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February 26-March 9, 2007
Latest Congressional Action
- The House is debating legislation that would authorize $14 billion over four years to construct wastewater treatment facilities. The measure is controversial because it contains language that would expand the coverage of the federal Davis-Bacon Act's prevailing wage requirements to projects paid for with non-federal funds. The Chamber and a coalition are urging the House to kill the expansion language and save taxpayers' dollars.
- House Democratic leaders unveiled their plans for a FY-2007 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill that will lead to troop withdrawals from Iraq by year's end and end all combat duties by U.S. troops by Aug. 31, 2008. The measure also contains House-passed language raising the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour coupled with a $1.3 billion tax breaks package for small businesses. President Bush vowed to veto the bill if it clears Congress.
- By a 51 to 46 vote, the Senate tabled a closely-watched Republican amendment to legislation implementing some of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations. It would have killed language in the bill that grants collective bargaining rights to Transportation Security Administration workers. The administration is threatening a veto if the language remains in the bill.
- Senate Majority Leader Reid said the Senate will debate comprehensive immigration reform legislation before the August recess which is set to begin on August 3. Senator Edward Kennedy said he will introduce legislation that he hopes to get on the Senate floor by "early spring." In testimony before the Senate Labor Committee, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates urged Congress to increase the number of H-1B visas for high skilled foreign workers. The Chamber is strongly urging Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
- Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Montana) wants Congress to pass a 2-year "fix" for the alternative minimum tax (AMT). He is also putting together bipartisan legislation to allow small businesses to band together to negotiate lower health insurance costs with insurance companies. The legislation would also give small businesses tax incentives to offer coverage to their workers. This effort has been underway in the Senate since the start of the 110th Congress. Health care is also emerging as a major issue in the 2008 Presidential campaign.
- By a 241 to 185 vote, the House passed the Employee Free Choice Act. The measure would make it easier for labor unions to organize businesses by eliminating the right of a business to demand a secret ballot election by workers on whether to unionize. The bill also imposes tough new penalties on employers for unfair labor practices and would require federal arbitration to reach labor contracts if newly certified unions and employers do not reach agreement within 90 days. The measure now moves on to the Senate where it faces a filibuster threat from Republican opponents and a White House veto threat. The Chamber and a business coalition strongly oppose this legislation.
- By a unanimous vote of 423 to 0, the House passed bipartisan compromise legislation supported by the Chamber and other business groups that will require the executive branch to conduct a more thorough interagency review of the national security implications of foreign investment transactions in the United States. In our press release, Chamber Government Affairs Executive Vice President Bruce Josten said HR-556 "strikes an appropriate balance between keeping Americans safe and keeping our economy open to the world."
Source:
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Southeast Regional Office. Moore Hallmark, Regional
Executive Director.
501 Village Trace, Suite 201, Bldg. 9A Atlanta, GA 30067
P: (770) 951-8864 F: (770) 956-1216
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