Samuel: Ongoing Congressional issues could lead to shutdown in 2024

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Bill Samuel

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Bill Samuel, AFL-CIO Government Affairs Director, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast on Thanksgiving Day and discussed the ongoing funding issues in Congress and what he plans to do to prevent bad policy.

To avoid a government shutdown in November, Congress agreed to a funding extension based on the current spending levels. Despite replacing the Speaker of the House, the majority party has still not produced results and voted together. The continuing resolutions will last a few months, until they expire on Jan. 31. Samuel discussed his plans to work with the new Speaker and produce pro-labor legislation or at least prevent anti-labor legislation.

While continuing resolutions are not a funding wish victory for Democrats, it is not a loss, said Samuel. While there was no growth in several government entities like the Democrats wanted to see, there were no major cuts to programs such as the VA and Social Security. To pass the continuing resolution, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had to split the funding into two separate bills, which created two separate deadline dates. Samuel is concerned there are now two opportunities not to get a deal done for funding.

He hopes to leverage moderate politicians to work with the AFL-CIO to defeat any bad legislation. For the most part, there is a stalemate in Congress, and that may not be the worst thing, said Samuel. As long as Congress continues to fund the government and avoid shutdowns, that would be the most basic success Samuel could expect.

To hear more from Samuel, press play on the show above.

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.

Samuel: Ongoing Congressional issues could lead to shutdown in 2024

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