Health care policy negotiations dominated Capitol Hill once again this week, with House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Waxman (D-CA) and Blue Dog Democrats cutting a deal at week's end to allow H.R. 3200 to move forward. It is expected to be approved by the Committee before lawmakers break for August. However, no floor vote will be held before September. The Senate, too, is not expected to see a bill released by the Senate Finance Committee before the recess; however, Finance Committee Chairman Baucus (D-MT) stated today that he planned to press forward on September 15 with or without a bipartisan agreement. For prior updates, please refer to the Special Edition-Health Care Reform imPRINT published on July 28^th. Additionally, employers are encouraged to review the Action Alert and to share this information with lawmakers while they are back in home states and Congressional districts over the August break.

The estate tax showdown expected to occur this fall or early next year was impacted this week by House passage of H.R. 2920, known as "paygo" legislation. The bill would require that any new tax and mandatory spending bills that would add ot the deficit be offset. To date, "paygo" has been at the discretion of House rules and Congress has the ability to waive it on particular issues. On a positive note, the bill specifically exempts policies, including extending the AMT exemption levels and extending estate tax reductions; the House has traditionally waived "paygo" rules for these tax policies in the past. Passage of "paygo" does impact the future estate tax debate, though, as it would only exempt estate tax reductions at the 2009 level. Therefore, further reduction of the estate tax would either require an offset or violate the legislation. While "paygo" is not likely to become law, it foreshadows a major debate over the fate of estate tax levels. President Obama's budget called for estate tax rates to be frozen at 2009 levels rather than let it phase out through the end of 2010. Printing Industries continues to advocate for the most possible relief for the 60 percent of family-owned businesses comprising the printing and graphic communications industry.

Section 103(a) of the CPSIA requires manufacturers to place permanent, distinguishing marks on children's products and the packaging "to the extent practicable" as aid for parents and retailers to quickly recognize whether a product is involved in a recall. In April, Printing Industries requested that children's books not be subject to additional label requirements mandated by the Act since such information identifying the source of production is already provided on the copyright page of each book. In separate comments, the industry expressed concerns with the applicability of tracking labels to "ordinary paper-based" graphic arts products that consist of many small components or that act as supplementary materials in a toy kit. While the commission's guidance vaguely addresses some of these issues, unfortunately the industry remains in the dark regarding many concerns and, at this point, printed products are not excluded from the labeling requirements. 

CPSC's newly appointed Chairman Tenenbaum and Commissioners Moore and Nord all released statements of policy in regards to the recently approved guidance. According to Tenenbaum, "...the Commission does not intend to penalize manufacturers for inadvertent violations of the statute when they have made a good faith effort in attempting to comply with the tracking label requirements." Interestingly, a recent AP article "Product Safety Chief Puts Industry on Notice," quoted Tenenbaum as saying, "I plan to enforce the CPSIA," and "we will follow the statute." Printing Industries appreciates the mutual concerns Tenenbaum acknowledged in her statement: that one size does not fit all when it comes to tracking labels; that small-volume manufacturers say they can't feasibly comply with the statute because their production patterns "do not lend themselves to lot, batch, and run labeling systems;" and that confusion over how to meet the requirements comes too late to meet the August 14 deadline for enacting them. According to Commissioner Nord's statement, "It is important to note that the guidance issued today probably will not be the last word on this important issue."

The issue of how to deal with the over-reaching CPSIA and tracking label requirements, both at the CPSC and in Congress, is far from over. An oversight hearing had been announced in the House Committee of Energy and Commerce for last week but was postponed. A similar hearing in the Senate Committee of Energy and Commerce has been called for by Sen. Hutchinson (TX-ranking member) and is expected to take place in early September. Printing Industries continues to pursue all avenues, including legislative and administrative relief from the overly broad CPSIA.

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs this week approved S. 1507, a bill to provide short-term relief to the USPS's financial cash crunch. The bill, sponsored by Sens. Carper (D-DE), Collins (R-ME), Inouye (D-HI) and Lieberman (D-CT), would provide for a reduction in the amount of money the USPS must pay to pre-fund its retirees health benefits premiums. Currently, the USPS is slated pay nearly $5.4 billion in pre-funding; S. 1507 would reduce this amount to $1.7 billion. The bill also adds flexibility to the USPS's borrowing authority without raising its overall cap. On an infrastructure-related note, the bill would change the law to allow that an arbitrator participating in future postal collective bargaining negotiations shall consider the fiscal health of the USPS; currently, such consideration is prohibited.

The final provision was an amendment sponsored by Senator Coburn (R-OK) that passed committee by voice vote. All Senators present voted in favor of the amendment; Sens. Akaka (D-HI) and McCaskill (D-MO) registered their opposition to changing the arbitrator status. Senators Lieberman, Collins, Carper, and Coburn (R-OK) were very clear in statements during the committee proceedings that S. 1507 is not a solution to the USPS's financial woes and that further steps must be taken to address USPS labor costs, number of facilities, and further modernization so that the agency is operating realistically in relation to mail volume decline. H.R. 22, the similar House companion bill, was voted out of committee in June. It did not contain the arbitrator status change provision.