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.