Clintonista
11-22-2003, 04:02 AM
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Nov. 22, 2003, 12:57AM
Bush wins overtime battle with labor
Pressure causes key foe to give up
WASHINGTON -- Foes of the Bush administration's proposed rules changing which workers would qualify for overtime pay abandoned thr fight Friday in the face of unrelenting pressure from the White House and the House.
Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the chief Republican opponent of the new rules, agreed to drop a provision killing the regulations from a massive spending bill, lawmakers, congressional aides and lobbyists said.
Critics of the new rules said they could lead to 8 million Americans losing eligibility for overtime pay, largely white-collar workers earning more than $65,000 a year. Administration officials say more than 644,000 such employees would lose the time-and-a-half pay now required when they work more than 40 hours in a week.
The dispute was the biggest hurdle to completion of a huge, overdue bill financing dozens of federal agencies that Congress' leaders want to complete before lawmakers leave town for the year.
With the overtime fight resolved, it was possible that the spending bill -- exceeding $280 billion, one-ghth of the entire federal budget -- could be approved by the House this weekend and by the Senate early next week.
The end of the overtime battle spelled a legislative and political victory for President Bush, whose aides had repeatedly threatened a veto for any legislation attempting to kill the proposed regulations.
The months-long battle pitted big business and its GOP allies against organized labor and congressional Democrats.
Specter, a moderate from a state where organized labor has considerable clout, faces a difficult re-election fight next year, including a primary challenge from a conservative.
The Bush administration and business leaders say the new rules are a badly needed modernization of overtime rules that in many cases are vague and decades old.
Specter and his aides could not immediately be reached for comment. Earlier in the day, he and his supporters said they would continue thr fight.
Specter had also acknowledged that he was feeling boxed in by threats from congressional leaders to delete the language blocking the rules from the spending bill. That would force him to decide whether to oppose the overall spending measure -- a vote that in effect would be a vote to shut down numerous federal agencies over the issue.
The Senate voted in September to block the regulations. The House had backed them this past summer, but reversed its stance last month in a nonbinding vote.
Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, the lead Democratic sponsor of the provision blocking the overtime rules and an ally of Specter, blamed his colleague's decision to abandon the fight on Bush administration pressure.
"Just in time for the holidays, the White House has delivered another gift for big business, along with a pay cut for millions of working families," Harkin said in a prepared statement.
It was unclear what, if anything, Specter recved in return for his decision.
The department says its proposal would require that 1.3 million low-wage workers now ineligible for overtime pay to start recving it or a salary boost.
Bush got his way on overtime. Now thousands of LI'ers who are paying the mortage from overtime are screwed!
Thank your local Republican
________
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Nov. 22, 2003, 12:57AM
Bush wins overtime battle with labor
Pressure causes key foe to give up
WASHINGTON -- Foes of the Bush administration's proposed rules changing which workers would qualify for overtime pay abandoned thr fight Friday in the face of unrelenting pressure from the White House and the House.
Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the chief Republican opponent of the new rules, agreed to drop a provision killing the regulations from a massive spending bill, lawmakers, congressional aides and lobbyists said.
Critics of the new rules said they could lead to 8 million Americans losing eligibility for overtime pay, largely white-collar workers earning more than $65,000 a year. Administration officials say more than 644,000 such employees would lose the time-and-a-half pay now required when they work more than 40 hours in a week.
The dispute was the biggest hurdle to completion of a huge, overdue bill financing dozens of federal agencies that Congress' leaders want to complete before lawmakers leave town for the year.
With the overtime fight resolved, it was possible that the spending bill -- exceeding $280 billion, one-ghth of the entire federal budget -- could be approved by the House this weekend and by the Senate early next week.
The end of the overtime battle spelled a legislative and political victory for President Bush, whose aides had repeatedly threatened a veto for any legislation attempting to kill the proposed regulations.
The months-long battle pitted big business and its GOP allies against organized labor and congressional Democrats.
Specter, a moderate from a state where organized labor has considerable clout, faces a difficult re-election fight next year, including a primary challenge from a conservative.
The Bush administration and business leaders say the new rules are a badly needed modernization of overtime rules that in many cases are vague and decades old.
Specter and his aides could not immediately be reached for comment. Earlier in the day, he and his supporters said they would continue thr fight.
Specter had also acknowledged that he was feeling boxed in by threats from congressional leaders to delete the language blocking the rules from the spending bill. That would force him to decide whether to oppose the overall spending measure -- a vote that in effect would be a vote to shut down numerous federal agencies over the issue.
The Senate voted in September to block the regulations. The House had backed them this past summer, but reversed its stance last month in a nonbinding vote.
Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, the lead Democratic sponsor of the provision blocking the overtime rules and an ally of Specter, blamed his colleague's decision to abandon the fight on Bush administration pressure.
"Just in time for the holidays, the White House has delivered another gift for big business, along with a pay cut for millions of working families," Harkin said in a prepared statement.
It was unclear what, if anything, Specter recved in return for his decision.
The department says its proposal would require that 1.3 million low-wage workers now ineligible for overtime pay to start recving it or a salary boost.
Bush got his way on overtime. Now thousands of LI'ers who are paying the mortage from overtime are screwed!
Thank your local Republican
________
Extreme vaporizers (http://vaporizers.net/extreme-vaporizer)