CLEVELAND, November 15 — BLET members are asked to contact their members of Congress and urge them to vote to override President Bush’s veto of the Labor-HHS appropriations bill (H.R. 3043). President Bush vetoed the bill on November 13, which was passed by the House on November 8 by a vote of 272-141.
The bill was intended to provide fiscal year 2008 funding for the National Mediation Board (NMB), which creates and administers public law boards. The appropriation would also fund the National Railroad Adjustment Board (NRAB). If Congress fails to override the veto, then there will be a continued freeze on public law board activities. The House vote was three votes short of the two-thirds majority that would be needed to override a veto.
The Bush administration said the President vetoed the bill because it would provide $150.7 billion in discretionary spending, which is $9.8 billion more than he requested. He called the bill’s spending “excessive.”
The fiscal year 2007 budget for the NMB and public law board activities expired Sept. 30. The NMB, which funds public law boards, is operating under a continuing resolution, which provides interim funding in expectation of a 2008 fiscal year appropriation. But the uncertainty over fiscal year 2008 funding has forced the NMB to halt travel for arbitrators, and the NMB advised arbitrators not to hear public law-board cases.
A 1966 amendment to the Railway Labor Act created public law boards, which consist of one member from the carrier, one from labor and a neutral. The carriers and labor compensate their respective representatives, but compensation of neutrals — including travel, office administration and wages — is paid by the NMB through congressional appropriations.
To contact your member of Congress, please visit the BLET National Legislative Office’s website at: http://www.bletdc.org/action/congress