by Felicia Bruce RC 43 VP
As most of you know, as President of Treasure Coast FLARA (Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, a national organization to protect Social Security and Medicare) I applied to our regional Central Labor Council for a unique grant to reimburse senior advocates to travel to Tallahassee during the recent session and advocate for senior issues among our elected representatives. Ten people signed up but only 5 were able to attend from February 10-14. Four, including myself, were retired educators. We scheduled appointments in advance as best we could (committees often change time or days on short notice), brought letters from constituents in some cases, told stories from personal experiences to lawmakers and attended several committee meetings. We were briefed daily by a team of experienced experts on the bills and hearings that were scheduled each day and invited to join several like minded advocates for meals and meetings which helped to keep our costs low. If you would like to join us next year (March to May is the legislative session 2021) please contact me (spmomtch1@aol.com or text 516-395-3721).
Following is a BRIEF summary of STATE legislation. PLEASE note there MAY BE a special session because the revised revenues anticipated will not match the expenditures allocated pre-virus.
EDUCATION:
There were a lot of anti-traditional public education proposals making the outset look bleak but because few passed, it made the outcome less painful. The most concerning bill passed was for a massive voucher expansion and capital outlay for charters. Five vouchers programs were exponentially EXPANDED. While Florida public schools struggle for the resources needed to educate every child, Florida sends nearly $1B each year in scarce public resources to private schools through private school voucher programs. Bills to expand reimbursement for religious schools which are allowed to discriminate, bills to close all D and F schools, high stakes 'accountability' bills even for Pre-K, retention of preschoolers, multiple standardized test expansion for K-12, were among the 3,000+ bills submitted. Most of these were defeated as was a bill to allow students to carry guns on college campuses.
A concerted effort to limit school board terms retroactively was defeated. Although the Legislature allotted for substantial pay raises for teachers, the entire budget has been called into question and may be revised because there is likely to be more than a $900M shortfall between allocations like this and revenues collected.
ANTI VOTER BILLS passed. The right of citizens to participate in our democracy is a fundamental value. Over the past decade, the Florida Legislature has assaulted those rights in a variety of ways. Disliking the way voters demanded environmental protections, legalizing medical marijuana, and the restoration of rights to felons, the 2020 Legislature determined to make the citizens' initiative process exponentially more difficult. Translation: virtually impossible.
ENVIRONMENT: civil penalties for several pollutant discharge violations were increased which was a victory for those who care about the environment. The FL Legislature has still taken NO ACTION on pesticide regulation or habitat protection, key issues for conservationists. Water quality and environmental enforcement remain high priorities as many things in both categories were left unresolved at the close of the Legislature in March as are appropriations for Florida Forever and Rural Family Lands Protection Program, both need more attention and funding.
Federal Legislation Proposed or Pending
There's a lot to be concerned about! The $3 Trillion that has been added to the national debt has very little oversight. It was earmarked to help Americans and small businesses but there is already documentation that it has gotten into the 'wrong hands': big corporations and Wall Street instead of families and Main Street. The Inspector General (whose job it would be to do 'due diligence' or oversight) was fired and replaced by a campaign organizer.
The USPO has had a series of 'unfortunate mishaps'. First, Congress mandated that the ONLY BUSINESS written into the Constitution should be forced to fund its workers' benefits (healthcare, pension, etc.) for 75 years. Then, the corona virus took its toll in declining revenues. Most recently, Trump appointed the first ever non-postal worker to run the agency! The large political donor named as Postmaster General has no postal experience but does share the President's aversion to keeping the USPO as a government agency. Together they have two goals: privatize the Postal Service AND make Voting By Mail (VBM) difficult, if not impossible. Privatizing the Post Office would put 600,000 workers on the unemployment rolls and make rural deliveries a thing of the past; defeating VBM would make it dangerous to vote in times of pandemics or for the old and infirm to cast their ballots.
The other formidable challenge on the national horizon is a series of threats to Social Security. Under the guise of giving working families a 'break' is the proposal to lift the payroll tax. This would be a dangerous thing to do for everyone because:
1) it gives the employer (who has to match FICA deductions) a break; the worker would be taking from his/her own future ! Those deductions go into the SS fund from which their EARNED BENEFITS are derived. If they put in less, when they reach retirement age, they will collect less
2) it HURTS SENIORS NOW. While we seniors collect our EARNED BENEFITSbased on what we contributed during our employment years, the constant flow of current worker contributions helps the SS Fund flourish. Diminishing contributions to it, threatens the solvency of the fund.
Since the State Legislature is no longer in session there is nothing to do at the present time. IF they are called back to resolve the differences between allocations and revenues, THEN call your state lawmakers in the House and Senate.
At the federal level, it is critical you call Senators Scott and Rubio ! Tell them you want a)better oversight of the stimulus monies to be certain you, your friends, neighbors and local business people are the ones to get the help b)the next stimulus package MUST INCLUDE saving the USPO without Draconian stipulations (IF the airlines can be 'saved' the USPO is certainly worthy; and it would cost less) c) HANDS OFF Social Security No false 'fixes', no raids, no diminution of benefits
THEN call your Congressman !
Senator Scott: 202-224-5274 Senator Rubio: 202-224-3041
Congressional Switchboard: 202-224-3121