House votes down new rules changing overtime eligibility
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON - The House voted 223-193 Thursday to block the Bush administration's sweeping new eligibility rules for overtime pay, giving Democrats a significant victory that they hope will boost the party's standing among middle-class voters in key battleground states in the fall election.
Twenty-two pro-labor Republicans, most of them from the north and Midwest, joined a solid bloc of Democrats voting to prevent the Labor Department from enforcing the regulations, which took effect Aug. 23. But it is unclear if Thursday's action will stand.
The White House warned this week that President Bush might veto the underlying bill - a $142.5 billion measure funding education, worker training and health programs in 2005 - if it contains the overtime amendment attached to it Thursday.
Last year, the House added a similar provision blocking the rules, but GOP leaders, under strong pressure from the White House, jettisoned it during final House-Senate negotiations on the bill. But repeating that maneuver could be more politically perilous as the election nears, according to some legislative aides.
Business lobbies, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Restaurant Association, favor the new rules, while major labor organizaitons have been seeking to undo them.
Thursday's vote came after months of political contention. Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry has vowed to repeal the rules if elected, and Democrats have denounced the regulations as "the biggest pay cut in history."
Rest of the article HERE
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON - The House voted 223-193 Thursday to block the Bush administration's sweeping new eligibility rules for overtime pay, giving Democrats a significant victory that they hope will boost the party's standing among middle-class voters in key battleground states in the fall election.
Twenty-two pro-labor Republicans, most of them from the north and Midwest, joined a solid bloc of Democrats voting to prevent the Labor Department from enforcing the regulations, which took effect Aug. 23. But it is unclear if Thursday's action will stand.
The White House warned this week that President Bush might veto the underlying bill - a $142.5 billion measure funding education, worker training and health programs in 2005 - if it contains the overtime amendment attached to it Thursday.
Last year, the House added a similar provision blocking the rules, but GOP leaders, under strong pressure from the White House, jettisoned it during final House-Senate negotiations on the bill. But repeating that maneuver could be more politically perilous as the election nears, according to some legislative aides.
Business lobbies, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Restaurant Association, favor the new rules, while major labor organizaitons have been seeking to undo them.
Thursday's vote came after months of political contention. Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry has vowed to repeal the rules if elected, and Democrats have denounced the regulations as "the biggest pay cut in history."
Rest of the article HERE