Legislative and Political Affairs

January 31, 2012

With both chambers back from holiday recess and President Obama’s goals laid out in the State of the Union, lawmakers are back to business with a vengeance this week. Two extremely important bills will see final negotiations this week, as the FAA Authorizations conference committee meets to hash out the differences between the House- and Senate-passed versions of the bill, as well as the conferees for the Payroll Tax and Unemployment Insurance extensions. Both the House and Senate Budget Committees will host hearings on the budget and economic outlook, and the House body will also discuss “the state of the US economy.”


Several sessions are scheduled to mark up the transit bill, which also pertains to rail, highway spending, hazmat, maritime, and energy issues. The House T&I Committee will go over their 5-year bill, which hasn’t been released in its entirety yet; the Senate Banking committee will mark up their relevant pieces of the Senates’ 2-year version of the proposal. Tentative meetings are planned in two other committees that deal with the legislation, if time and logistics allow.
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We all know that what is won at the bargaining table can be taken away with the stroke of a pen. Actually, legislation can either add to or take away from our collective bargaining agreements. The Department of Legislative and Political Affairs (DLPA) is charged with representing TWU Members interests with legislators including the President of the United States, Congress, Federal Agencies, and other groups on legislative issues that affect our Members. As advocates we evaluate changes in state and local governments that may affect federal law and vice versa. We strive to uphold the TWU Constitution “to promote legislation advancing the interests of the Union and its members at the local, state and national levels, to engage in political education o f the membership, and to engage in such other activity as may be necessary…”

In January, Barack Obama was sworn in as President of the United States and began the massive undertaking of stabilizing and reviving our nation’s economy, reforming our health care system to provide affordable healthcare to all, rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, strengthening our public education and social security systems and redesigning our energy and climate policy among his top priorities. As your representatives in Washington, we are working to ensure that the members of TWU have their voices heard in the halls of Congress and the White House on all of these critical issues.

Right now, Congress is actively debating proposed legislation that would completely overhaul the health care delivery system in the United States and the House of Representatives just passed the first comprehensive climate change legislation in our nation’s history. This is a transformational time for America and YOU should be involved. Stay involved by reading about issues right here on the Legislative page and responding to “legislative alerts and updates” that will be posted on this page. Also, encourage all Members to participate in grassroot campaigns such as Employee Free Choice Act, the campaign for health care reform, and stay engaged yourself by going to local town hall meetings, events, and writing your elected officials to tell them your opinion. Make your voice HEARD!