Photo courtesy of Senator Jeffords

The decision by U.S. Sen. James M. Jeffords to switch from the Republican Party and become an independent should have many good effects on legislative priorities affecting working Americans, GCIU Vice Pres. Lawrence Martinez told the Graphic Communicator.

Martinez, who chairs the GCIU General Board's Legislative Committee and monitors national and local political developments affecting the union and its membership, said he expects benefits from the switch that, in effect, changes the U.S. Senate from Republican to Democratic control.

On May 24, Jeffords cited differences with the right wing tilt of the GOP legislative agenda being pushed by President George W. Bush and announced that he was leaving the Republican Party to become an independent. Jeffords said he would caucus with the Democrats and, in effect, change the majority in the 50-50 deadlocked Senate.

Until Jeffords' defection, tie votes would have been decided in the administration's favor by Vice Pres. Richard B. Cheney. Now there is a one- vote edge for the Democrats. If all senators vote with their parties, Cheney's tiebreaker will not come into play, Martinez explained.

The switch also resulted in the replacement of conservative Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) with Democratic leader Sen. Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.). That is a very important development since the incumbent sets the legislative agenda, according to Martinez. It is the first time in U.S. history that a between-elections defection caused a shift of power from one party to another.

The switch will balance the two chambers, with the Republicans narrowly in control in the House of Representatives and the Democrats in control in the Senate. "It will provide a cross-check on administration priorities that so far have shown an ultra-conservative, anti-worker bias," Martinez observed.

There are a number of areas in which the restructuring of the Senate's partisan makeup could affect working Americans, Martinez said.

"One very important area, especially for our retirees, is getting a Democratic Party plan to improve health care and offer government assistance for prescription drugs on the legislative docket," he said. Since the majority party controls the legislative agenda, Trent Lott and the GOP leadership in the Senate were able to kill such initiatives by simply not scheduling them for consideration, Martinez noted.

As secretary of the Graphic Communications National Health and Welfare Fund, Martinez observed that he receives numerous e-mails on the high cost of health care and prescription drugs from GCIU members and retirees. Martinez noted: "We offer our members and retirees a very good health care plan, but the high cost of prescription drugs is a major concern. Now, maybe health care for workers will be a top priority, rather than questionable programs like the costly expansion of our missile programs that Bush and the GOP want."

There are diverse reasons to look forward to Democratic control of the Senate in the 107th Congress, he said. In addition to a new majority leader to schedule worker friendly legislation, each of the Senate committees will change from Republican to Democratic control. That will affect which legislation is approved in committee and sent to the floor for a vote.

One especially important result is the change in the Senate Judiciary Committee leadership, formerly run by conservative Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) and now chaired by Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), Martinez said. The committee reviews and acts on nominees to the federal judiciary.

During the Clinton presidency, the partisan GOP chairman refused to act on many Clinton nominees for judgeships, thereby withholding approval and allowing the needed appointments to stay vacant rather than allowing liberal and moderate appointees into office, Martinez explained.

The leadership shakeup will allow new Judiciary Committee Chairman Leahy to consider more liberal candidates for the federal courts.

Another important change is in the Senate Appropriations Committee, "which has a lot to say about who gets federal money, from military spending to expenditures for health and education," Martinez noted. The chairmanship goes from conservative Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) to Robert C. Byrd (D-W.V.), "and that should make a lot of difference on spending issues benefitting working Americans," Martinez said.

The changes go beyond the committee level to subcommittees – some vital to GCIU members like the Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, where the chair switches from Sen. Arlen Specter (R.-Pa.) to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), a proven longtime friend of workers and their families, Martinez added.

Another break for the issues that affect working families is with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which will come under the chairmanship of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), a supporter of unions and working persons' issues, he said.

Overall, the decision by Sen. Jeffords, who has long been regarded as a moderate Republican, to leave his lifelong party affiliation to join with more moderate lawmakers is testimony to his courage and concern for average Americans and their needs, Martinez noted.

If Bush had both houses of Congress under his control, all the laws and priorities for the next four years would have to meet the approval of the right wing, leaving little chance that health care, the environment, and labor law reform could be debated.

However, thanks to the courage of one Vermonter, there is a chance for a legislative agenda that will help working Americans, Martinez said.