Campaign Finance Reform Clears Congress
After a seven-year effort, supporters of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill claimed victory when Congress approved a sweeping overhaul of current rules. Although he called the measure "flawed," President Bush signed the bill into law saying it will "improve the current system overall." The bill is intended to reduce the influence of money in campaigns and policymaking, but AFSCME and many others are concerned that it will actually have a very negative impact on voter participation and efforts to increase Election Day turnout. Senate opponent Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said he would challenge the bill's constitutionality in the courts.

Federal Budget Woes
Where did all the surplus go? A year ago, federal budget watchers predicted a $5.6 trillion budget surplus. Now, after the adoption of two huge major tax cuts and a steep increase in military spending - POOF! - the surplus is gone and, guess what? Federal spending, including important aid to the states for criminal justice, transportation, housing, education and social services, will have to be cut. On top of that, despite Congress' pledge to place the Social Security Trust Fund in a "lock box", the new budget plan adopted by the House of Representatives uses $1.5 trillion in trust fund money.

WHAT'S COMING UP IN CONGRESS?
Welfare Reform: Round II
At least three congressional committees are in the process of holding hearings on welfare reform TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), which comes up for reauthorization this year. The opening salvo was fired by Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, who recently spent a day on Capitol Hill defending the Bush administration's plan to require 40 hours per week of work and other activities without providing additional resources to States. He stated that workfare recipients would not have to work below the minimum wage. It will be interesting to see how this plays out since the amount of money that welfare recipients receive differs in each state, and there is no new money in the plan for states. How will the states be able to fund the program in light of the fact they are having budget difficulties. Also, Thompson conveniently sidestepped the sticky matter of whether other workplace protections, such as health and safety and civil rights protections, would apply.

More Disaster Relief on the Way
New Yorkers and others who lost their jobs as a direct result of the September 11 terrorist attacks, can now collect an additional 13 weeks of disaster unemployment assistance. Mirroring the 13-week extension of regular unemployment insurance benefits that was already cleared, the Congress has now agreed to an extension of disaster assistance.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Bank
The members of the Social Security Reform Commission appointed by President Bush could not agree on what to recommend. When it came time to agree on a single plan, commission members, who were hand picked because they all supported privatization of the popular Social Security System, could not agree. Instead, they advanced three options for reform, all of which would allow workers to invest a portion of their payroll taxes that currently go to Social Security to individual private investment accounts. Due to the downturn in the stock market, most people are now casting a wary eye on any privatization plans. However, House of Representatives Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX) continues to say he would like to move forward on their proposals to create individual private investment accounts this year.

WHY PEOPLE?
PEOPLE (Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality) is our federal political action program. PEOPLE is your voice in Washington D.C.
We fight for better wages, job security, safe workplaces, health care, social security and making sure we get our fair share of the federal budget for programs for our members. JOIN PEOPLE TODAY!
Call the Political Action Department at 1-800-342-4146 ext 1404 for more information.