FOR THE RECORD
The following is a report of how some major bills fared recently in Congress and a record of how local members of Congress voted.</br></br>The House sent the Senate a bill (HR 743) giving companies leeway under federal labor law to operate employer-employee groups for addressing workplace issues and increasing productivity. The bill was supported by the Chamber of Commerce and opposed by the AFL-CIO. The 1935 National Labor Relations Act makes it an unfair labor practice for companies to financially support or dominate employee organizations. This bill eases that ban so that management and workers in non-union shops can participate in Japanese-style problem-solving teams set up and administered by management. Critics say such teams easily can become illegal company unions. A yes vote was to pass the bill.</br></br>The House rejected an amendment requiring secret-ballot elections to pick employee representatives who sit with management on workplace teams authorized by HR 743 (above) within the framework of the National Labor Relations Act. The elections were to replace management selection of worker representatives. The amendment was backed by labor groups and opposed by business organizations. A yes vote supported the labor-backed amendment.</br></br>The House sent the Senate a bill (HR 1170) making it more difficult for the federal judiciary to block a referendum approved by the voters of a state. The bill requires appeals on constitutional grounds to be heard by three U.S. judges rather than one, to prevent plaintiffs from "judge shopping" to find a sympathetic jurist. The bill was prompted by events in California, where Proposition 187 denying social services to illegal immigrants was approved by voters but found unconstitutional by state and federal courts and not implemented. A yes vote was to pass the bill.</br></br>The Senate sent to conference with the House a bill (HR 2099) appropriating $80.9 billion in fiscal 1996 for a variety of departments and agencies. The bill cuts the Environmental Protection Agency budget by 22 percent, the Department of Housing and Urban Development by 19 percent and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration by 4 percent. Among major agencies funded by the bill, only the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Science Foundation escape major cuts. Senators preserved the space station (below) but killed the administration's AmeriCorps program (below). A yes vote was to pass the bill.