|
Pentagon pushes end buy american { May 11 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.dailypress.com/news/columnists/dp-04235cm0may11,0,7715922.column?coll=dp-news-columnistshttp://www.dailypress.com/news/columnists/dp-04235cm0may11,0,7715922.column?coll=dp-news-columnists
Pair of votes pleases civilian workers, shipbuilding firms
Published May 11 2003
WASHINGTON -- Civilian defense employees worried about a new "pay for performance" plan that would abolish guaranteed annual pay increases probably can breathe a little easier.
The Senate Armed Services Committee declined to include the plan in its 2004 defense authorization bill, which was completed in secret last week.
The plan has triggered a storm of protests from employees, labor unions and many lawmakers, who say the measure would strip civilian defense workers of many basic civil-service protections, such as the right to collective bargaining.
The Pentagon is pushing for the right to win broad flexibility in hiring and firing, as well as in pay and promotion, saying it needs a more agile workforce to better respond to 21st-century threats.
In the House, Republicans muscled the legislation through the Government Reform Committee last week on a party-line vote. The House Armed Services Committee will consider the measure Tuesday.
But the Senate committee action last week- headed by Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va.- suggests the initiative is not likely to get very far, at least not without some major rewriting.
The drive to give Pentagon managers greater flexibility would affect more than 700,000 civilian defense workers nationwide, including thousands in Hampton Roads.
BUYING AMERICAN
The shipbuilding industry scored a modest victory last week when the Senate Armed Services Committee effectively quashed a Pentagon push for broad authority to buy weapons and parts from foreign suppliers.
Shipyards, other business groups and labor unions fear the proposed rewriting of decades-old "Buy American" laws would trigger an exodus of manufacturing jobs to overseas markets and an erosion of the U.S. defense industrial base.
The Pentagon said it needs more flexibility to go overseas when a part is needed quickly and U.S. contractors can't provide it at a competitive price.
As part of its defense authorization bill, the Senate committee provides "limited flexibility" to waive "Buy American" requirements if supplies are needed quickly for troops overseas, a committee aide said.
But the bill specifically prohibits waivers that would affect the shipbuilding and ship repair industry- a provision that likely reflects the handiwork of Warner, the committee chairman.
The House Armed Services Committee will consider the plan Tuesday.
TAX TALK
Republicans pushed a 10-year, $550 billion tax-cut bill through the House on Friday that exposed a sharp ideological divide on fiscal policy.
Republicans argued, as they did in 2001, that a massive tax cut would stimulate the economy, strengthen the stock market and create jobs.
"This legislation is about improving our economy by lowering the taxes that people are forced to pay to the federal government, so they can in turn spend their own money on the things they need for themselves and their family," said Rep. Jo Ann S. Davis, R-Gloucester. "That is how we improve the economy - not turning over a third of our income to Washington."
Democrats countered that another major tax cut, targeted mostly to the wealthy, would only swell a federal budget deficit that is already expected to set a record this year.
They fault President Bush's $1.3 trillion tax cut of two years ago as a major contributor to the mounting red ink.
"How bad does it have to get before we acknowledge that it did not work?" asked Rep. Robert C. Scott, D-Newport News, a new member of the House Budget Committee. "What did we get? We got debt. If we left the budget alone, we would have paid off the national debt by 2008. Instead, in 2008 we are going to have almost $5 trillion in debt."
The House bill would lower income tax rates, as well as levies on capital gains and small business investments. It also accelerates some tax breaks approved in 2001, such as increasing the $600-per-child tax credit to $1,000.
But it stops short of Bush's proposal to eliminate the taxes that shareholders pay on corporate dividends. Instead, the House plan would lower the rates on such payments.
The measure cleared the Republican-controlled House on a party-line vote of 222 to 203.
But Senate Republicans are divided on the plan, with some moderates pushing for a tax cut no greater than $350 billion.
David Lerman can be reached at (202) 824-8224 or by e-mail at dlerman@tribune.com
Copyright © 2003, Daily Press
|
|
