and letters to swing members of Congress, in both the Senate and House.  Also, throughout August AFSCME turned out members to over 100 town hall meetings across the country, in coordination with labor and other allies.

Also during the recess, AFSCME launched our Highway to Health Care Reform RV tour.  It was a rock-n-roll themed campaign through swing states that stood in sharp contrast to the vitriol and mob mentality of many town hall meetings.  The tour generated more than 11,000 calls, letters and emails to targeted members of Congress and received media coverage in 19 cities over three weeks.  

Erosion of Employer-Sponsored Coverage and Rise in Uninsured Underscore Need for Health Care Reform

A recent Census Bureau report found that the number of people lacking health insurance rose to 46.3 million in 2008, up from 45.7 million in 2007.  Individuals covered by employment-based health insurance declined from 177.4 million to 176.3 million.  These trends underscore the urgent need for Congress to pass health care insurance reform that provides quality affordable health care for all. 

U.S. Department of Labor Publishes Proposed TAA Rule Requiring Program Administration by State Merit Staff

In August, the U.S. Department of Labor published a notice of proposed rule making regarding merit staffing of state administration of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program. The draft regulation is an extremely significant change in federal policy regarding contracting out and merit staffing policy.  It reverses efforts by the Labor Department under the Bush administration to merge the TAA program into the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) administratively and to rely increasingly on WIA contractors to provide core TAA functions. 

Under the proposed rule, and with some limited exceptions, approval of Trade Readjustment Allowances and TAA training would have to be done by state merit staff.  In addition, staff hired with new TAA funding for case management and reemployment services would have to be state merit staff. The proposed rule provides a transition period to allow any state that, in recent years, may have shifted responsibility for these functions to local WIA programs to come into compliance.

The deadline for submitting comments on the proposed rule is October 5.  Anyone wishing more information should contact Nanine Meiklejohn in the Legislation Department. 

Child Nutrition Reauthorization Postponed; Extension Expected

As the Child Nutrition Act expires on September 30, Congress is preparing to pass a short-term extension by month's end so that school breakfast and lunch, WIC, after school meals and the Child and Adult Care Food (CACFP) programs can continue.  Congress has put an unprecedented $1 billion into this year's budget for the reauthorization, but the bill has not been completed in either the House or Senate committees.  AFSCME has been working closely with congressional leaders to include important improvements in the pending reauthorization bill. 

Drug Company to Return Millions to State Medicaid programs

Pfizer, Inc., the world's largest drug company, agreed to pay states and the federal government $1 billion to compensate Medicaid, Medicare and other federal healthcare programs for fraudulent marketing of four drugs.  Under the agreement, which covers most states, the states' share is $331 million.  Payments to states are based upon the usage of Pfizer drugs covered under the settlement.  For example, New York will receive nearly $66 million, Illinois $10 million, and Pennsylvania $14 million. 

Senator Kennedy's Death Causes Senate Chairmanship Changes

Due to Sen. Edward Kennedy's (D-MA) death from brain cancer last month, two key Senate committees have new chairs.  Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) is taking over Sen. Kennedy's chairmanship of the HELP Committee, after more-senior Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) decided to remain chair of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.  Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) will be replacing Sen. Harkin as chair of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.  

White House Report on Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

This week, the White House's Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) issued its first quarterly report on the economic impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).  Among the study's key findings are that the bill added approximately one million jobs and that state fiscal relief increased employment at the state level, both relative to what would have happened without the stimulus legislation.  The areas where economic stimulus has been largest in the first six months are state fiscal relief, aid to those most directly hurt by the recession, and individual tax cuts. 

While states are still facing a combined $350 billion in projected budget gaps over the next two years, without federal ARRA funds states would have been forced to take even more draconian measures in cutting services and jobs.  The recovery law is giving states approximately $140 billion over the next two years in Medicaid and education funding alone, reducing the $350 billion shortfall by that amount.   According to a recent Government Accountability Office report, the ARRA funds "helped [states] maintain staffing for existing programs and minimize or avoid tax increases as well as reductions in services."  Some recent ARRA activity includes:

Department of Agriculture:  On August 13, 2009, the Food and Nutrition Service released ARRA state administrative funding charts for FY 2010 for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). For details, go to: http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/rules/Memo/2009/081309.pdf

On September 3, 2009, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced an additional $172.5 million in funding for water and environmental projects in 24 states.  View the new release at
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2009/09/0421.xml

Department of Education:   On September 4, 2009, the Department of Education made available ahead of schedule the second half of ARRA funding - an $11.37 billion for Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, special education (IDEA), and Vocational Rehabilitation grants. The press release is available at http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2009/09/09042009.html.

Department of Health and Human Services:  On August 28, 2009, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) posted updated funding information on the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital Program (DSH): http://transparency.cit.nih.gov/RecoveryGrants/grant.cfm?grant=DSH 

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