Legislative
Africa Trade Bill
The lobbying has begun early on this trade bill. Already the Ferralloy
Association has begun vocalizing against its passage, arguing that provisions allowing
for an automatic waiver providing duty-free imports of various materials from the
region would hurt the industry. The domestic steel industry also has
expressed concerns that the bill will provide preferential trade treatment for mature
competitors, but has not yet started active lobbying against it.
However, the bill still has strong bipartisan congressional and
administration support, almost guaranteeing passage in the spring.
New Tax Break Bill
Companies that benefit from international trade could get a federal
tax break by setting up employee stock option plans under a proposal being
introduced by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR). Companies could get a one-time
deduction of $250,000, the cost to set up the plans. Companies could start the
plan only after the Commerce Department concluded that trade helped boost
the gross domestic product.
Employees would be eligible for up to $2,000 under what Wyden calls
"trade bonuses" and would not have to pay
capital gains taxes on the proceeds. The Senator plans to formally introduce his
plan as a bill in Congress early this year.
Patients' Bill of Rights
The House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) stated, "Patients' access
to health care is something that I've worked on for 10 years. We're going to make that happen this year, and it's going to be part of a reform process in health care."
However, business leaders are beginning a grassroots campaign designed
to support members of Congress who opposed the bill in the past. The effort
will zero in on moderate Republican senators - especially those up for re-election -
who did not sign onto the Democratic bill. The goal is to generate vocal
insistence by small and large business chiefs - as well as their workers - that a right to sue would cause health care costs to rise and swell the ranks of the uninsured.
Minimum Wage Increase
Some form of an increase in the minimum wage is expected to be
approved, possibly in conjunction with the bankruptcy bill, during this second half of
the Congressional session. Business lobbyists have already stated their intention
to make sure the increase is accompanied by tax breaks for businesses. The
Speaker of the House has predicted that a proposed $1-an-hour increase will be one
of the first things voted on. Mr. Hastert added that he supports the increase,
but only if it is offset by substantial tax relief for businesses.
Electricity Deregulation
Both the House Commerce and Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Committees have indicated they will make federal electricity deregulation a
priority this year. The Senate Committee plans to have a series of hearings on the
issue early in 2000. The House Commerce Chairman Thomas Bliley (R-VA) has
indicated he will probably revamp the Barton bill before moving it forward.
The number of states with electric deregulation initiatives underway
has more than doubled during the past two years, with most of the restructuring coming from states with relatively high electricity rates. A new study found that 24 states have enacted legislation or issued regulatory orders on electric industry restructuring, up from 10 states
in 1997. The increased activity at the state level has increased pressure on the
federal government to pass major deregulation legislation.
Regulatory
OSHA Ergonomics Rule
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) took the
first step to require many employers to provide work spaces and equipment to
support the physical makeup of each individual doing his job, a proposal
that could cover an estimated 27 million people who work at computers, on
assembly lines or at other jobs that require either repetitive motions or heavy lifting.
The proposal has two parts. The first requires all manufacturers and
companies that have workers who do manual lifting to have a program identifying
ergonomic issues and teaching employees what to watch for. The program
would require employers to designate someone to oversee ergonomics, inform
workers about the risks and signs of injuries, and institute a system for employees to
report such problems.
The second part covers any employer that has a worker who reports an
ergonomic injury. Once that happens, the employer would have to improve
the conditions in that portion of the work place. Companies could do such things as adjusting workstations, changing the height of an assembly line, rotating jobs, slowing the pace of work, or buying equipment, such as conveyors, to mitigate strains from lifting.
Employers who have numerous injuries reported by their employees
would need more extensive programs, including training employees, analyzing
the problem, putting a fix in place, providing medical help, and monitoring
the situation for three years.
Employers would also have to offer injured and recovering workers put
on "light" duty full pay and benefits,
and 90% pay and full benefits if they cannot come to work. That protection lasts
for six months under the proposal.
OSHA estimates that, on average, it will cost $150 a year to fix a
particular problem with a workstation. Overall, implementing and enforcing the
program would cost $4.2 billion annually, the agency estimates. About 1.9
million work sites are expected to be covered by the standard when it becomes final.
Business groups counter the costs will be much higher - an estimated
$4.2 billion in annual costs to fix job sites and pay workers recovering from injuries.
The Small Business Administration estimates it will cost as much as $18 billion.
The proposed standard was introduced after almost eight years of
intense opposition from business and some Members of Congress, who insist no
rule should be issued until there is scientific evidence that "ergonomic" problems
at work cause these injuries.
OSHA was forced to pull back from issuing its proposal three times
since 1995 when lobbyists succeeded in getting language inserted into several
pieces of legislation that barred OSHA from issuing the rule. Even this year, the House had voted to put another hold on the rules, but the Senate adjourned for the year without passing similar
legislation. As a result, after lawmakers left town, OSHA took advantage of this slip and quickly rolled out its proposal.
Senator Christopher Bond (R-MO), chairman of the Senate Committee
on Small Business, has stated his opposition to the proposal. "Small business and
their workers will be severely impacted by this regulation if it goes into effect as
proposed," he stated in a press release. He added that "I am very concerned
that many people will lose their jobs and small businesses be forced to close if this
rule is finalized."
Congressman Jim Talent, Chairman of the House Small Business
Committee, plans to vigorously fight the agency as it seeks public input on the rules.
The National Association of Manufacturers has already stated it will sue
to block the program if it is finalized. The organization's spokesman
stated, "OSHA's all cost, no benefit rule
leaves no recourse but to pull out all the stops and use the force of our membership
to block the agency's unworkable and expensive regulation. Our first order
of business is to convince OSHA to extend the public comment period." Also
joining in the fight is the National Federation of Independent Business that
will create a grassroots campaign against OSHA's proposed ergonomics rule.
OSHA expects to issue a final rule sometime next year, though that is
an ambitious timetable for a proposal that has a 1,000-page preamble. OSHA
is taking comments on the proposal until Feb. 1, and will hold three public
hearings for interested parties.
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