Washington Watch

The 105th Congress: How Bad?

The new Congress is playing the same old tune.

Washington, D.C.

After the stormy 104th Congress -- with its Contract with America and the budget brawl that shut down the entire government not once but twice -- the public told politicians that it was fed up with partisan squabbling, and the politicians pledged that things would be different this time around.

These days there is so much talk of cooperation and compromise in Washington that it seems the 105th Congress is out to set records for sweetness and harmony.

Sift fact from fancy, however, and the prospects are that Americans are in for a rough ride -- as family members, workers, union members and consumers. While right-wing radicals have muted some of their fiery rhetoric, they are still playing the same old tune.

For example, in his State of the Union address President Clinton promised to balance the federal budget by 2002. Republicans said that wasn't fast enough. Those in the Senate sent their Balanced Budget Amendment to the floor for an early vote, and the House leadership scheduled action within a month. Amendment opponents on Capitol Hill point out that amending the Constitution should not be taken lightly and that this amendment, in particular, is flawed: It would put future Social Security payments at risk by using current surpluses to pay the bills of other government programs.

And when President Clinton unveiled his budget for 1998, Republican leaders began attacking it item by item. Their intention was clear: to cut the supports that have made America a safer, saner place in which to live. While it spells bad news for all workers, public employees and health care workers are particularly threatened.

Here are some of the issues AFSCME's members will face this time around:

• H.R. 1 is a House bill that aims to kill key provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, including dumping the 40-hour week and letting private-sector employers offer compensatory time off in place of overtime pay. Remember that in the House, designating a bill H.R. 1 is a mark of honor.

• On the Senate side, Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi is pushing the TEAM Act that would allow employers to block unions by creating company-controlled unions -- "worker-management committees" that would deal with such issues as productivity and safety. The 104th passed similar legislation, and President Clinton vetoed it.

• Public pressure is forcing Washington to face up to the need to reform campaign financing, which in the last election totaled an estimated $2.7 billion. Big corporations contribute eight to ten times as much as unions, but this Congress intends to focus on unions. The labor movement faces a bill that would make it tougher for unions and their allies to use money for voter registration, get-out-the-vote campaigns and educational ads.

• Another bill in the works would require unions to get members' approval before using dues funds for political action. Corporations would not be required to get shareholder approval before doing the same. Union members currently may request a reimbursement of that portion of their dues used for political purposes.

• Public workers will continue to confront a double whammy.

A Republican task force continues to look for ways to privatize the public sector. The chief targets at this point include the welfare program, with major corporations already maneuvering for a piece of the action, and Social Security, which Wall Street sees as a $100 billion plum waiting to be picked.

• More than $138 billion in Medicare and Medicaid funds are on the chopping block. Cuts to these programs could hurt our members, especially those in health care.

• The radical right will also fight any efforts to make welfare "reform" less punitive and to create real jobs for welfare recipients instead of using them as cheap replacements for career public workers.

• Regulations will once again be under attack. The primary targets in this session include safeguards against impure foods and dangerous drugs, the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, the toxic waste cleanup program, and, as usual, the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Despite all the sweet music of bipartisan cooperation coming from Capitol Hill, the 105th Congress poses substantial threats to our jobs and communities. Working people can't afford to be lulled to sleep.