Will Republicans Block Quartet of Working Family Bills?

UPDATE, 7:30 p.m. (EST)—The public safety officers collective bargaining bill (S. 3991) failed to win cloture (60 votes are needed) by a 55-43 [1] vote, with threeDemocrats joining Republicans in blocking a vote on the bill. The three are Sen. Michael Bennett (D-Colo.), Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.).  

Republicans also led the fight to defeat the $250 Social Security cost of living adjustment supplemental payment legislation (S. 3985). The motion to end the filibuster failed by a 53-45 [2] vote. The four Democrats and Independent who voted to block the cost of living adjustment are Sen. Russ Feingold (Wisc.) Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) Sen. Joe Lieberman, (I-Conn.), Hagan and Warner.

Four vital bills for working families are set for action in the U.S. Senate later today and this evening, but all four will need 60 votes to shut off  Republican filibusters.  Most Senate Republicans oppose the bills and Republican leaders have vowed to halt all Senate action until the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy [3] are brought to a vote.

The bills scheduled for cloture votes today are:

• The 9/11 first responders health care bill [4] (H.R. 847);
• Collective bargaining rights for public safety officers (S. 3991);
• A one-time $250 cost of living [5] adjustment for Social Security recipients (S. 3985); and
• The DREAM Act (S. 3992). Click here [6] for more on the DREAM Act.

The House passed the 9/11 health care bill 268 to 160 in September [7], with 13 Republican votes. But Senate action stalled amid reports that Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was the major stumbling block [8].

The bill would provide long-term medical care and monitoring for the first responders [4], recovery workers and others exposed to the Ground Zero toxic mix of chemicals, jet fuel, asbestos, lead, glass fragments and other debris.

More than 13,000 World Trade Center responders are sick and receiving treatment. Nearly 53,000 responders are enrolled in medical monitoring. Some 71,000 are enrolled in the World Trade Center health registry, indicating that they were exposed to the toxins.

The collective bargaining bill—the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act—protects the freedom of firefighters and other public safety officers to join unions.

More than 20 states do not fully protect those bargaining rights, and two states—Virginia and North Carolina—prohibit public safety employees from collectively bargaining.

The legislation guarantees first responders:

• The right to join a union.
• The right to have their union recognized by their employer.
• The right to bargain collectively over hours, wages and terms and conditions of employment.
• A fact-finding, mediation or arbitration process for resolving an impasse in negotiations.
• Enforcement of these rights, and of written contracts, through state courts.

Today’s cloture votes, says Fire Fighters (IAFF [9]) President Harold Schaitberger, will ensure all senators have a chance to:

to demonstrate publicly whether or not they stand with professional firefighters. It’s that simple.

The $250 Social Security supplemental payment [10] in S. 3985 is designed to help offset the lack of a cost of living adjustment for Social Security recipients for the second year in a row. In March, Republicans blocked an amendment for a $250 supplemental payment for Social Security recipients.

Edward Coyle, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans [11], says the payment would be a boost to Social Security recipients,

many of whom have seen their retirement savings and home values badly shaken by this economic crisis….The purchasing needs of seniors are unique, and often include medications needed to stay alive.

House Republicans this afternoon led the charge to defeat (254-153) that chamber’s bill calling for the supplemental payment.  The bill was considered under a procedure called suspension of the rules which requires a two-thirds majority necessary to pass.