December 16, 2011
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Read the articles from the December 16th edition, including a proposal for a balanced budget amendment, taxes on working families, and minimum wage protections for childcare workers.
- CHN: Senate Rejects Balanced Budget Amendments
On December 14 the Senate failed to garner the two-thirds majority (67 votes) needed to pass two separate constitutional amendments to balance the federal budget (balanced budget amendments or BBAs). S.J. Res 10, the Republican BBA, failed by a vote of 47-53, strictly along party lines. This BBA is one of the most restrictive versions Read More »
Posted in Budget and Appropriations, Economy Comments Off - CHN: Congress Not Anxious to Raise Working Families’ Taxes in January
Congress wants to go home. But they don’t want to leave without ensuring that workers’ payroll taxes don’t go up with the new year. Nor do they want to let federal unemployment benefits expire altogether, although the prospects for preserving the current level of assistance seemed problematic as the negotiations wore on. Preventing a 27 Read More »
Posted in Budget and Appropriations, Labor and Employment, Medicare, Tax Policy, Unemployment Insurance Comments Off - CHN: Congress Poised to Pass Omnibus Fiscal Year 2012 Appropriation Bill
The House and Senate have agreed to a $915 billion bill (H.R. 2055) that funds the nine remaining appropriations bills covering a wide range of government activities including defense, foreign aid, children’s services, public health, education and training, veterans, the environment, and homeland security. At press time plans are for the bill to be passed Read More »
Posted in Budget and Appropriations, Education and Youth Policy, Housing and Homelessness, Labor and Employment, Unemployment Insurance Comments Off - CHN: Victory for In-Home Care Workers: Obama Administration Announces New Rules to Provide Minimum Wage and Overtime Protections
Nearly 2 million home care workers serve seniors and people with disabilities. They have been exempted from minimum wage and overtime law protections – until now. The Obama Administration announced new rules to extend those protections to this group of workers on December 15. In-home workers were exempted from the Fair Labor Standards Act protections Read More »
Posted in Labor and Employment Comments Off
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