ASA EFFORTS TO PROTECT SECRET BALLOT: ASA has recently undertaken major efforts to defeat legislation changing the way worker’s vote to unionize. The Employee Free Choice Act would take away a worker’s right to a secret ballot when deciding on joining a union and instead have workers vote by merely signing a card. In early February, ASA’s Executive Vice President Inge Calderon sent a letter to every member of the House Education and Labor Committee expressing ASA’s strong opposition to the legislation (HR 800). The Committee later approved the bill and the House is expected to vote on HR 800 during the week of February 26. Two ASA Action Alerts were recently sent to all ASA members asking them to fax a letter to their Representative urging a NO vote on HR 800. If you have not already faxed your letter, please send it TODAY. If you have any questions, please contact ASA’s Legislative Counsel, Pat O’Connor at patoconnor@kentoconnor.com.
ASA LETTER ON THREE-PERCENT WITHHOLDING: Legislation (HR 1023) was recently introduced in the House to repeal the 3 percent withholding from payments on government contracts for goods and services. ASA and other members of the Government Withholding Relief Coalition sent a letter to Representatives Kendrick Meek (D-FL) and Wally Herger (R-CA) thanking them for introducing the bill and pledging to work with them and others in Congress to pass HR 1023. Similar legislation is expected to be introduced soon in the Senate.
HOUSE TO VOTE ON WATER PROJECTS FUNDING: As reported in ASA’s January Washington Update, ASA President Joel Becker submitted testimony to a House Committee urging them to create a clean water trust fund. The Committee has reported legislation which includes language requiring a one-year study to determine potential sources of funding for a clean water trust fund. The legislation (HR 720) will be debated by the House very soon.
LIFO REPEAL: ASA and others in the business community continue to closely monitor attempts by Congress to permanently repeal the LIFO inventory accounting method. With Congress desperate to find money to fund increased spending and eliminate the AMT, repealing LIFO continues to be mentioned as one way to raise revenues. In fact, legislation was recently introduced in the Senate to provide $80 billion in tax cuts for the middle class with these cuts paid for by repealing LIFO for the oil companies. Also, various members of Congress have mentioned LIFO repeal in public speeches. While ASA and others successfully blocked LIFO repeal efforts last year in the Senate, repeal is still considered “on the table” by many in Congress.
ACCELERATED DEPRECIATION: The bill to increase the minimum wage bill is facing a show down between the House and the Senate. The Senate’s bill contains a number of tax provisions for businesses – including a one-year extension (through 2010) of a provision allowing small businesses to deduct as much as $112,000 in expenses into one annual tax deduction and 15-year depreciation for qualified retail improvement property placed in service before March 31, 2008. The House bill contains the “expensing” provision but not the depreciation language. With the Senate demanding many more tax breaks than the House bill, just how a compromise on the two different versions of the bill will be resolved is unclear. As the House and Senate work to resolve their differences in the two versions of the bill, ASA will continue working for inclusion of both the depreciation and the expensing provisions, and clarification that show rooms are included under the 15-year depreciation provision.
POSSIBLE CHANGES TO FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT: With Democrats now in control of Congress, efforts are underway to expand the 14-year-old Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) says he will introduce a bill to require employers with 15 or more workers to provide seven days of paid sick leave annually for full-time workers. When the HELP Committee considers the Chairman’s bill, it is likely that other questions about the Family and Medical Leave Act will be raised. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT), says he will press to expand FMLA to provide six weeks of paid leave for workers to deal with family emergencies. Dodd also wants to expand the law to cover workers in businesses with 25 or more employees. The existing law requires employers with more than 50 workers to provide 12 weeks of unpaid leave annually to take care of family sicknesses or other crises.
Prepared by Kent & O'Connor, Incorporated, and sponsored by the ASA Government and Public Affairs Program.
