The Congressional Connector:
The Week of
September 12-16, 2005
House Adopts
Partisan Investigation of Slow Katrina Response
On September 15, on a near party-line vote of 224 to 188, the House of
Representatives adopted a resolution to create a partisan committee of House
members to investigate the slow and inadequate response to Hurricane
Katrina. House Democrats objected to a partisan approach and instead sought
the creation of an independent commission, modeled on the successful 9/11
Commission, to investigate what went wrong in the Katrina response and
ensure it does not happen again. Unfortunately, the House Leadership would
not even permit a debate and a vote on this proposal. During the debate,
Rep. Levin said, “An independent commission is the only way to get to the
bottom of this. The commission would look into every aspect of the
preparation and response to Hurricane Katrina, and let the chips fall where
they may.... The proposal before the House calls for a House investigation
that would be completely controlled by the Republican party. Republicans
would outnumber Democrats on the Committee 11 to 9. There would be no
bipartisan subpoena power. With all due respect, this would be an
investigation in name only. It would have no credibility with the American
people. You can’t have a comprehensive and fair investigation when the
people controlling that investigation have a vested interest in the
outcome.”
Lawmakers Introduce Fair Wages for Hurricane Victims Act
On September 14, Rep. Levin and 162 other House Democrats introduced
legislation that would undo President Bush’s proclamation from last week
that cuts wages for workers involved in the reconstruction of areas damaged
or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and its subsequent flooding. Under
longstanding federal law, companies that win federal construction contracts
must pay workers the prevailing wage – the wage typical for their specific
job function in the local area where the work is being completed. President
Bush’s order suspended this wage requirement indefinitely in areas affected
by Hurricane Katrina. Rep. Levin said, “At a time when families have lost so
much, it is shameful that the President has chosen this moment to slash the
already-low prevailing wage rates in the affected Gulf communities.” Adding
insult to injury, the President’s order does not even require federal
contractors to pass along the resulting savings to the taxpayer. Instead
private contractors will simply pocket the windfall.
Health Insurance Premiums Grow Three-Times Faster than Workers’ Wages
On September 14, a new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that
health insurance premiums increased 9.2 percent in 2005, or more than
three-times the growth in workers’ wages. Premiums for a family of four
averaged $10,880. The Kaiser survey also found a steady decline in the
percentage of businesses offering health insurance. In 2000, 69% of
employers offered health insurance coverage to workers. Five years later,
only 60% offered coverage. Earlier this year, the House approved legislation
to exempt many health insurance plans from state patient protection laws on
a party-line vote. Rep. Levin opposes that and other legislation to lower
health insurance quality, and instead supports a proposal which would
substantially reduce the cost of health insurance by having the federal
government cover a small number of “catastrophic” cases that drive most of
the cost in the system.
House Approves Child Safety Legislation
On September 14, the House voted 371 to 52 to approve legislation to create
a National Sex Offender Registry, which would consist of a database of every
person required to register in any jurisdiction's sex offender registry.
Although states have been required to maintain such registries since 1993,
the House-passed bill closes loopholes that have allow thousands of sex
offenders to slip through the cracks. The measure also increases penalties
for crimes against children. Rep. Levin support passage of the legislation.
