Bill Samuel, Director of Government Affairs for the AFL-CIO joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the ongoing issues with Congress failing to agree on a 2024 federal budget. Samuel also talked about the previous government shutdown and the internal strife for the U.S. House of Representatives Republican majority.
Several deadlines have passed for Congress to develop a new federal budget plan for the 2024 fiscal year. Each time Congress could not agree on a new budget plan, it passed resolutions that provided 40 days of funding at the same rates as the 2023 budget plan. Samuel said Congress believes they know how much is needed in 2024 but have yet to figure out how to allocate the funds. While the federal government has not been shut down, Samuel talked about the issues these continued resolutions have created.
The last government shutdown under the previous administration lasted 35 days. Samuel talked about the pay issues for air traffic controllers that contributed to that shutdown. He continued by discussing the federal workers who were asked to work without pay and get paid retroactively. Neither side of the aisle wants to shut down the government like previously believed, Samuel said, but they are still unable to get a budget plan created.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) is trying to overcome the dysfunction in the House, Samuel said. After replacing former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R- Calif.), Johnson has dealt with in-fighting from the Republican Party. He talked about various instances where the groups within the Republican Party have prevented the House from passing any resolutions, including the 2024 budget plan. Until the majority party can begin working together, Johnson is facing an uphill battle, Samuel said.
Listen to the episode above to hear more from Samuel.
America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.
America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.
