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October 27, 2009National/PoliticalUS Sen Reid: Health Bill To Include Public Plan With State Opt-Out U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, (D, Nev.), said Monday that health-care legislation that comes before the Senate will have a government-run health insurance option which states can choose not to carry. Reid told reporters that, under the legislation, states would have until 2014 to choose to "opt out" of the public plan. The move casts doubt over whether Reid will be able to attract any Republican support for the bill and whether it will have 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster. … Gerald McEntee, who heads the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), said the bill is "by no means perfect," but a " significant improvement over the proposal crafted in the Senate Finance Committee. Related from TPM Live Wire: AFSCME Statement on Reid's Health Care Bill Trumka Sets AFL-CIO Standard for ‘Real’ Health Reform As Congress haltingly moves toward approval of some version of health care reform legislation, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka warned today that “we cannot be in favor of reform for reform’s sake. This is the moment to make it real. The fight now is about what reform looks like.” Trunka—elected president of the labor federation last month—insists reform has to include a “robust public option” and provisions that employers pay their fair share (whether as health insurance or payments to the government), as well as not to include any tax on insurance benefits. But he would not go as far in his insistence on these three principles as AFSCME (public workers) president Gerald McEntee did last week in threatening to oppose legislation that taxes workers’ benefits. Related from Huffington Post: AFL-CIO's Trumka Reminds Dems: No "Reform for Reform's Sake" on Health Care A.F.L.-C.I.O. Members to Press Congress on Health Legislation and ‘Public Option’ The A.F.L.-C.I.O.’s new president, Richard L. Trumka, announced Monday that the labor federation would make Thursday, Nov. 5, a nationwide “Day of Action” for union members to press their members of Congress to back sweeping health care legislation. “We hope to flood the halls of Congress with calls from working families that want to see real reform,” Mr. Trumka said in a telephone news conference. The Nov. 5 effort, he said, will involve a letter-writing and phone campaign at thousands of work sites, where union members will contact lawmakers in Washington to urge them to support a “public option” — creation of a new government-run health plan that would compete with private insurers. “We’re at a pivotal point as the Senate leadership continues to craft a bill to go to the Senate floor and the House leadership works on combining their three bills,” Mr. Trumka said. “Many of us have spent our lifetimes fighting to ensure that all Americans have quality and affordable health care, and there will be no bigger ally in that fight than organized labor.” Unions win concessions but fight on Organized labor is flexing its muscle in Senate negotiations over healthcare reform and winning important concessions from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). Top economic adviser touts health insurance tax, public option A senior economic adviser to President Barack Obama says two proposals are key to reining in healthcare spending: a tax on expensive health insurance plans and a public health insurance option. Speaking at the liberal Center for American Progress, White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairwoman Christina Romer broadly outlined the Obama administration’s case that reforming healthcare is essential to the goal of resolving the government’s long-term budget deficits. Romer’s comments may be seen as an insight into Obama’s views on the public option and health insurance tax. And with House and Senate leaders on the brink of unveiling their respective bills, Romer's ideas take on new weight. Public Option Push in Senate Comes With Escape Hatch WASHINGTON — The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, sided with his party’s liberals on Monday and announced that he would include a government-run insurance plan in health care legislation that he plans to take to the Senate floor within a few weeks. His proposal came with an escape hatch: A state could refuse to participate in the public insurance plan by adopting a law to opt out. Even so, the announcement was a turning point in the debate over how much of a role government should play in an overhauled health care system, and it set the stage for a test of Democratic party unity. With Republicans united for now in opposition to any bill including a public option, Mr. Reid needs support from all members of his caucus — 58 Democrats and two independents — to take up the legislation. Aides said Monday that he appeared to be short of that goal, lacking firm commitments from several members of the caucus. Democrats push for health benefits to start by 2010 Democrats are pushing Senate leaders and the White House to speed up key benefits in the health reform bill to 2010, eager to give the party something to show taxpayers for their $900 billion investment in an election year. The most significant changes to the health care system wouldn’t kick in until 2013 — two election cycles away. With Republicans expected to make next year a referendum on health care reform, Democrats are quietly lobbying to push up the effective dates on popular programs, so they'll have something to run on in the congressional midterm elections. AARP: Reform advocate and insurance salesman The nation's preeminent seniors group, AARP, has put the weight of its 40 million members behind health-care reform, saying many of the proposals will lower costs and increase the quality of care for older Americans. But not advertised in this lobbying campaign have been the group's substantial earnings from insurance royalties and the potential benefits that could come its way from many of the reform proposals. The group and its subsidiaries collected more than $650 million in royalties and other fees last year from the sale of insurance policies, credit cards and other products that carry the AARP name, accounting for the majority of its $1.14 billion in revenue, according to federal tax records. It does not directly sell insurance policies but lends its name to plans in exchange for a tax-exempt cut of the premiums. Editorial: The Case for More Stimulus The consensus among economists is that the recession is over, and, technically, the herd is probably right. Corporate profitability has been boosted by job cuts, pay cuts and a drive to restock depleted inventories. Immense federal stimulus has jolted the economy. But what happens when those measures run their course? The economy is going to need more government support, or it is bound to be very weak for a very long time — and vulnerable to a relapse into recession. Unemployment is expected to worsen well into next year, exceeding 10 percent. Foreclosures are expected to rise, which will push home values down further. Hundreds of small and midsize banks are likely to fail in coming years. State and local governments face budget shortfalls in 2010 that are as bad or worse than this year’s. The Challenge in Counting Stimulus Returns (no link) The Wichita, Kan., government is slated to get more than $26 million from the U.S. economic-stimulus program. By early October, eight months after the stimulus program was signed into law, it had received only about 2% of those funds. And much of that money went toward cats and dogs. The city recently launched a $55,000 project to spay and neuter pets owned by low-income residents. Unwanted pets ultimately cost $240 apiece to collect, board and euthanize, the city estimates, so the program covering 800 animals should save taxpayers money in the long run. The stimulative effect? That is harder to gauge. With the $380,000 overall Wichita has received from its share of the stimulus, the city estimates that it is directly funding 32 jobs so far. The bigger job producers, such as construction and transit projects, are due to start in the coming months. "We're expecting a lot more of them to be happening by the end of the year or the start of next year," said Mark Elder, a Wichita city staffer tracking the stimulus funding. As the government implements the $787 billion stimulus program, the effect of the spending and tax cuts are proving difficult to measure. Financing Government in Dark Hits Taxpayers With No-Bid Deals The commissioners of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, found themselves in a predicament when they pressed Gentile-Meinert & Associates Inc., not to raise prices this year on a $10,000-a-month contract for security guards at the county’s nursing home because of the recession while the elected officials lost as much as $2.8 million by selling bonds without seeking competitive bids. That amount is the difference between the underwriter’s price for $72.7 million in bonds at a Jan. 8 sale and the higher prices investors paid later that day. The offering capped a 13- year borrowing saga that pushed taxpayers deeper into debt, county records show. Throughout, Beaver County kept doing business with Commonwealth Securities and Investments Inc., of Pittsburgh. County Controller David Rossi said he asked why during a closed-door meeting two days before the January borrowing decision. The commissioners’ answer, he said: “We trust them.” More than 85 percent of the $308.9 billion in new tax- exempt bond issues this year were sold without competitive bidding, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Such negotiated issues, for which borrowing costs are set privately, show how public officials do financing in the dark in the $2.8 trillion municipal bond market. No-bid sales made up 68 percent of new bonds in 1982 and 17 percent in 1970, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Labor on Chamber: Not 'credible' The White House may want to defuse its spat with the Chamber of Commerce, but Big Labor clearly has no such intentions. Anna Burger, secretary-treasurer of the Service Employees International Union and chairwoman of the five-union federation Change to Win, slammed the big business lobby and its president, Tom Donohue, in a letter delivered today to House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank and Rep. Spencer Bachus, the ranking Republican on the committee. Accusing the Chamber of attacking “corporate reform,” Burger urged the lawmakers to reject several Chamber-backed amendments to legislation designed to strengthen investor protections, which is before the committee this week. “You should not be misled by Mr. Donohue and the Chamber of Commerce into believing that such investor protections somehow undermine our nation’s economic position,” Burger said. “Mr. Donohue and the Chamber simply are not credible defenders of investor interests, and you should not treat their recommendations as anything but the attempt by a special interest to protect its privileged position.” For Delphi Pensioners, the Union Label Helps WARREN, Ohio — Bruce Gump and his neighbors feared for their retirement checks when the federal government took over the pension plans at Delphi, the big auto parts maker where they once worked. But four months later, Mr. Gump finds himself in a far more perilous condition than his neighbors. On his street, he is the only Delphi worker whose pension benefits may be cut. His neighbors all belong to unions and have received a lifeline in an unprecedented deal related to the government-supervised bankruptcy of General Motors, the onetime parent of Delphi. (G.M. spun off the parts division as a separate company 10 years ago.) Mr. Gump and some 21,000 other salaried workers and retirees are furious that their roughly 46,000 union co-workers at Delphi have had their benefits restored, apparently with government largesse, and they have not. Nevada: A Good Place to be a Bad Boss Nevada is a good place to be a bad boss. According to a new report, you can flout safety rules and state inspectors just shrug it off. Even when workers die. Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a sweeping indictment of Nevada's OSHA program. Nevada OSHA (NOSHA) is one of over 20 state-level occupational safety programs supervised and partially funded by the federal OSHA. … What can be done about these fatal deficiencies? Jordan Barab, the acting head of OSHA, said last week that the report will spur reform in state OSHA programs nationwide. And on Thursday, the House Committee on Education and Labor will hold a hearing on the report. It's hard to read it without wondering whether there's more to the problem than under-staffing, poor training and general incompetence. Are powerful casino owners cowing inspectors? Is corruption afoot? Clearly, the Labor Committee needs to ask some tough questions. State/LocalMore Bedlam Could Await Managed Comp After three years of waiting, Tuesday's San Diego City Council hearing is supposed to resolve one of the finals steps that could lead to the voter-approved privatization of city services. Or it could result in more legal morass for a program not known for anything other than controversy and delay. The city and its white- and blue-collar labor unions are at impasse over "managed competition," the program that allows private business to compete with the city employees for public services. On Tuesday, the document that sets ground rules for how the city will contract out its services -- if the city's health care costs will be factored into the competition, for example -- will be heard. There's more at stake on Tuesday than outsourcing. The hearing could be the first true test of City Attorney Jan Goldsmith's new rules on breaking labor stalemates. His January memorandum gives City Council, not the mayor, the authority to resolve disputes. … Told the mayor's stance, Damian Tryon, business representative for blue-collar [AFSCME] Local 127, chuckled. He said if mayor wants managed competition, he should play by the rules. "He either wants this thing to happen or not," Tryon said. "I can't allow for craziness anymore." California conference calls spring walkout MORE THAN 700 students, teachers, faculty and campus workers gathered at the University of California Berkeley on October 24 to discuss how to take the fight for public education in California to the next level. … Similarly, Kathryn Lybarger, a groundskeeper at UC Berkeley and member of AFSCME Local 3299 member, emphasized the "historic" importance of a mass gathering of teachers, workers and students to unite and plan action. "They have a plan, and they've already started putting it into action," Lybarger said. "Now we have to organize ourselves as one united movement and show them that the era of 'business as usual' is over." Aurora still working to finalize 2010 budget Aurora's 2010 budget will be completed about a month later than expected and likely will include at least 10 more layoffs, officials said Monday. … Aldermen are expected to approve an agreement Tuesday with AFSCME Local 1514, which includes 130 public works and water and sewer maintenance employees. That pact would provide members with an average annual 1.93 percent raise through 2012 and guarantees no members will be laid off through 2010, including the four given layoff notices last month. … In a memo from Weisner to AFSCME Local 3298 President Krista Heinke, dated Oct. 14., in which he attempts to persuade 3,298 members to take a deal similar to Local 1514, Weisner warned city employees they could expect more of the same. Feds blast Deval Patrick on cuts to disabled A top federal official rapped Gov. Deval Patrick yesterday for a belt-tightening move that could worsen a Social Security backlog, leaving tens of thousands of disabled citizens desperately waiting for benefits. “We’ve got a rapidly increasing number of (disability) applicants. It tends to go up in bad economic times,” said Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue. Astrue called Patrick’s plans to furlough workers and possibly cap staffing at the Massachusetts Disability Determination Services offices “inappropriate and counter-productive.” “These kind of unnecessary furloughs and restrictions on employment are going to push back by months the decisions on benefits,” the Social Security official said. “The irony is it actually aggravates the fiscal crisis,” he said. “This is just not helping people. It just makes no sense. This is ultimately an indefensible policy.” Even though the DDS office is federally funded, employees are technically state workers subject to state Civil Service rules. Barrow gets a $20,000 boost from city unions Detroit mayoral candidate Tom Barrow took advantage of Mayor Dave Bing's confrontations with the city unions to rake in more than $20,000 from various unions and union officials, according to the latest campaign finance reports. But the reports filed Friday -- the last required before the Nov. 3 general election -- and made public Monday show Barrow still has a long way to go to match Bing's campaign funds. Union money began flowing into Barrow's coffers after the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents about 90,000 workers in Detroit and across Michigan, withdrew its endorsement of Bing in September. More on AFSCME's Mark Dayton endorsement (and fact-checking Eliot Seide) I'll get to (fun) fact-checking of AFSCME executive director Eliot Seide further down. But first, one of the most intriguing aspects of AFSCME's endorsement of DFLer Mark Dayton for governor is how it went down. About 150 members of the union's screening committee met with all the DFL candidates -- and GOP candidate Pat Anderson -- for about 3 and a half hours Saturday afternoon. They were done with the candidates about 4 p.m., and they had their decision shortly after 5 p.m. When the last candidate left the room around 4, each AFSCME member then voted (vocally). When the voting was done, someone made the motion to endorse Dayton, which passed easily on a loud voice vote. That was it. No bickering. No debating. Deliciously decisive for Dayton. That's surprising. All of the DFL candidates have favorable track records on AFSCME issues. Which brings me back to what I wrote earlier today, but which now means more: The seasoned political troops that are AFSCME believe -- in a deliciously decisive way -- that Dayton can win the general election. So now AFSCME works on turning out its 43,000 members, and who knows how many friends and family, to DFL precinct caucuses. If they succeed, that's a force to be reckoned with, given that at least nine other DFL candidates will be trying to do the same thing. Analysis: Mo. finally obeys Medicaid reporting law JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — After claiming for more than a year that it could not do so, the Missouri Department of Social Services finally has obeyed a state law and published a list of employers whose workers get government-funded Medicaid health care coverage. Yet compliance with the Medicaid reporting law may be only an experiment. Although the list is supposed to be published quarterly, the department says there's no telling when it will produce the report again. … So here are the results. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which had a work force of about 39,000 people in Missouri, topped the list with 4,595 employee families on Medicaid. Second was Casey's General Stores Inc., which had 1,035 employee families on Medicaid out of a Missouri work force of more than 3,400. Third was the state of Missouri, which had 1,017 employee families on Medicaid out of a work force of more than 59,000. Cost cutting policy puts felons on home confinement SPOKANE, Wash. - A new Washington State Department of Corrections policy aimed at cutting costs is causing a controversy among workers within the state. The policy, which would allow for violent offenders to be placed on home confinement rather than in prison, is part of an effort to save the state $11 million. Under the policy, felons would equipped with electronic home monitoring equipment comprised of an electronic bracelet that Department of Corrections' staff could monitor. The Washington Federation of State Employees, which represents DOC officers, is opposed to the plan. A spokesperson for the organization says that due to a lack of monitoring staff, an offender could leave his or her assigned area and no one would know for days, putting the public at risk. |
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