To all who read this: Copy and paste it and send it along to your family and friends.
Call your Senator now to stop S.2123. The misnamed and egregious "Public Safety Employer-Employee cooperation act of 2007" was introduced by Senator Gregg on October 1 with enough Republicans (nine Republicans) to invoke cloture and pass the Bill.
The White House said it wanted flexibility on responding to Homeland security threats and was able to defeat the TSA screener amendment in the Homeland Security-9/11 Bill. The congress with S. 2123 is deciding that not all parts of NIMS under Homeland security can be flexible to meet a terrorist threat. Some parts of NIMS the Policeman and Fireman will be held to the break time and vacations that eliminate the very word "responder" from the American lexicon of our domestic security. Here is what the Bill says "
State and local public safety officers, as first responders, are a component of our Nation's National Incident Management System, developed by the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate response to and recovery from terrorism, major natural disasters, and other major emergencies. Public safety employer-employee cooperation is essential in meeting these needs and is, therefore, in the National interest."
How can the National Incident Management System even work with one of its most vital components out there in our local towns with its hands tied behind its back?
The bill S.2123 is an unfunded mandate on the states violating the 10th amendment. It is also about the union intimidation that Congressman Lynn Westmoreland saw directed against his own father.
"Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend from Florida for yielding, and when I came to the floor today, I didn't come here to speak; but, you know, my father was a fireman for 26 years for the City of Atlanta. In fact, he died in an alarm. I know what it is like for these firefighters to answer the alarms. He suffered a heart attack while turning off an OS&Y valve in a pit. It was 18 degrees that December morning. I know what it is like for those firefighters.
But, you know, my father never belonged to a firefighters union, and that is what this is. This is basically a union bill and payback to the unions. But, you know, Georgia is a right-to-work State. We have a 10th amendment to our Constitution. I was very disappointed to hear from the chairman that this thing passed out of committee 42-1. That breaks my heart. That really breaks my heart that those Republicans were on that side. I don't know what the majority thinks about the 10th amendment, but I believe very strongly in it. This has something to do with States rights. And I am sorry and I am very disappointed that this House will do this under suspension and there won't be any opportunity for amendments or this thing to be looked at.
I hope that the majority of the Members here will realize what is going on, oppose this suspension and bring it up under regular order."
It is a minute past midnight and we should not ever reward the Labor lords for their continued string of defeats in our workplace.
This Bill now stands to be passed by Congress and should be opposed by every free American who believes we should use all our resources in fighting the war to protect our homeland. Not one single Fireman or Policeman should be left behind.
Here are the nine republicans and eleven Democrats who co-sponsored S.2123
Sen. Sherrod Brown [D-OH] Sen. Hillary Clinton [D-NY] Sen. Norm Coleman [R-MN] Sen. Susan Collins [R-ME] Sen. Christopher Dodd [D-CT] Sen. Pete Domenici [R-NM] Sen. Thomas Harkin [D-IA] Sen. Edward Kennedy [D-MA] Sen. Joseph Lieberman [I-CT] Sen. Mel Martinez [R-FL] Sen. Barbara Mikulski [D-MD] Sen. Patty Murray [D-WA] Sen. Barack Obama [D-IL] Sen. Mark Pryor [D-AR] Sen. Bernard Sanders [I-VT] Sen. Gordon Smith [R-OR] Sen. Olympia Snowe [R-ME] Sen. Arlen Specter [R-PA] Sen. Ted Stevens [R-AK] Sen. John Sununu [R-NH]
Again, call your Senator now and say no to S. 2123
This alert is sponsored by the National Alliance for Worker and Employer Rights http://www.freeworkplace.org
Once again, Mel Martinez of Florida is on the wrong side of things!
The unions are barking up the wrong tree.