Government Affairs Report: December 2003
Author: Debbie Golombek, UAL MEC Government Affairs Committee Chair
Inside this Report |
Pension Funding Relief
Although the U.S. Congress was unable to reach a resolution to several pension funding relief measures, before adjourning for their winter break, the Senate recognized the importance of these pension issues and has committed to reconsider pension relief legislation when it reconvenes in January 2004.
The legislation United is currently seeking on pension funding relief addresses Deficit Reduction Contribution relief and a change to the 30-year Treasury bond rate. United will still have to make their normal contributions to our pensions if this legislation is passed.
The U.S. Senate has agreed to take up the House passed, H.R. 3108, the Pension Funding Equity Act, introduced by Congressman John Boehner (R-OH). This legislation which overwhelmingly passed the House, would replace the 30-year Treasury bond interest rate that is used as a benchmark to determine defined benefit pension plan funding with a blend of corporate bond index rates fro two years.
The Senate will allow 3 amendments from both the Republicans and Democrats to be debated. These amendments must relate to the 30-year Treasury bond replacement, deficit reduction contributions relief and multi-employer plan relief.
Any pension funding relief legislation considered and passed by the U.S. Senate would then have to be reconciled and passed by the House.
We will continue to lobby for deficit reduction contribution relief and the corporate bond replacement of the 30-year Treasury. Local Councils can re-word the sample letter I sent and continue to encourage Flight Attendants to contact their Congressional representatives on this issue.
This will be a legislative priority in 2004 for the UAL MEC Government Affairs Committee.
Flight Attendant Certification Victory
The Flight Attendant Certification language contained in the recently passed FAA Reauthorization bill is a significant victory for us. Thanks to the hard work of AFA’s Government Affairs Department and the members of the Government Affairs committees at all AFA carriers, the U.S. Congress recognized Flight Attendants as trained safety professionals.
Flight Attendant Certification legislation was introduced in the House earlier this year by Congresswomen Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Sue Kelly (R-NY). In the Senate this legislation was introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA). Certification language was then included in both the House and Senate versions of FAA Reauthorization bills passed by both chambers of Congress.
As with most major pieces of legislation, these bills were sent to a Conference Committee to work out the differences in both bills. Since Republicans hold the majority in both the Senate and the House, the Republican leadership controls the agenda and the debate in conference committee.
Regrettably, members of the FAA Reauthorization conference committee, by the direction of the Republican leadership, inserted several provisions at the last minute, that AFA opposed. The conference report changed a mandatory provision for the TSA to develop Flight Attendant security training guidelines.
We did not lose federally mandated security training. Flight Attendant security training was mandated in the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 then included language that directed the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to issue security and anti-terrorism training guidelines. Unfortunately, several airlines began an aggressive lobbying campaign to change the directive in the Homeland Security legislation.
The FAA Reauthorization conference report made the mandatory requirement for the TSA to create the training programs for the airlines to follow, an optional one. Airlines must still provide security training, but our goal was to have the training written by the TSA rather than the airlines themselves.
This will be a legislative priority for 2004.
The final conference report also included provisions that were not in either the original House or Senate bill. For example, both the House and Senate bills prevented the FAA from privatizing any of the air traffic control centers. The Senate bill also blocked privatization of airway system specialists. The final conference language ignored the original intent of these provisions.
In addition, the final conference report also included language opening the door to cabotage. Foreign air cargo carriers will now be allowed to fly cargo between Alaska and points in the United States.
Even at the risk of losing certification language, AFA joined ALPA and the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO in opposing the FAA Reauthorization conference report.
After a minor compromise was made to the ATC privatization, the FAA Reauthorization conference report was approved and sent to the President for his signature.
Cabin Air Quality
The FAA Reauthorization did include language directing the Federal Aviation Administration to undertake the studies and analysis called for in the report of the National Research Council entitled “The Airliner Cabin Environment and the Health of Passengers and Crew.”
At a minimum, the FAA will be required to monitor ozone in the cabin, collect pesticide exposure data and analyze samples of residue from aircraft ventilation ducts and filters after air quality incidents have been reported.
Medicare Prescription Drug Legislation
The President signed into law a severely flawed Medicare Prescription Drug bill that has more to do with Republican campaign politics than with concern for an affordable prescription drug benefit for seniors. The bill moves Medicare towards privatization, will prevent Medicare from negotiating for lower drug prices and threatens employer-provided drug coverage of millions of retirees.
Like most major legislation, the original House and Senate bills were sent to a conference committee, to work out the differences in each chambers version of Medicare reform. The bill that emerged was an 1100 page document, which lawmakers had to vote on without the benefit of comprehending everything that was in the bill.
The Medicare drug benefit will not be available until January 1, 2006, but the new plan offers higher reimbursement for doctors almost immediately. Many seniors now buy “Medigap” insurance policies that cover what Medicare does not. After the Medicare drug benefit becomes available the legislation prohibits the sale of any Medigap policy that would help pay drug costs.
Although there is more than $80 million in tax breaks and subsidies to employer plans to encourage them to continue retiree drug coverage, the Congressional Budget Office estimates about 2.7 million seniors could lose benefits that may be more generous than those offered under Medicare.
The repercussions from this legislation could be felt years from now when seniors and the disabled realize that they cannot afford to pay for their healthcare.
Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign has launched an aggressive grassroots campaign to communicate with elected officials about the danger of amending the U.S. Constitution to prohibit governmental recognition of same-sex relationships. A proposed Constitutional amendment on marriage, which is supported by ultra conservative and right-wing groups, would restrict the rights of a whole class of people and is unmistakably in conflict with the Constitution’s guiding principle to provide equal protection for all.
The power to regulate civil marriage and the granting of civil marriage licenses is a power that historically has been reserved to States. States should be allowed to formulate their own policies in this area. Any changes to the U.S. Constitution with regard to civil marriage would clearly be discriminatory.
Please join the fight to speak out against the Federal Marriage Amendment by visiting the Human Rights Campaign web site at www.hrc.org and sending a message to your Congressional representatives.
Bush Overtime Attack Stalls Spending Bill
Senate Democrats blocked a Dec. 9 vote on an omnibus spending bill because it did not include overtime pay protections both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate previously approved. The overtime pay guarantee would stop President George W. Bush's attempt to take overtime pay protection from up to 8 million workers.
The overtime pay protection was part of the fiscal year 2004 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education spending bill. After the Bush administration vowed to veto the measure if the overtime pay guarantee remained, House Republican leaders removed the provision from the bill, which then became part of the omnibus package.
The omnibus spending measure combines 7 unfinished 2004 appropriations bills including the Transportation-Treasury appropriations for Fiscal Year 2004. The Transportation-Treasury spending bill includes monies that AFA lobbied for.
The U.S. Congress is scheduled to reconvene on January 20, 2004, the day of the President’s State of the Union address.
AFA Policy Committee Meeting
The AFA Political/Legislative Policy Committee will be meeting in Washington, D.C. on January 13 and 14, 2004. All AFA MEC Government Affairs Chairs are invited to submit discussion topics for the meeting.
As in the past, the January meeting establishes AFA’s legislative, political and grassroots agenda and activities for the year.
If there are any topics you wish the Policy Committee to discuss please let me know before January 2, 2004.
Looking Ahead
It has been an extraordinarily busy year for the Government Affairs Committee and I expect 2004 to be even busier. Our legislative priorities will continue to be those issues which we can on collaboratively with United to help our airline emerge from bankruptcy; flight attendant safety, health and security issues; protecting retirement benefits and social security; FlightPAC fundraising and voter registration and Get Out The Vote activities.
I do not need to tell anyone how critical the 2004 Election Year will be.
In closing, I would like to wish the members of the MEC, the Local Council Government Affairs Committee members and our activists; the MEC Committee Chairs and their families and friends a wonderful Holiday Season.
Thank you to all for your continued support and hard work on our recent victories and the work the awaits us in 2004.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
