Democrats Cry Foul at a GOP Plan For $1.4 Million Labor Investigation ------------------------------------------------------------------------ By Juliet Eilperin and Jim Vande Hei With the blessing of Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga), House Republicans this week quietly dipped into a controversial reserve fund for the first time to approve a $1.4 million investigation into labor laws and union activity. In a contentious session Tuesday night, the House Oversight Committee, which controls the $8 million reserve fund, OKed a request by the Education and the Workforce Committee to give Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich) $1.4 million and 11 new staffers to launch oversight hearings on the state of American workers. Democrats, who were not informed of the plan until late Monday, complained vehemently about the scope of the probe and its financing through what they have called a GOP "slush fund." Key Republican Members told Roll Call that Hoekstra, chairman of the panel's investigation and oversight subcommittee, will use a portion of the funds to probe the AFL-CIO's political activities. "Hoekstra plans to look at the ways labor leaders are not representing workers," said Rep. Jim Greenwood (Pa), a member of GOP leadership Chairman Bill Paxon's (NY) "vision team," which plots strategy for oversight and investigations. "This will include using [compulsory] dues for political purposes." Hoekstra said that "he doesn't see how investigating [union political activity] ties into his oversight" plans. But two GOP Members said Hoekstra and Paxon's vision team discussed using the $1.4 million to flog the AFL-CIO, which spent more than $35 million last year to defeat GOP candidates nationwide. "This was coordinated with leadership, Hoekstra, and members of the Education Committee," said a member of Paxon's vision team who asked not to be identified. "The [AFL-CIO] will come up throughout this probe." Paxon's team includes Reps. Mark Souder (Ind), Mike Parker (Miss), Jo Ann Emerson (Mo), and Greenwood. Souder said: "I would expect the [AFL-CIO] to come up because of the Beck decision," the 1988 Supreme Court ruling that restricts union leaders from forcing rank-and-file workers to help fund political activities. Rep. Cass Ballenger (R-NH), who sits on the Education and the Workforce Committee, said the new group would investigate issues ranging from alleged corruption in setting Davis-Bacon wage standards to whether unions violated federal labor practices by hiring young organizers last summer to help with union campaigns. "I would think we could find some stuff," Ballenger said. "It's there. It will probably take staff to do it." Hoekstra's plan, which allocates 70 percent of the investigation's resources to the majority and the rest to the minority, calls for hiring 11 Republican and five Democratic aides. The new positions, which would exceed the committee's staff ceiling of 75, include three attorneys, a $70,000 communications director, and a $25,000 media assistant. It also proposed hiring a $95,000 project manager and two researchers. Democrats are furious not only with the GOP's plans to slap the AFL-CIO, but also with the manner in which House Republicans approved the investigation. Democrats charge that they were not informed of the GOP's plans to release the $1.4 million until less than 24 hours before the House Oversight panel approved the plan. GOP sources said the plan was purposely kept secret until the 11th hour. Democrats were also outraged that House Oversight Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif) did not postpone the meeting until ranking member Sam Gejdenson (D-Conn) could return from a NATO trip in Europe. "If we're going to be fair, if there's some comity, some pretense of fairness, the ranking member should have known we were having a meeting," said Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md), who acted in Gejdenson's place. But Thomas said he would have expected Gejdenson to attend the meeting, since the House took five recorded votes shortly after 5 p.m. "This is not the Senate," he retorted. "We do not shape our agenda to a single Member's desires or wishes." This level of hostility persisted throughout the meeting, which lasted late into Tuesday night, as Thomas and Hoyer repeatedly clashed over the GOP's tactics. At one point, Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich) felt compelled to remind her colleagues that they were charged with carrying out "the people's business." "I hate the antagonism I keep feeling every time I walk in the room," she lamented. "If we're going to talk about rules, let's follow the rules. I don't think we're following the rules." Thomas defended the decision to spend the money from the reserve fund, saying the GOP leadership had decided to allow committees to petition for additional funds because they had adopted a two-year funding cycle, which made it difficult to anticipate some demands. According to the reserve fund guidelines approved by House Oversight on Tuesday, panels can receive more money under "extraordinary, emergency, or high-priority circumstances." However, Hoyer argued that the way the Republicans handled the funding request indicated "it can't stand the light of day." Education Committee Republicans met in a private session more than two weeks ago to authorize the project, according to several Members. Gingrich, who verbally approved the plan on June 26, signed a letter Monday formally authorizing the move. But despite the Speaker's approval, sources said that several top GOP leaders were not consulted on the project. Instead, Paxon's vision group orchestrated the plan. Republican Conference Chairman John Boehner (Ohio) and Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas) knew very little about Paxon's plan, two leadership sources confirmed. "This is one of few secrets that have been kept around here," said a leadership adviser. Hoekstra framed the venture as a sequel to his subcommittee's "Crossroads Project," which examined the nation's education system. "The purpose of the companion project is to examine federal workplace policies which enhance or impede the development of an environment in which the American worker can be the most productive and enjoy the highest standard of living of any worker in the world," the plan reads. "This will include a review of the Department of Labor and its programs, activities, and spending habits, and other agencies which administer federal workforce laws, in an effort to promote a workplace which provides Americans with security and flexibility during their working years and in retirement and offers a fair return on American taxpayer money." Democrats complained that the proposal was so vague and of such long duration that it could encompass a range of anti-union activities. Thomas said he did not know if the project would focus on union activity. "That's the committee's decision," he said. Hoyer questioned why the Republicans felt the project was important enough to devote nearly 20 percent of the reserve fund to it. Drawing on the reserve fund may prompt criticism from fiscal conservatives as well. Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz), for one, questioned why the chamber needed to spend more money on investigations. "I continue to be amazed around here, with corporate America having to do more with less, cutting back every day, that we've got folks here that think we can't get the job done with existing resources," he said. "I don't understand why we're not like that here, why Republicans can't act more like businesspeople." Copyright ) 1997 Roll Call Inc. All rights reserved. Bryan Thompson H: 630-860-7423 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.NATCAVoice.org Editor - The NATCA Voice 800-SKY-TALK ; Pin 114-9137 -------------End of forwarding message-------------------------
