From our friends at Americans United for Change:

This morning, in yet another slap to the face of struggling,
out-of-work Americans, miserly GOP Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky again roadblocked measures in the Senate to extend unemployment benefits to 400,000 Americans and subsidies for affordable health care for thousands more. 

Senator Bunning’s “tough s—t” message to millions of struggling Americans, including 119,230 in Kentucky, was enthusiastically approved by Republican leaders.

It’s a sad new low for a party that believes they can gain politically keeping Washington in gridlock – drawing a line in the sand on virtually every issue, no matter how uncontroversial from creating jobs to financial regulatory reform to funding for our troops to health insurance reform and now unemployment and health care assistance for their constituents who need it most.

FYI – check out this new web video below on what the Lexington Herald-Leader calls Senator Bunning’s “callous grandstanding,”:

While the Senate is seeking agreement on jobs legislation, states will need to start reprogramming their unemployment insurance (UI) computers before the current federal benefit extensions and COBRA subsidies are scheduled to end on February 28.

Senate Majority Leader Reid attempted to get unanimous consent to move a stop-gap extension of the programs through March 7 while negotiations continue, but Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) objected.

Without timely congressional action, workers losing jobs after February 28 will only be eligible for 26 weeks of basic state benefits, and those participating in the federal extension programs will only be able to complete the extension in which they are participating, possibly losing months of assistance.

While most observers believe an extension ultimately will pass, the delay will cause mass confusion among the over 10 million unemployed workers receiving unemployment checks and cause states to spend unnecessary time and resources shutting down the extension software, responding to calls from UI claimants, and then starting up the programs again.

This message regarding President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address comes from AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee.

President Obama made it clear last night that he will fight for jobs. He knows that we cannot lose sight of the millions of working families who are still suffering from the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression. Too many Americans are out of work and too many jobs are at risk.

The President and Congress must act now or millions of Americans could lose their jobs in the months ahead. To this point, the President reminded the Democrats of their obligation to lead and served notice to Republicans that ‘just say no’ is not an option.

AFSCME agrees with the President that America needs to lay a foundation for long-term economic growth, and we continue to believe that providing affordable, quality health care for millions of additional Americans is not only the right thing to do, but is also a key to economic recovery.

We also agree that federal action is needed to keep our economy from slipping back into the ditch. Too many services in communities across the country are being cut to the bone. AFSCME members understand this first hand. Members like you are on the front lines of this crisis, trying to do more and more with less and less. State and local governments need help and they need it now.

AFSCME will fight for robust investment in vital public services. Indeed, investment in public services must be a part of federal jobs legislation. In the coming weeks and months, we will call you, our 1.6 million members, to lend your voice to our efforts to make this happen.

AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee released the following statement regarding President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, which is expected to focus on saving and creating jobs as our nation struggles to climb out of the economic crisis:

“President Obama addresses the nation tonight after pulling the American economy back from the brink of a second Depression. Unfortunately, we have learned in the past year that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was not big enough to stimulate a full-scale recovery. Unless we act now, more Americans –- including nearly a million public employees –- could lose their jobs as current federal investments run out and the vital services Americans need during tough times are cut to the bone. There simply won’t be an economic recovery if Washington turns its back on Main Street USA.

“Economists from all sides of the political spectrum agree that one of the best ways to save and create American jobs is through vigorous investments in public services. For example, respected economist Mark Zandi, a former advisor to Sen. John McCain, estimates that every dollar invested in public services yields $1.38 in economic growth.

“Investing in public sector jobs creates jobs in the private sector. Federal funding is needed to keep our streets safe, our children educated and our families in good health. As living, breathing engines of economic development, AFSCME members urge President Obama and members of Congress to focus like a laser beam on saving and creating American jobs by including robust investments in public services in any upcoming jobs legislation.”

AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee issued the following statement regarding the election results in Massachusetts:

“Martha Coakley’s defeat last night was a reminder that Americans are still struggling and sent a wake up call that our elected leaders need to deliver on job creation and on saving jobs. The simplistic analysis, pumped up by Republican and insurance company rhetoric, is to blame health care reform for Coakley’s defeat. But in fact, Americans continue to support the key components of health care reform, such as assuring affordability and prohibiting denials for pre-existing conditions. And we must fix health care now if our economy is to improve.

“As we head into 2010, we must heed the lessons of last night. We must show bold action and determination by passing real health care reform now. And we must pass a jobs bill that saves existing jobs and creates new American jobs. Accomplishing these goals will inspire confidence that Democrats know how to govern by fulfilling their promises, rather than abandoning their principles when the going gets tough.”

With Congress on the verge of passing historic health care reform, opponents are apparently willing to do just about anything to stop our efforts to fix the health care crisis, drive costs down and cover all Americans.

Among our key priorities, AFSCME is fighting to maintain important consumer protections in health care reform, and to rein in the abusive practices of the industry. The insurance industry has fought to undermine any new proposed regulations, even those they have publicly agreed to. Unfortunately, much of their lobbying is hidden and grossly underreported.

Now an explosive expose by the National Journal reports that the insurance industry secretly spent as much as $20 million on recent ads attacking health care reform, scaring the public and spreading misinformation. Big insurance companies, including Aetna, Cigna, Humana, UnitedHealth Group and Wellpoint, funneled millions through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and front groups to hide their contributions and negative campaign while they acted like they were willing to make a deal.

The industry’s covert tactics to protect their bottom line demonstrate why we need strong market reforms, such as ensuring access to a national health insurance buying pool with strong federal oversight, and stopping insurers from finding new and creative ways to deny care based on pre-existing conditions and other factors.

The health care crisis is dragging down our economy and making Americans sick, yet all the insurance industry cares about is their profits.

A group of 16 unions, including AFSCME, representing nearly nine million federal and postal employees and retirees sent a letter to key leaders in Congress this week calling for the removal of the proposed excise tax on high-cost insurance plans included in the Senate’s version of health reform legislation.

As reported by the Huffington Post, the unions object to the so-called “Cadillac tax” because it will unfairly target working-class families.

From the letter:

Characterizing this tax proposal as a “Cadillac tax” is a misnomer. It hits the average blue collar and white collar employee or annuitant. FEHBP [Federal Employees Health Benefits Program] insurers will simply reduce coverage and, as the taxes increase, a downward spiral towards less coverage will ensue, which is antithetical to health care reform’s states purpose. Penalizing FEHBP enrollees with this tax is a huge disincentive to qualified applicants seeking federal or postal employment. It is bad for the government and bad policy overall.

The following unions signed the letter:

American Federation of Government Employees
American Foreign Service Association
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
American Postal Workers Union
Federal Managers Association
Laborers’ International Union of North America
National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association
National Air Traffic Controller Association
National Association of Letter Carriers
National Association of Postal Supervisors
National Association of Postmasters of the United States
National League of Postmasters of the United States
National Postal Mail Handlers Union
National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association
National Treasury Employees Union
Professional Aviation Safety Specialists

Read the full letter. (PDF)

This entry by AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee is cross-posted from Huffington Post and Firedoglake.

Working families are struggling with the high cost of health care, yet the health care bill passed by the U.S. Senate on Christmas Eve would tax their health care benefits. That’s a terrible mistake. Unfortunately, even some progressive leaders, like my friend Sen. John Kerry, have been taken in by myths that favor the tax. In a Huffington Post article published earlier this week, Senator Kerry asserts that an excise tax on high cost health plans will help control health care costs without taxing workers. The facts simply don’t support his conclusion.

According to the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), the vast majority of revenue collected from the tax will come from individual income taxes and joint filers and not by insurance companies. Employers will respond to the tax by reducing the benefits they offer employees, so they can fit their premium charges under the tax threshold. To the extent insurance companies pay the tax, the tax will be directly passed through to employers and employees in the form of higher premium charges.

If Congress decides to tax health care benefits for the first time in American history, it will be middle class workers across America who will pay the price. The first thing employers will do is slash the health care benefits they provide to avoid the cost of the new tax. For years, workers have given up wage increases in order to protect their health benefits. Now, those workers and their families will lose the health benefits on which they rely.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and many supporters of the excise tax on health care benefits claim employers will pass along cost savings to their employees in the form of raises. They may also believe in the tooth fairy. According to a recent Towers-Perrin study of 433 executives from midsize and large companies, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, when asked what they would do, “If health care reform reduces benefit costs to the organization,” only 9 percent of the executives responded by saying they would increase salaries. The Economic Policy Institute backs up that study with convincing research demonstrating that “health care cost increases do not correspond to major movements in wages or compensation.”

Many of the proponents of the excise tax, including Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Peter Orszag, see virtue in the fact that it will force companies to trim their benefits and require workers to pick-up more of their health care tab. That’s a double whammy for workers. More importantly, it is certainly not the “change” our members expected when they knocked on doors and cast their ballots for President Obama and Vice President Biden. We believed their promise that health care reform would include a guarantee that workers who liked their health care benefits would keep them. A tax that falls disproportionately on older workers, workers at smaller firms and others with decent but not extravagant health care does not keep that promise. And it does not make sense.

The excise tax is not essential, or even relevant, to health care reform. The excise tax is a tax policy, not a health care policy. The CBO’s scoring of the Senate bill underscores this point. CBO calculates that the Senate bill will decrease the federal budget deficit by $130 billion over the 2010-2019 period while the excise tax will raise $149 billion. These numbers clearly demonstrate that the excise tax is not a necessary component of health care reform, even as a financing mechanism. It is simply a method to raise revenues to reduce the deficit.

There are far better alternatives for funding health care reform, just as there are better ways to reduce the deficit. The House bill would do it by asking the wealthy to do their part through a small surcharge on families earning more than $1 million annually. It asks the wealthiest Americans, and the insurance companies responsible for skyrocketing costs, to pay their fair share. And importantly, it doesn’t unfairly place the burden of reform on America’s middle class.

Make no mistake: A tax on health benefits will increase the taxes on the middle class. It will add to the burdens faced by middle class families already struggling with the high cost of health care coverage. It is a big mistake that needs to be corrected before Congress finalizes the bill. We are at a pivotal moment in the debate. The time for action is upon us. President Obama and members of the House must tell the Senate that their misguided and unnecessary tax on health benefits cannot survive in the final version of health care reform.

This message comes from Chuck Loveless, AFSCME Director of Legislation.

Help start the New Year off right — by finally making quality, affordable health care for all a reality.

Here’s what’s happening: the U.S. Senate passed its version of health care reform on Christmas Eve, and now Democratic leaders are merging the bill with the one passed by the House of Representatives in November. Once leaders have a final bill, it must again win passage in both the House and Senate before being sent to President Obama’s desk for his signature.

That’s why I hope you’ll send a message to Senator Reid and Speaker Pelosi — they’re working out the final details and we need to make sure they finish reform right.

This is our last chance to make sure our historic health care reform actually fixes the health care crisis, drives costs down, and covers all Americans. Two changes are key to making sure that the final bill delivers the reform that Americans desperately need:

1. Our health benefits must not be taxed. Middle-class families must be able to afford health insurance and employers must be asked to provide good health coverage for their employees.
2. Insurance companies must be held accountable with strong regulations and consumer protections, and we must be given the choice of a national public health insurance option available on day one.

Please send a message to Senator Reid and Speaker Pelosi right now and demand that the final reform bill include the choice and competition of a public health insurance option and doesn’t tax our health care benefits.

Thanks to your ongoing phone calls, e-mails, and faxes we got this far and passed a strong bill in the House of Representatives. But the Senate bill is much weaker and it taxes our benefits — that’s why your voice is needed today.

Please send your message right now and spread the word by posting this action on Facebook or Twitter.

From Americans United for Change:

It’s the first lunch hour of the first work day of a new decade and the average CEO has already earned more money than a minimum wage worker will make all year.

Even after as we continue to dig out of this financial hole, the average total compensation for a CEO in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index was $10.9 million in 2008, which translates to about $5,240 an hour, compared to the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

Happy New Year.