THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 2, 1995 TAG: 9510020058
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Long : 133 lines
House
Labor issue: Voting 221 for and 202 against, the House sent the Senate a bill (HR 743) giving companies leeway under federal labor law to operate employer-employee groups for addressing workplace issues and increasing productivity. The bill was supported by the Chamber of Commerce and opposed by the AFL-CIO. The 1935 National Labor Relations Act makes it an unfair labor practice for companies to financially support or dominate employee organizations. This bill eases that ban so that management and workers in non-union shops can participate in problem-solving teams set up and administered by management. Critics say these teams can easily become illegal company unions.
Supporter Randy Cunningham, R-Calif., said the measure ``says simply that an employer can work with employees, period. It does not permit illegal employer unions. It does not affect union shops at all. It does not intrude on collective bargaining.''
Opponent Martin Frost, D-Texas, called the bill ``a thinly disguised attempt to return to the old days of company unions . . . a return to the early 20th century when employers controlled both sides of the bargaining table.''
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Bateman Yes Pickett No
Scott No Sisisky No
Clayton No Jones Yes
To elect employees: The House rejected, 195 for and 228 against, an amendment requiring secret-ballot elections to pick employee representatives who sit with management on workplace teams authorized by HR 743 (above) within the framework of the National Labor Relations Act. The elections were to replace management selection of worker representatives. The amendment was backed by labor groups and opposed by business organizations.
A yes vote supported the amendment.
Bateman No Pickett No
Scott Yes Sisisky No
Clayton Yes Jones No
Three judges: By a vote of 266 for and 159 against, the House sent the Senate a bill (HR 1170) making it more difficult for the federal judiciary to block a referendum approved by a state's voters. The bill requires appeals on constitutional grounds to be heard by three U.S. judges rather than one, to prevent plaintiffs from ``judge shopping'' for a sympathetic jurist. The bill was prompted by events in California, where Proposition 187 denying social services to illegal immigrants was OK'd by voters but found unconstitutional by state and federal courts, and not implemented.
Supporter Frank Riggs, R-Calif., said: ``Too often, as seen in California, special interests can misuse the courts. . . . This legislation corrects a fundamental wrong.''
Opponent Pat Schroeder, D-Colo., said: ``The bottom line . . . behind this bill is whether or not the Constitution is a rough draft, whether or not people can amend it simply by having a referendum. . . . I always thought we in this body . . . were to `protect and defend' the Constitution.''
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Bateman Yes Pickett No
Scott No Sisisky Yes
Clayton No Jones Yes Spending bill: By a vote of 55 for and 45 against, the Senate sent to conference with the House a bill (HR 2099) appropriating $80.9 billion in fiscal 1996 for a variety of departments and agencies. The bill cuts the Environmental Protection Agency budget by 22 percent, the Department of Housing and Urban Development by 19 percent and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration by 4 percent. Among major agencies funded by the bill, only the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Science Foundation escaped major cuts. Senators preserved the space station (below) but killed AmeriCorps.
Supporter Christopher Bond, R-Mo., said deep cuts were inflicted in EPA's Superfund program for cleansing toxic waste sites because ``there is overwhelming documentation of how lawyers and other administrative cost burdens are milking the lion's share of these funds.''
Opponent John Kerry, D-Mass., said he liked some of the bill's housing reforms but said it fails to ``come close to meeting the housing needs of this country. More than 5 million very-low-income Americans face severe housing needs. They suffer from homelessness, they pay rents that take more than (half) of their household income, or they live in severely substandard conditions.''
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Robb No Warner Yes
Helms Yes Faircloth Yes
National service: The Senate rejected, 47 for and 52 against, a bid to keep alive the 2-year-old national service program, AmeriCorps. The amendment sought to include $425 million in HR 2099 (above) for the program in which some 20,000 youths receive college tuition and a living allowance in return for community service. Both houses now have voted to kill the high-priority Clinton program.
Sponsor Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., said AmeriCorps ``is not just yet another social program. . . . This says to young people, we know that your first mortgage is your student debt, but we want to give you an opportunity to reduce that . . . by doing service in your community (and) earn a voucher to reduce that student debt to the tune of about $4,000 a year.''
Opponent Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said that with heavy overhead and ``bureaucratic costs'' AmeriCorps is costing about double the $13,000 per participant that was first projected.
A yes vote was to keep AmeriCorps.
Robb Yes Warner No
Helms No Faircloth No
Space station: Voting 35 for and 64 against, the Senate rejected an amendment to kill the space station Alpha. This preserved $1.83 billion in HR 2099 (above) to advance the 12-year-old NASA project, now a joint venture with Russia, which aims to put the first elements of a manned space lab in orbit within the next few years.
William Cohen, R-Maine, said Congress cannot rightfully trim programs such as Medicare and Head Start ``and then come up with B-2 bombers . . . at $30 billion or come up with a space station that will cost another $100 billion. And there may be no end in sight . . . as to how much this program is ultimately going to cost.''
Opponent Larry Pressler, R-S.D., said it would be ``a sad waste of time, effort and money spent . . . if we were to give up now. Since 1984, the United States has spent $12 billion on the space station. Equally important, 13,000 Americans in 38 states . . . have been working hard to make this great dream become a reality.''
A yes vote was to terminate NASA's space station.
Robb No Warner Yes
Helms No Faircloth Yes ILLUSTRATION: ROLL CALL: How area members of Congress voted for the week
ending May 19.
[Photos, telephone numbers and addresses of senators and
representatives from Virginia and North Carolina.]
To reach any representative or senator on any issues that concern
you, call (202) 224-3121.
by CNB