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March 14, 2004 – NEWSLETTER
DISCHARGE PETITION
A Discharge Petition was filed last week to bring HR 594 to floor of the House for a vote. For the Discharge Petition to be a reality there must be at least 218 cosponsors.
There are at least two schools of thought on the Discharge Petition.One school sees the Discharge Petition as the only way to get HR 594 to a vote on the floor of the House. Rep. Turner, in two days, received 109 cosponsors to his Discharge Petition.
The other school of thought wants to continue negotiations with Rep. Shaw to bring HR 594 to the floor for a vote. Until last week the discussion was an academic exercise. Now the reality of a Discharge Petition is a fact and how the process plays out is important to all of us.
From Carrie Lewis – NEA
Latest News: NEA will be meeting with Representatives McKeon (R-CA) and Berman (D-CA) and Chairman Shaw (R-FL) the week of March 15 to talk about next steps in moving GPO/WEP legislation.
As reported previously, Representatives McKeon and Berman, the primary sponsors of our GPO/WEP legislation expressed NEA’s frustration with the lack of movement on GPO/WEP legislation to Clay Shaw, Chair of the Social Security Subcommittee of the House Committee on Ways and Means. Representatives McKeon and Berman reported that Chairman Shaw promised to move GPO/WEP legislation out of committee this year.
Representative Turner (D-TX) has introduced a discharge petition in the House of Representatives. (A discharge petition is a procedural mechanism to bring a bill directly to the House floor for consideration.) However, Representatives McKeon and Berman do not believe a discharge petition is necessary at this time and are not supporting it. Representatives McKeon and Berman have made movement of GPO/WEP legislation a top priority and have been encouraging Chairman Shaw to move legislation addressing the unfair Social Security offsets. NEA supports the sponsors’ strategy because we believe it offers the best chance for action.
At the upcoming meeting with Chairman Shaw, NEA will carry a strong message from our members urging immediate action on GPO/WEP legislation.
From Sue Shaw,
Activists along the GPO-WEP front need to hold up just a moment! Before everyone runs off to embrace the Discharge Petition, just introduced by Turner of Texas, there are things to consider!
It is true that Representative Turner of Texas has filed a Discharge Petition (DP) for HR594, the bill in the House that would eliminate the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision. HR594 has 290 co-sponsors (2/3 of the House), but has been stuck in committee since it was first introduced.
But--there are roads that look attractive at first that become very bumpy a few miles along the way!
I am sure that the Honorable Mr. Turner means for the best, but a Discharge Petition, although that is an acceptable line of action when bills are trapped in committee, may not be the correct road to travel at this time for this bill.
According to the National Education Association, the authors of HR594, Buck McKeon R-CA) and Howard Berman (D-CA), do not believe that a DP is the way to win. They, along with the NEA are negotiating with Clay Shaw, and Shaw has promised to allow the bill out of committee. Negotiations continue, and the NEA is hopeful. The situation is delicate, and a push with a Discharge Petition at this time may very well upset the balance.
One of the main problems with a DP is that even though people sign it, there is no guarantee they will vote for it when it comes up. Votes are often pulled in on party lines, and when that occurs in the 108th Congress, HR594 will not pass.
So—what is a DP? In a nutshell, it is a piece of legislation that requires 218 signatures that will allow the bill out of committee. There is no guarantee that it will not be changed, or that it will pass when it comes to the floor.
Remember—the National Education Association is working hard on this issue! The very best action that we can take is to keep writing to our Congressional Delegations to:
· Ask members to sign onto HR594 and S349 as cosponsors
· Ask those already signed on to convince others to join them
· Thank those who are signed on
· Tell personal stories of how the laws devastate retirement for people who have worked all of their lives and have EARNED the benefits they are being denied.
For years Rep. Shaw has refused to move on any legislation to modify or repeal the GPO and the WEP. His message was loud and clear. Legislation to repeal both GPO and WEP, HR 594, had received the same lack of attention by Rep. Shaw until recently when pressure forced Rep. Shaw to somewhat relent in his opposition. Did the pressure come from national organizations, like NEA, or from the thousands of citizens who sent mail and called his office, or is it from fellow Members of Congress who want this legislation passed, or is it the Discharge Petition, or is it an election year? My guess is that each of these factors, and probably other factors, have combined to play an important role in the emerging momentum to repeal both the GPO and WEP. Next week my provide some answers. Let’s hope so.
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