Date:
March 15, 2007
To:
cc:
From:
Members of the Advocacy Committee
Total Pages:
(including cover)
2
Subject:
Update- High Priority Issues
Randi Schmidt
Issue and Activities Update:
Immigration:
Negotiations are going on behind the scenes with the Administration and members of Congress. Key
players include Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA), John McCain (R-AZ), and Representatives Jeff Flake
(R-AZ) and Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) all of whom are working together with members of the President’s
administration to craft an immigration reform bill. While the bill is expected to be similar to the immigration
reform bill passed by the Senate last year, issues that must be addressed include guest worker provisions,
border security and what will happen to the nearly 12 million individuals in the country who are
undocumented. Advocates expect an immigration reform bill to first move in the Senate, and Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said he expects the Senate to take up an immigration reform bill before
the month of August. It is unclear at this time what the House of Representatives may do regarding
immigration reform and what the fate of this legislation will be.
Head Start
On February 14, 2007 the Senate Education, Labor, Health and Pensions Committee approved the Head
Start for School Readiness Act (S.556) which reauthorizes the program for five years. Sponsored by
Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), S. 556 makes improvements in the Head Start program without some of
the harmful provisions put forth in the 109th Congress. S. 556 halts the use of the National Reporting
System test, the controversial test used to assess Head Start children, raises the eligibility limit to 130% of
the poverty level from 100%, allows Head Start agencies to apply to covert part-time sessions into full-time,
allows agencies to apply to serve more toddlers and infants, increases funds set asides for the Early Head
Start program, Migrant and Seasonal and Indian Head Start programs, and encourages agencies to reach
out to homeless children and children with limited English proficiency. S. 556 also increases teacher
education and training requirements, includes provisions to enhance the quality of Head Start programs and
includes provisions addressing the governance of Head Start programs. The bill must now be voted on by
the full Senate.
Most recently, on Wednesday, March 14, 2007 the House Education and Labor Committee marked up the
Improving Head Start Act of 2007 (H.R. 1429). Sponsored by Representative Dale Kildee (D-MI), this bill
would reauthorize the program for five years. Advocates are in the process of reviewing the bill and expect
the bill to be voted on by the full House sometime before summer.
Budget/ Child Care
The Senate is set to mark up their version of the FY08 budget this week, while the House is tentatively
planning on marking up their version of the FY08 budget next week. Though one party controls both the
House and the Senate, it is expected that the House and Senate budgets will differ. Advocates expect the
House budget will be more generous in funding than the Senate version.
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Members of Congress have noted that they have not heard from constituents about the need for more
funding for programs and services that help women, girls and families in their communities.
To ensure that Congress hears about the importance of funding vital programs including violence against
women programs and child care programs, the YWCA USA along with our budget coalition ECAP, and our
child care coalition are participating in national call in days starting this Thursday and running until next
Tuesday.
VAWA
The YWCA is pushing for VAWA funding both via the appropriations process and through our discussion
surrounding the budget. For example, our YWAct which will go out about the budget will be focused around
VAWA and the needs of survivors and their families.
Minimum Wage
On Wednesday, January 10th, the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 (H.R.2) passed the House of
Representatives by a vote of 315 to 116. On February 1, 2007 the Senate passed an amended version of
H.R. 2 by a vote of 94-3. While the House passed a clean bill the Senate added over $8 billion in tax
breaks for businesses. To get the bills moving, the House passed its own version of tax breaks for
businesses estimated to be between $1 and $2 billion dollars, substantially less than the Senate. This tax
bill will be added to the House version of H.R.2. The differences in tax provisions in the two bills will be
worked out in conference.
Movement on the minimum wage has stalled in Congress due to concerns about the size of the tax cut to
be attached to a final minimum wage bill. Republican Senators, [especially Ranking Member of the Senate
Finance Committee, Charles Grassley (R-IA)], have steadfastly maintained that the House tax cuts of $1.3
billion do not go far enough in offsetting the cost to small businesses of raising the minimum wage. Instead,
they would like to meet prior to a formal Conference Committee (called pre-conferencing) to discuss the
level of tax cuts in a final bill. Specifically, they would like assurances that any final bill coming out of the
Conference Committee will contain tax cuts similar to the $8 billion dollar level passed by the Senate.
However, House Democrats have refused to meet prior to a formal Conference Committee to discuss the
level of tax cuts in a final bill, and they continue to maintain that businesses don’t need $8 billion dollars in
tax cuts.
Last week, to move a raise in the minimum wage along, Democratic Leaders in the House of
Representatives suggested they would add a raise in the federal minimum wage, and tax cuts worth $1.3
billion for businesses, to an emergency spending bill for the Iraq war. Because it contains a raise in the
minimum wage, this approach is a way to get liberal democrats who may want to vote against funding for a
war they don’t agree with to vote for the bill. Also, it would be a way to force Republican Senators to vote for
a smaller tax break package (then the $8 billion that originally passed the Senate) because they would not
want to vote against a bill that funds the war.
Taxes
On Wednesday, March 7, 2007 the House Ways and Means Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee held
a hearing on the Alternative Minimum Income Tax (AMT). The AMT is a tax which primarily affects
households with incomes between $100,000 and $500,000 a year, but because of the way it is structured is
expected to hit middle-class families if it is not addressed. The Committee heard testimony from a number
of individuals on the impact of the AMT, the need for reform, and how the tax cuts enacted in 2001 and
2003 have intersected with the AMT.
Though there is political will among both Democrats and Republicans in Congress to address the
Alternative Minimum Income Tax (AMT), there is disagreement on whether to repeal the tax or reform it to
make it more progressive. This hearing, therefore, was the beginning of the formal debate among members
of Congress on how to best address the AMT and its increasing impact on middle-class households. The
YWCA supports reforming the AMT to make it a more progressive tax as it was originally intended.
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Equal Pay
On Thursday, March 8, 2007 Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) introduced the Paycheck Fairness Act of
2007. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) is expected to introduce similar legislation in the House
shortly. The bill would: increase enforcement of anti-discrimination laws, create a training program for
women to enhance their negotiation skills, ban employers from retaliating against employees who disclose
their salaries, allows women to sue for punitive and compensatory damages, and would require increased
data collection by the Department of Labor on gender wage disparities.
Senator Harkin is expected to introduce the Fair Pay Act on Equal Pay Day.
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