President Bush has already vetoed health care for 10 million kids through the Children’s Health Insurance Program. And he vetoed the health care, education, veterans and cancer research programs contained in the Labor-Health and Human Services-Education (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill. Now Bush is refusing to sign any appropriations bill that invests more than he requested – which is less than what’s needed — in critical funding for millions of hardworking Americans.

The following is a good synopsis from the Emergency Campaign for America’s Priorities on Bush’s budget. In short, the American people got scrooged:

The U.S. House of Representatives passed an ‘omnibus’ appropriations package that funds the 11 appropriations bills that have yet to pass for fiscal year 2008. The bill adheres to President Bush’s requested domestic funding levels, but shifts funds to better reflect our priorities as a country. The omnibus takes important steps to reverse cuts to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), housing programs, and the President’s plan to cut $654 million in grants to community action agencies that help lower-income Americans. But the bill falls far short of funding the critically needed programs so many Americans rely on.

President Bush may have gotten his way on the spending levels in the omnibus bill, but he shouldn’t declare victory just yet – not unless victory means fewer children with health care, less funding for schools and teachers, less investment in cancer and disease research, and lower investment in our country’s infrastructure.

Check out Chris Bowers’ post on Open Left regarding the ideological shift of the National Labor Relations Board. It should more aptly be called the “No” Labor Relations Board. With four of its five members appointed by President Bush, the board has made it harder for workers to join unions but easier for employers to block unions and fire workers for organizing.

Chris, a former union organizer, also covered the recent House and Senate hearings on the NLRB for the AFL-CIO Now blog.

Have you ever heard the argument that cutting taxes can lead to greater government revenue? It’s sort of like having your cake and eating it too — the argument is too good to be true, and this article from TIME Magazine provides the proof.

Here’s a hint: us.

In 2003, the Republican-controlled Congress passed so-called “Medicare Advantage” – a law allowing private insurance companies to provide seniors with a private plan as an alternative to traditional Medicare benefits.

There is only one problem. The Congressional Budget Office subsequently found that private plans are paid an average of 12 percent more, or $1,000 a year, to cover a Medicare beneficiary than traditional plans.

According to AFSCME’s recent testimony to the U.S. House, “Over the next 10 years, these overpayments to insurance companies will cost an additional $160 billion” to taxpayers.

Think about it: $160 billion in subsidies to private insurers. Subsidies that could be used, among other things, to improve prescription drug benefits or expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) so that it covers more children from low-income families. Meanwhile, Medicare participants are forced to pay higher premiums for their coverage.

Even with these windfall subsidies many of these private plans, which claim to be better than traditional Medicare, don’t deliver on their promises. As the independent Government Accountability Office found, Medicare Advantage often doesn’t provide access to providers and is a bad deal for the seniors who need the most care.

This is but one of the reasons why AFSCME opposes Medicare privatization and supports the repeal of these overpayments.

For more information on Medicare Advantage, visit this special section at AFSCME.org.

Richard Womack, an assistant to AFL-CIO Pres. John Sweeney, is the latest recipient of the Bill Lucy Lifetime Achievement Award.

As Womack said:

“I was surprised and honored that they were considering me. I consider Bill Lucy to be the consummate labor statesman because of the stands he has taken over the years to enhance the lives of working people both in this country and around the world.”

Named after AFSCME International Secretary-Treasurer and Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) Pres. William Lucy , the recognition is given to a trade unionist whose life work demonstrates a commitment to activism and engagement on behalf of working people. It is presented by the Memphis, Tenn., regional chapter of the CBTU .

To read more, see the post on the AFL-CIO blog.