Ice Chills Big Day at Statehouse

What was shaping up to be a day of MAJOR committee hearings at the Statehouse on Wednesday fell victim to Mother Nature. Among the bills that were scheduled for debate — and we mean real debate:

  • A lengthy immigration battle was set for the Senate chambers; it has been moved to the afternoon of Feb. 9. Senator Mike Delph had promised a few weeks ago to pursue Arizona-type legislation, but word in recent days was that some of the more stringent provisions were being deleted. Either way, passions will be on display.
  • Assignment of benefits was scheduled to reappear in the House. This controversial health care billing procedure would potentially raise costs for employers and employees.
  • An education double-header was on tap. Teacher quality was to be the focus of the Senate Education and Career Development Committee in the afternoon, following the House Education panel tackling reform initiatives in an early gathering in the House chambers.

All these issues may end up on committee agendas next Wednesday, or some special meetings may be arranged.

Some legislators were scattering for home on Tuesday after General Assembly activity was cancelled. Ice in Central Indiana and massive snow in the north did not make for a good combination. We would expect activity to resume today but some legislators, particularly from the north, may not be able to return if indeed they vacated earlier in the week.

Polled Over: Let Us Know Your Thoughts

Sick of polls? Hope not. Because during the legislative session, we’ll post a weekly poll question on our blog (top, right) and try to gauge your thoughts on some of Indiana’s most critical issues.

To kick things off, we’re asking: "There is a proposal to model an Indiana immigration law after the one that has been implemented in Arizona. Do you support that proposal for Indiana?" You can simply vote, or leave a comment regarding the topic as well. As usual, please keep it civil and germane to the topic.

Additionally, we have a question up on the site of BizVoice magazine asking about your favorite Indiana sports movie. This poll complements this article, as well as an upcoming segment on Inside INdiana Business next weekend.

How Much Will the Punch Line to This Joke Hurt?

The old joke, although some are not laughing too loudly, if at all, these days, is that democracy is safe when our elected reps and senators are away from Washington.

No joke because many actions in the capital have been, to put it mildly, counterproductive to employers and employees having the ability to succeed. No joke because there are so many issues that need to be addressed in a positive fashion.

The Chamber warned through several venues last week that lawmakers, just back from their extended August recess, were ready to hit the campaign trail once again. That seems to be the case, with this report from CQ Politics

Congressional leaders had a lengthy set of priorities for September, including a defense authorization bill, an immigration measure, food safety legislation, expiring tax policy extensions and fiscal 2011 appropriations. Rank-and-file Democrats and Republicans in both chambers angled for action on additional bills dealing with energy issues, stem cell research and proposals to boost the stagnant economy.

And House Democratic leaders said they were ready to take up anything the Senate passed.

But by the end of last week, Democratic leaders had punted all those issues until after the Nov. 2 elections, setting the stage for a possible pre-election recess as early as Oct. 1. The only items left on the to-do list were a small-business tax and lending package and a stopgap appropriations measure — known as a continuing resolution, or CR — to keep the government running until lawmakers return in mid-November.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., said that completion of the $725.7 billion fiscal 2011 defense authorization bill would have to wait until after the elections. Republicans had signaled they would block the bill from even coming to the floor because they have not been allowed votes on their priorities.

Reid additionally put off action on the food safety measure until the November lame-duck session. “We are very limited in the time we have before the election,” he said.

Democrats have said they only hope to “debate” before the elections an extension of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts that expire at the end of the year.

With the Senate gridlocked, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, has based her chamber’s agenda on what the other body can pass.

Another Blow to Public Confidence in Political Leaders

This isn’t a commentary on immigration; it’s a condemnation of political games. And while this is a Democrat example, there are plenty of similar shenanigans taking place on the other side of the aisle.

Really! How can political leaders expect the public they serve to have confidence in them when the focus is simply on saving their own jobs? CongressDaily reports:

Without enough votes firmly in hand, Senate Democratic leaders know they face an uphill battle to pass an immigration measure next week that would enable young adults in the country illegally to become citizens.

But lawmakers and immigration experts said that even if the abrupt campaign to pass the bill goes down in flames, it still could boost
turnout at the voting booths for Democrats in November’s midterm elections and blunt Republican attempts to take over one or both chambers of Congress.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that he wants to attach the DREAM Act to the FY11 defense authorization bill when it is brought to the Senate floor next week.

Immigration and defense together in one bill? C’mon! And for all the wrong reasons.

Arizona & Its Hotel Industry Working to Enhance PR

Upon the announcement of its new immigration law a couple of months ago, Arizona incurred a firestorm from opponents, media and protestors that burned hotter than … Arizona in July. But now, the Grand Canyon State is working to rework its image via a new PR campaign partially funded by a hotel trade association. USA Today writes:

Arizona plans to spend $250,000 on a public relations campaign to counter concerns about its controversial, new immigration law and promote itself as "a safe and welcoming destination." The state’s hotel trade group will add another $30,000 to the effort, according to the Associated Press.

The PR campaign is one of the recommendations presented publicly yesterday by a tourism task force appointed by Gov. Jan Brewer to address the state’s tourism industry, the AP reports. The findings came as the ACLU on Wednesday issued "travel alerts" to Arizona visitors in advance of the Fourth of July weekend to inform travelers of their rights if stopped by police.

The task force was charged with finding ways to aid Arizona’s tourism industry as it grapples with fallout from the law that Brewer signed in April, the article says. The law is set to take affect on July 29 barring any legal action. The law has sparked boycotts and outright travel bans from cities large and small, school districts and other municipal bodies at a time when travel is gradually starting to rebound from a two-year downturn.

The state should hire a PR firm "to help manage the existing dialogue and clarify the facts" regarding the immigration law, the AP article says. That effort could include getting into editorials into U.S. newspapers and conducting interviews in key visitor markets.

Brewer two weeks ago approved the recommendations, which paves the way for state agencies and the Arizona Hotel and Lodging Association to carry them out, the story says. The story did not detail what role the Arizona hotel group will play besides making a financial donation.

The recommendations also direct Arizona to "change the tone of the dialogue to reflect the true implications and tangible effects that boycotts have on the lives and families on the most vulnerable tourism employees," the AP reports.

The law requires that police enforce another law to ask people about their immigration status if there is "reasonable suspicion" that the people are in the USA illegally, the story says.

Will It Be Politics Over Policy in Congress?

In the final years of the Bush administration, Washington was noted for its lack of substantive action on Capitol Hill. In 2009, many were wishing for a switch back to the previous inaction. In 2010, it’s "are we going to get anything done because we have to get re-elected and we don’t want to make anyone mad?"

Excerpts from a CongressDaily analysis of what’s to come:

House and Senate Democrats plan a 2010 agenda aimed at leaving the second half of the 111th Congress as firmly identified in the public’s mind with economic measures as 2009 was with healthcare reform. In 2010, virtually every bill will be sold as a jobs bill.

That agenda suggests 2010’s legislative output will be far leaner than last year’s, and could once again bode badly for key measures that were shoved aside in the push to pass healthcare legislation.

And if Massachusetts state GOP Sen. Scott Brown defeats Martha Coakley, the state’s Democratic attorney general, in a special election today to give Senate Republicans a 41st vote, virtually every key 2010 initiative, including health care, will be endangered in the Senate. Democrats last year regularly needed 60 votes to move legislation, and Republicans might be even less cooperative in an election year.

Despite a continued push by backers, climate change legislation, which the House has passed, and an overhaul of immigration law appear to face long odds of passage, according to congressional aides and lawmakers.

"It is going to be a very hard year to do what we have to do to meet the needs of the American people and to maintain the fiscal soundness. And that requires some very tough decisions," House Speaker Pelosi has warned.

Pelosi, echoed by other top House Democrats, said she is determined this year to reduce the deficit, which the CBO says hit $1.4 trillion at the end of FY09 and is projected to hit $1.5 trillion for FY10.

But how to pair these seemingly conflicting goals — passing multi-billion-dollar, job-creating packages with cutting spending and reducing the deficit — must await, in part, the president’s budget, set for release in early February.

Many observers speculate Senate Majority Leader Reid will push an energy bill aimed a creating green jobs and improving energy infrastructure without a cap-and-trade provision that Republicans argue amounts to a major energy tax. In a statement last week, a Reid spokeswoman mentioned "clean energy legislation," financial regulatory reform and immigration among priorities for the first half of the year.

Getting Some Work in Before Recess

When young students take a daily break from their learning activities, it’s called recess. When members of Congress take scheduled breaks from activities in Washington, the same name applies. There must be a joke in there somewhere.

Anyway, the next recess for Congress is from June 29-July 3. That leaves this week to tackle the ongoing list of weighty issues. What is on the agenda?

  • Climate change legislation is not expected to make it to the House floor despite the wishes of Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman. He says a lack of trust for the "farm community" toward the Environmental Protection Agency is among the roadblocks
  • The House is expected to pass a $680 billion defense authorization bill for fiscal year 2010. Controversy includes the issue of transferring military prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to U.S. soil
  • Health care reform debate goes on with the Senate committee amending its 600-page bill and three House committees looking at an 852-page offering (some of this paper could probably be put to better use in the schools)
  • A high-level White House meeting on immigration reform is expected Thursday. Who knows what will emerge from that gathering

I really need some assistance with that "recess" punch line. HELP!

Immigration Reform: Yes or No in 2009

President Obama surprised many a few weeks ago by tossing immigration reform back onto the long list of priority issues for 2009.

There is no doubt that the topic, and any potential solutions, belongs at the federal level. Will something be accomplished in this year of stimulus, spending, proposed health care and environmental reform, and much more? I believe not, but that is yet to be seen.

Charles Schumer (D-New York), immigation subcommittee chairman for the Senate Judiciary panel, plans to get the ball rolling this week with a hearing to try and determine the feasibility of legislation to give the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.

Supporters want the effort to resume full force in the fall. Opponents cite the difficult economic times and not wanting immigrants taking hard-to-find jobs from others.

Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan is expected to testify this week, looking at the economic impact of the legislation.

Chamber Shares Updates on Federal Issues

Federal issues — and the price tags attached to many of the efforts and proposals — were featured in today’s Policy Issue Conference Call for Chamber members. Cameron Carter, who leads the Chamber’s federal lobbying efforts, discussed a variety of topics.

Add up the numbers — $1.2 trillion in stimulus, $750 billion in TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program), $410 billion in additional 2009 budget appropriations and proposed 2010 budgets from the House, Senate and White House of approximately $3.5 trillion — and as Carter said, "We’re looking at debt levels not seen since the end of World War II." The expected $1.75 trillion deficit in a single year is projected to double the existing debt in five years and triple it within 10 years.

Some of the other discussion points:

  • Employee Free Choice Act: Senate is now several votes short of what it needs for cloture. The issue is not going away, however, with a potential return to the agenda in June or July.
  • Environmental carbon tax, and cap and trade provisions that would "increase the cost of all goods we consume." While the goal of protecting the environment is laudable, the creation of a market for carbon emissions will produce a price tag beyond comprehension. Carter says to expect some type of legislation yet this year.
  • Health care: Another top President Obama priority, Carter calls it a "stealth" procedure thus far, putting elements of health care reform into the stimulus package and budget resolutions. While a health care bill itself with the goal of providing insurance for all is on the way, the strategy thus far in this area and others of "policymaking within budget resolutions" is concerning. The reason it’s being done: it takes 51 votes in the Senate to pass budget matters, compared to the 60 needed for cloture on other issues to allow debate to move forward.
  • Immigration reform: In the past week, Obama cited this as another top priority to an already crowded plate for Congress. That may lead, Carter offers, to something else falling by the wayside.

Carter also discussed the more high profile roles for Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh (one of the leaders of a Moderate Dems Working Group) and Rep. Mike Pence (chairman of the House Republican Conference). He closed with a simple "no" when asked if he had any desire to be working on these issues in Washington — where he served on the staff of Sen. Richard Lugar in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

That’s OK. He and others working to protect the business interests of Indiana companies and their employees will have their hands full right here in the Hoosier state. 

U.S. Chamber, SHRM File Lawsuit Over E-Verify

From the "please stop giving businesses even more hoops to jump through" file, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the U.S. Chamber are joining forces (along with three other trade groups) in a lawsuit against the U.S. government regarding a recent E-Verify executive order. They charge that requiring federal contractors to use the Dept. of Homeland Security’s E-Verify system to confirm if employees are legally eligible to work in the U.S. is illegal.

"This massive expansion of E-Verify is not only bad policy, it’s unlawful," said Robin Conrad, executive vice president of the National Chamber Litigation Center, the chamber’s public policy law firm. "The administration can’t use an executive order to circumvent federal immigration and procurement laws. Federal law explicitly prohibits the secretary of Homeland Security from making E-Verify mandatory or from using it to reauthorize the existing workforce."

The case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, is Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. v. Chertoff, et al. It challenges both the reauthorization and the government’s use of an executive order coupled with federal procurement law to make E-Verify mandatory for federal contractors with projects exceeding $100,000 and for subcontractors with projects exceeding $3,000.

"The DHS intends to expand E-Verify on an unprecedented scale in a very short timeframe and to impose liability on government contractors who are unable to comply," said Randy Johnson, vice president of Labor, Immigration and Employee Benefits at the chamber. "Given the current economy, now is not the time to add more bureaucracy and billions of dollars in compliance costs to America’s businesses."

Hat tip to Chamber staffer Glenn Harkness for the link.