A budget cut lead by the Democrats????

Yes indeed. The House Democrats are actually proposing a budget cut.

Now, you must be thinking that this is some kind of mistake, Democrats hate budget cuts.

The devil is in the details on this one.

The Democrats have cut the funding on a government watchdog that keeps an eye on union dues to make sure they funds are spent legally.

Washinton Times-

The Bush administration says the Democrat-controlled Congress is trying to shortchange the lone federal agency responsible for ensuring unions spend their dues legally — an effort Republicans consider political payback that must be rebuffed.

At least two Republican senators are expected to propose legislation to restore nearly 4 percent of funding the House cut from the Office of Labor-Management Standards, Capitol Hill aides said.

"Union members are entitled to know where their money is going," Labor Department Secretary Elaine L. Chao said. "Less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the department's budget goes to OLMS — the one federal entity charged with protecting union members from corruption — and it is the one singled out for budget cuts."

The House last week approved $45.7 million for OLMS for fiscal year 2008 — $2 million less than in 2007, and about $11 million short of the Bush administration's budget request. It was the only major Labor agency to get less money than in 2007.

"When it came to the office whose responsibility is to find the crooks who are stealing from union members, [Democrats] found a way to impose a 4 percent cut in that office," said Rep. John Kline, Minnesota Republican, whose bid to restore OLMS funding to its 2007 level failed. "And what a shame that is."

Of course, Rep. Obey would have you believe that everything is just fine and that no one needs to watch the unions any longer.

Once again, the devil is in the details-

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. David R. Obey, Wisconsin Democrat, has questioned the need to give the agency more money when he said unions are complying with disclosure reporting requirements at a rate of 96 percent.

"I'd say if you are getting 96 percent, that's an A — at least it was when I went to school," Mr. Obey said.

The Labor Department says Mr. Obey is only referring to the percentage of unions who filled out their financial forms correctly — not the percentage of unions that were in compliance. The rate of unions who submitted disclosure reports on time last year was about 64 percent.


The only agency that faces this cuts is the one agency that protects union members from being ripped off by their unions. That's it. No other cuts to the budget- only the one that protects union members from union bosses.

Guess what folks? It has been working.

OLMS investigators and auditors in the past six years referred cases to U.S. attorneys that resulted in 775 convictions and more than $70 million in restitution for union members, the Labor Department says.

Wow- this is complete and blatant pandering to the union bosses. Clearly the Democrats want to protect their union piggy banks, but could give a rip about the people these unions are stealing from.