As Obama Abandons Labor, Labor Abandons Excise Tax Deal

[Omaha Steve]

http://workinprogress.firedoglake.com/2010/02/16/as-obama-abandons-labor-labor-abandons-excise-tax-deal/

By: Michael Whitney Tuesday February 16, 2010 11:04 am

With Obama set to unveil the pre-Scott Brown health care compromise for next week’s bipartisan lovefest, the already fragile deal is falling apart. Fresh off a stinging slap to the face in which Obama refused to appoint Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board, labor unions are apparently backing out of the deal on the excise tax on high-cost health care plans.

An agreement to tax high-cost, employer-sponsored health insurance plans, announced with fanfare by the White House and labor unions last month, is losing support from labor leaders, who say the proposal is too high a price to pay for the limited health care package they expect to emerge from Congress. <...>

But labor leaders have backed away from the proposal in the wake of the special Senate election in Massachusetts.

“I do not believe there will be an excise tax enacted,” said Larry Cohen, president of the Communications Workers of America. “It appears that the administration and Congress will be taking a much more modest approach to health care reform. The cost and value of such reform would not justify using an excise tax.”

The AFL-CIO and allied members of Congress are backing away from the excise tax because they say it’s not popular with voters, as evidenced by Scott Brown’s election. The labor federation’s polling, in addition to finding that union members voted for Brown over Coakley, found the excise tax to be an unpopular idea that sent more voters to Brown.

FULL story at link.

[Unvanguard]

1. Wait, "Obama refused to appoint"? Do they mean "the Republican Senators filibustered"?

Edit: Oh, FireDogLake. No wonder.

[laughingliberal]

2. I do know Becker was not among those the 29 who were approved by the Senate last week

and Obama promptly withdrew his threat to use recess appointments. Outright refusal or benign neglect? The result is the same.

[Yurovsky]

3. WTF????

What good is power if you're not going to exercise it???

Recess appointments are not some outrage, they're just the way you do business when the opposition is being a pack of shitheads.

C'mon BHO... man up!

[Foo Fighter]

9. Normally I would agree, mainly because Dubya used recess appointments

to stick us with cronies that even our bought-and-paid for elected officials couldn't stomach, hence the need to do the end-around.

Unfortunately, if Obama's idea of "manning-up" is any reflection of his picks of Rahm, Geithner and Summers to list but a few examples, forgive me if I don't really believe that any recess appointments he would make would be arbitors for the average Joe. I don't think those that have given concessions in order to get decent health care should be forced to pay "excise tax" in any case. I think everyone should be covered under a national single-payer health care plan. To me, anything less is just a sell-out.

[regnaD kciN]

4. More crap from FDL...

I honestly think they're all hot and bothered by the prospect of a Republican comeback. They'll have lots of things they can bitch and moan about with Mitt or Sarah in the White House and the G.O.P. back in charge on Capitol Hill. It'll be just like old times!

:spank:

[sandnsea]

5. Moveon, Markos, HCAN, SEIU, are supporting Obama

go over to the Obama forum for the links to call on Tues and Wed to support passing the health care bill.

Maybe you should get your news from some other source. Or at least share news from more sources than just Obama haters.

[Hardrada]

6. Your opinion is duly noted.

[laughingliberal]

7. I fail to see what that has to do with Labor backing out of their support for the deal on the excise

tax when Obama agreed not to use recess appointments leaving Becker in limbo.

[sandnsea]

8. It's got nothing to do with Becker or Pearce

The unions agreement to any deal has been precarious all along. Linking it to the Republican's blocking labor board appointments is just more shit that FDL pulls right out of their ass. The unions are supporting Obama's effort to get health care passed, not opposing it, links are posted in the BOG.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/health/policy/16health.html

[laughingliberal]

10. In reading the article it does not, actually, say their support for the excise tax has been

withdrawn directly because of the failure to appoint Becker. I agree their support for the excise tax agreement has been precarious all along as well it should be. The failure to use his power to make a recess appointment to the NLRB is a side story but still one unfriendly to labor.