Bill Samuel, the Director of Government Affairs for the AFL-CIO joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast where he talked about the looming deadline to raise the national debt ceiling. Samuel also discussed some of the policies from President Biden’s time in office and an update on Julie Su’s potential confirmation vote for Department of Labor Secretary.
The deadline to raise the national debt ceiling is approaching, projected to happen in early June, yet there have still been no agreements reached. Samuel believes Republicans are holding the country hostage as they try to force an agreement on spending cuts for 2024. If the debt ceiling is not raised in time, the full impact would be a default on America’s debt to other countries. While the results of a default aren’t known, Samuel believes there will be a catastrophic financial meltdown internationally.
In the last 24 months Samuel pointed to three major bills that President Biden has gotten passed. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act have been implemented and some of their short term impact is already evident. As these policies shape the future of American jobs, improve affordability issues and improve the country's infrastructure the full impact won’t be known for decades.
Julie Su’s nomination to become Department of Labor Secretary has been anything but a smooth transition. Samuel believes Su currently has either 49 or 50 votes of the required 51 votes for approval. The belief is that after the debt ceiling has been raised, the confirmation vote take place. AFL-CIO would like anyone that supports Julie Su’s nomination to visit aflcio.org to sign the online support petition.
Listen to the entire episode to learn more.