Late last week, the Senate rejected advancing the supplemental appropriations bill approved by the House of Representatives (H.R. 4899).  The House-passed version of the bill included an amendment (pdf) providing public safety employees with collective bargaining rights. Specifically, the amendment incorporated provisions of the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act (PSEECA) (H.R. 413; S. 1611, 3194), which would have provided firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical personnel with collective bargaining rights in states and localities that do not currently provide them, establish minimum standards for collective bargaining rights for these groups, and give the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) the power to regulate and enforce these rights. The House tacked on this provision, in addition to other domestic spending measures, before it approved the bill on July 1. It is not surprising that the Senate rejected this amended version, considering last May, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) had also introduced the PSEECA as an amendment to the Senate’s appropriations bill, but withdrew it shortly thereafter. It is likely that the House will take up the Senate-approved war appropriations bill that does not contain the additional spending measures before Congress adjourns for the August recess.

Given that the standalone bill has little chance of advancing this legislative term, lawmakers in the House likely included the PSEECA in the larger spending bill to increase its odds of passing.

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