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Pima Community College Division |
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AFSCME LEGISLATIVE REPORT
Comprehensive Health Care Reform is Enacted.
After decades of struggle and a year of debate, comprehensive health care reform has been enacted as the law of the land. And while it will take time to responsibly implement the law, the nation has finally put itself on a path to addressing skyrocketing costs and reining in insurance company abuses. This historic achievement was made possible because of the tremendous energy and commitment of AFSCME members, activists and leaders all over the country. These efforts brought home this victory and made AFSCME shine.
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA – H.R. 3590); health reform legislation that had been approved by the Senate in December and by the House on Sunday. On Thursday, the Senate and the House approved a final version of a package of corrections to PPACA. The corrections include a number of important improvements, including changes to the excise tax on high cost plans. Below is a summary of what health care reform means to AFSCME members. (Barbara Coufal- bcoufal@afscme.org)
How Health Reform Benefits AFSCME Members
As Congress leaves for its two-week spring recess, among the items left unfinished is final action on the jobs bill which includes significant new aid to state and local governments, particularly the extension of federal Medicaid assistance known as FMAP. A six-month FMAP extension through June 30, 2011 has passed the House and Senate as part of two different bills. The House passed the Jobs for Main Street Act in December with extensions for FMAP, unemployment insurance (UI) and COBRA health insurance for the unemployed, additional education assistance, more funding for public safety employment and more. The Senate passed $26.7 billion in additional FMAP relief and the UI and COBRA extensions as part of a bill extending a number of tax provisions including the Research and Development Tax Credit. Action must still take place to approve a single version of a bill in the House and Senate. AFSCME is urging both houses of Congress to do this when Congress returns from its spring recess, and it is imperative that we keep the pressure on the Senate and House to finish the job and pass state and local assistance that is needed to cope with the ongoing fiscal crisis. (Ed Jayne- ejayne@afscme.org)
AFSCME Activists:
We need to keep the pressure on the House and Senate to help state and local governments with huge budget shortfalls. Please pick up the phone and call your Senators and member of the House of Representatives. Tell them to get the job done by approving increased funding for Medicaid and other vital public services. Call 202-224-3121 right away!! Short-Term Extension of Unemployment Insurance and COBRA Subsidies Looms as Congress Prepares to Recess for Two Weeks Senate Republicans have blocked action on a bill the House approved last week continuing the federal unemployment insurance benefits and COBRA health subsidies programs through April. The current programs were extended until April 5 about a month ago in the hope that the House and Senate would reach agreement on broader legislation continuing both programs through the end of the year before they were due to expire.
Democratic leaders plan to take the legislation up immediately when Congress reconvenes on April 12 with the intention of making the benefits retroactive. (Nanine Meiklejohn- nmeiklejohn@afscme.org) House Passes Jobs Bill with Financial Assistance for State and Local Governments The House of Representatives voted 246-178 on party lines to approve the Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Tax Act (H.R. 2849) which provides $7.5 billion in tax incentives to state and local governments to subsidize Build America Bonds for improving infrastructure. This is the second "jobs bill" House Democratic leaders moved through the chamber in March. Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI), Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, said, "The cornerstone of this package is an extension of the Build America Bonds program, an effective tool in job creation and a vital resource for state and local governments looking to advance infrastructure programs." Build America Bonds give financial assistance to state and local governments via federal tax exemptions for the interest on municipal bonds.
Unfortunately, a separate smaller provision could harm AFSCME members’ interests because it provides $354 million in subsidies for tax-exempt bonds issued to finance privately operated water or sewage facilities. The bill also extends for one year the Recovery Act's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) emergency contingency fund, and funds it at $2.5 billion. The entire bill costs $17 billion, is fully offset by other revenues, and contains $3.6 billion in small business tax breaks.
(Marc Granowitter-
mgranowitter@afscme.org)
Senate Agriculture Committee Approves $4.5 Billion Child Nutrition Reauthorization The Senate Agriculture Committee unanimously approved a leaner, $4.5 billion package of new funding and policies for Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) than the $10 billion package proposed by President Obama. CNR sets policy and funding for school meals, the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Highlights include providing a six cents per meal performance-based increase (tied to compliance with updated dietary guidelines), giving authority to the Secretary of Agriculture to establish nutritional standards for all school foods, providing $10 million for training food service personnel, implementing electronic benefit transfer (EBT) to modernize WIC, and reducing CACFP paperwork.
AFSCME is very concerned that none of the access provisions for CACFP – including rate increases, tiering adjustments, a third meal, and sponsor funds – were included. We are working closely with Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and others to address this omission.
(Becky Levin-
blevin@afscme.org)
(Becky Levin- blevin@afscme.org) Thousands Rally in Support of Immigration Reform
Last Sunday, more than 200,000 advocates marched on the National
Mall in support of comprehensive immigration reform. The March for
While the rally and op-ed moved comprehensive immigration reform forward, Sen. Graham, upset by the passage of health care reform, dealt it a devastating blow on Thursday and declared immigration reform "dead" in the Senate this year. AFSCME will continue to work in coordination with the AFL-CIO to advance comprehensive immigration reform in a manner that protects American workers. (Andrea Zuniga DiBitetto- adibitetto@afscme.org)
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Tucson Area Public Employees, Local 449 Pima Community College Employees Division 110 S. Church Avenue, Suite 4188 Tucson, AZ 85701 Phone: 520-571-8884 Fax: 520-571-8887 |
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