ASBA Update From Washington

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December 2007
by James C. Musser, ASBA Washington Representative

Fast away the old year passes but most of the fa-la-la-la-la in Washington is really the sound of folly. As Congress winds down the year the 100th Congress has little to show for all the shouting over the last twelve months. As the year ends and Congress heads for the doors, lets look back on 2007 and what might have been.

As reported in this column the Medicare and Social Security Trustees issued reports in the spring which said the financial outlook for both trust funds is bleak. Each year without action to correct the coming bankruptcy of the Medicare and Social Security Trust Funds makes the situation only more difficult to correct. As the country approaches the dates when the funds will pay out more benefits than they receive from dedicated taxes, the solutions will have to be more extreme. Even with such sober news delivered to Congress, no action was taken to address the dire future faced by the two great pillars of retirement security in America. By taking no action, Congress has, in effect, decided to punt the issue down the road with little regard for the retirement security of millions of seniors and millions more who will be retiring over the next decade. Sadly, with an election looming in 2008, it is unlikely much will be done to address these twin crises in the year ahead.

Despite the good work of the House Ways and Means Committee in unanimously passing H.R. 3046, the Social Security Number Privacy and Identity Theft Prevention Act, the full House has taken no action on the bill and it languishes on the Union Calendar, the list of bills awaiting a vote. In light of the thousands of episodes of identity theft and misuse of stolen Social Security Numbers each year, this legislation should be a high priority. Well, maybe next year.

The question then becomes: what has Congress done with all its time this year? Unfortunately, the answer is not much of substance. The argument is often made that the country is best served when Congress does least. However, this Congress has failed to even pass the necessary legislation to keep the government running. The new 2008 fiscal year began on October 1, 2007 and Congress successfully passed only one of the twelve spending bills that pay for everything the government does from paving roads to paying the troops, to running the Veteran's Administration hospitals and operating the national parks among other things. The situation has become so desperate for the military that thousands of furlough notices have been sent to civilian employees of the Department of Defense so the funds can be used to keep our soldiers in the field. This is unprecedented in a time of war.

Let us hope the New Year will bring a renewed sense of urgency for taking care of the people's business and a focus on issues larger than the naming of post offices and federal buildings. The American people deserve better from their elected leaders.

Best wishes to all our ASBA members and readers for a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, Blessed Eid al Adha and a healthy, prosperous New Year.

ASBA closely monitors all the issues affecting seniors and small business owners. Check back each month for the latest from our nation's capital.

James C. Musser, Esq. is a legislative consultant based in Falls Church, Virginia. His reports are updated monthly.