Week Ending April 13, 2018
- House Blocks Constitutional Balanced Budget Amendment
- Congressional Leaders Mull More Tax Votes
- Tax Bill Puts Key Programs at Risk
- Trump Administration Nominee Confirmed To NLRB
- New Deputy Secretary of Labor
- Farm Bill Threatens Nutrition Assistance
- Work Requirement on Federal Programs
- House Undermines Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Economic Protections
House Blocks Constitutional Balanced Budget Amendment
The House of Representatives was unable to achieve the necessary 2/3 vote required to approve H.J. Res. 2, a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. The vote failed 233 to 184 with 6 Republicans opposing and 7 Democrats supporting. Of note, 4 Democrats reversed their previous position in support.
What You Need to Know: H.J. Res. 2 is a dangerous political maneuver and an insincere attempt to assert “fiscal responsibility.” The amendment would require annual federal spending to match incoming federal revenues and a supermajority vote of three-fifths to increase the debt ceiling. This vote comes on the heels of a reckless tax cut that is projected to cause the deficit to skyrocket. H.J. Res 2 also threatens deep cuts in Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, veterans’ benefits and other programs.
Lisa James Henson, a retired correctional officer from Baltimore, Maryland and a member of AFSCME Council 3, participated in a press conference with Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and explained: “Like other retirees, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are very important to me to maintain a standard of living and for health care now that I am retired. And, like millions of others, I paid into these programs with every paycheck, every year – knowing that when I retired I could rely on these benefits. A constitutional amendment that requires a so-called “balanced budget” may sound good to some people, but not if it forces big cuts that change the rules for me and others; and not if it prevents older Americans from putting food on the table, paying for their homes, and seeing a doctor.”
Congressional Leaders Mull More Tax Votes
With a looming deadline to file federal taxes (April 17 this year), right-wing leaders in Congress are talking about more tax votes in Congress, including permanently extending the recently enacted tax cuts for individuals. The Trump-Republican tax cut package already made tax cuts for businesses and corporations permanent, but its tax cuts for individuals are slated to expire in 2025. Under the Trump/GOP tax cut signed into law this past December, 83 percent of the tax cuts will benefit the top earing 1percent of Americans by 2025. Congressional conservatives now want to extend these tax cuts, which do very little for middle class and working families. These proposals would cost hundreds of billions of dollars to the already burgeoning cost of the tax cut. It also puts even further pressure on Congress to offset this cost by reducing Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits.
What You Need to Know: The Trump/GOP tax cut increases taxes on individuals after they expire in 2025, due to the tax package’s other provisions that slow the indexing of tax brackets. Rather than permanently extending massive tax breaks for the wealthiest 1 percent and large profitable corporations, Congress should repeal these tax breaks and ensure the wealthiest pay their fair share. Even Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), who voted to approve the tax cut package just four months ago, recently stated: “It could well be one of the worst votes I've made. This Congress and this administration likely will go down as one of the most fiscally irresponsible administrations and Congress’ that we've had."
Many working families who support tax fairness and believe the wealthy should pay their fair share will be attending tax rallies and protests scheduled all around the country for early next week. Leading up to tax day on April 17, union members, grassroots activists, elected officials, and community leaders are coming together at more than 100 events from coast to coast. These events are designed to hold Republicans accountable for forcing the new tax law through Congress and demanding that lawmakers repeal it. Find more details of these rallies and protests here.
Tax Bill Puts Key Programs at Risk
A recent report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) offers further proof that President Trump’s tax law for corporate CEOs and wealthy shareholders increases the budget deficit to $1 trillion a year. The tax cut adds $1.8 trillion to the overall federal debt over the next decade. The deficit will put programs that maintain the basic living standards for working families and retirees, like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security at greater risk for benefit cuts. The CBO projects the federal debt will equal 100 percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2028. That amount is bigger than the debt in any year since just after World War II.
What You Need to Know: House and Senate Republican leaders have repeatedly proposed budgets that would require benefit cuts and changes to Medicare and Medicaid. Government health care programs are of huge importance to the health and financial security of millions of Americans and their working families. AFSCME is very concerned that the Trump tax law and the debt it creates will be used as a justification to implement these previously proposed cuts.
Trump Administration Nominee Confirmed To NLRB
This week, John Ring, a management-side attorney, was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 50 to 49 to serve on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). He replaces the GOP’s Chairing Member Philip Miscimarra whose term expired in December. Mr. Ring practiced law at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP since 1988, representing corporate clients including Xerox Corp., Pratt & Whitney, Maersk Line Inc., Russell Stover Candies Inc., and the American Trucking Association Inc. The NLRB is already struggling with ethics issues, as current member William Emanuel failed to recuse himself from a recent vote which overturned an Obama-era rule, despite a conflict of interest.
What You Need to Know: The NLRB remains at a 3 to 2 anti-worker majority. President Trump may have the opportunity to make several more appointments to the Board before the end of his term. The terms of the two remaining Democratic appointees expire in August 2018 and December 2019, respectively. (Getsemani Yáñez- gyanez@afscme.org)
New Deputy Secretary of Labor
The Senate voted 50 to 48 to approve Patrick Pizzella to be Deputy Secretary of Labor. Mr. Pizzella is tasked with protecting a wide range of core labor rights, including proper payment under the wage and hour laws, the civil rights of federal contract workers, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and more. During his confirmation hearing, Mr. Pizzella came under intense scrutiny over his commitment to protecting the rights of workers. Many members of Congress probed him about policies he previously advocated.
What You Need to Know: Workers need champions more than ever before, and we need to hold appointees accountable. AFSCME will be watching closely to see if Mr. Pizzella supports polices that foster and promote employment opportunities as well as worker rights, benefits, and protections.
Farm Bill Threatens Nutrition Assistance
Agriculture Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) unveiled a draft farm bill that would create harmful changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. This is the first step in the GOP promise of “welfare programs,” that weaken basic needs for low income families and seniors.
What You Need to Know: Ranking Member Rep. Colin Peterson (D-MN) withdrew from bipartisan negotiations when Democrats became convinced the new package would contain harmful SNAP changes. The proposed changes cut benefits for millions of families, add new work requirements to a program in which most participants work or are disabled, and shift “savings” to duplicative bureaucracy. The new proposal would eliminate a benefit called broad-based categorical eligibility, impacting about two million people, mostly low-income working families with children – who would lose nutrition benefits, including school meals for 265,000 students, or have SNAP benefits cut. Imposing new work requirements impact 3 to 5 million people, including adults without children who are not working.
The House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to vote on the proposal April 18, and there could be a floor vote as early as the week of May 7. While the bill is expected to pass through committee on a partisan vote, there appears to be bipartisan opposition among a broader group which includes conservative members who want more severe cuts. AFSCME strongly opposes this harmful and mean-spirited proposal.
Work Requirement on Federal Programs
President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) entitled, “Economic Mobility Takes the First Steps Toward Welfare Reform in America.” This EO directs federal agencies to impose work requirements on recipients of public assistance programs. This move comes at the same time lawmakers on Capitol Hill are expected to mark up the 2018 farm bill. Additional work requirements and other damaging changes are expected to be proposed in public housing and other important benefits programs.
What You Need to Know: Under the guise of so-called “workforce development” these new work requirements would weaken the social safety net and weaken public support services in fundamental ways. Realistically, so called “work requirements” have nothing to do with helping anyone work. They are an effort to strip healthcare, food, and/or housing away from struggling families. Many members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have expressed concerns about these new efforts.
House Undermines Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Economic Protections
The House voted to approve three bills harmful to consumers. The Stress Test Improvement Act (H.R. 4293), Financial Stability Oversight Council Improvement Act (H.R. 4061), and the Volcker Rule Regulatory Harmonization Act (H.R. 4790).
AFSCME opposes these bills because each would undermine systemic risk protections enacted in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank). H.R. 4790 is especially troubling because it completely exempts some banks from the Volcker Rule protections, such as prohibiting proprietary trading or owning hedge and private equity funds. The Volcker Rule is one of the Dodd-Frank law’s central safeguards to reduce economy-wide systemic risk and is a central provision governing traditional banking practices.
What You Need to Know: AFSCME has growing concerns about the negative cumulative impact of the increasing efforts to undermine vital Dodd-Frank protections. One-by-one, each new bill chips away at the safeguards protecting our economy, consumers, and working families. While there was some bipartisan support for each of these bills, Republicans voted nearly unanimously to approve them, and most democrats opposed each bill.
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