WASHINGTON--House Republicans rebuffed a Democratic attempt Wednesday to force an election-year vote on the Bush administration's new overtime pay rules.þþThe vote, 222-205, blocked a move by Democratic Rep. George Miller of California to force the House to take sides on the controversial issue. Miller sought a vote on a provision to require the new regulations to retain eligibility for all workers who currently qualify for overtime pay.þþÿThey have shut down debate and denied a vote in Congress so that the Bush administration can take away workers' overtime pay,ÿ said Miller, the top Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee. ÿIt is obvious that the House Republican majority is simply rubber-stamping the orders of the Bush administration.ÿþþThe GOP-controlled Senate approved a similar measure last week. The Labor Department rules were issued last month and take effect in August.þþMiller's procedural move to force a vote surprised Republican House leaders, who quickly scrambled for the votes to block the effort.þþÿToday's House vote in support of the Department of Labor's new overtime security rules is a victory for the millions of American workers who will benefit from stronger overtime protection,ÿ Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said.þþHad Miller succeeded, the overtime vote would have been largely symbolic, and would not have changed the new regulations. But it would have forced members of Congress to take a stand in an election year on a pocketbook issue important to many voters.þþÿIt's clear that Democratic Party leaders are only interested in a partisan attack at the expense of lower-income workers who deserve new overtime protections,ÿ said Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee.þþThe new regulations mark the first thorough overhaul of government overtime rules in more than 50 years. Administration officials say the rules will guarantee overtime rights for white-collar workers earning up to $23,660 a year, and protect or expand current eligibility for those earning up to $100,000.þþDepartment officials say the changes will clarify the complex rules and reduce the increasing number of lawsuits against employers by workers challenging their status.þþThe new rule will exempt about 100,000 workers now eligible for overtime pay, officials said. But Democrats and labor unions say the number will be much higher.þþOrganized labor has lobbied furiously to kill the rules.þþÿWe've been meeting with Republicans, and there continues to be a lot of skepticism on their part about the Labor Department plan,ÿ said Bill Samuel, legislative director for the AFL-CIO.þþ
Source: Chicago Tribune
