House Committee on Education and Labor
U.S. House of Representatives
Republicans
Rep. Howard P. “Buck†McKeon
Ranking Member
Fiscally responsible reforms for students, workers and retirees.
NEWSROOM
Press Release
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: Alexa Marrero |
Running Down the Clock on Card Check
It appears time is not on the side of the Employee Free Choice Act.
Although it remains a threat, National Journal’s CongressDaily reports that with health care, climate change, and spending bills pending in Congress – plus continuing questions about Democrats’ ability to muster the needed 60 votes – the act’s chances of becoming law this year are dwindling:
“Senate efforts to compromise on a watered-down version of the Employee Free Choice Act have been put firmly on the chamber's back burner -- perhaps for the rest of the year -- as senators, aides and lobbyists focus on health care and other legislation, participants said.
“‘We're not doing anything right now,’ Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said of talks he has led among a group of Democrats since it became clear in late March that a more ambitious ‘card check’ bill to help unions organize could not win 60 Senate votes.
“‘We've got the healthcare bill; we've got appropriations bills, and we're lacking two senators that we need right now,’ Harkin said in an interview. ‘Nothing is happening on that right now.’
“Harkin and other senators and aides involved in discussions on the union organizing bill said the group has not met in two weeks and has no plans to talk again before the August recess. …
“But the halt reflects the dwindling chance the bill will get a vote this year, Senate aides said. Senior Democratic aides played down chances the talks will lead to legislation on the floor this year, noting that health care, appropriations, and climate change will consume the fall and possibly the rest of 2009.”
Friedman and Dann, “Busy Senate Schedule Could Leave Card Check In The Cold,” CongressDaily, 07.29.09
The Employee Free Choice Act has the ability to deny workers the right to a secret ballot, kill jobs in an economy that desperately needs them, and create forced government contracts on businesses that depend on flexibility in the marketplace. Whether the bill is ready by Arbor Day, Halloween, or the end of the year, a bad idea is still a bad idea. It needs to be dropped entirely.
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