The Week Ending January 7, 2000
This weekly report is written by ASCE's Government Relations staff. If you have questions or comments about any items in this report, please contact Brian Pallasch, Michael Charles, Martin Hight, Austin Fulk, or Liz Hermsen at 202/789-2200.
Inside This Week:
Preview of ASCE Priority Issues in the 106th Congress
Infrastructure Financing
AIR-21
ASCE continues to push for legislation that would reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration and the Airport Improvement Program. AIR-21 legislation remains the number one priority of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the transportation community. The House and Senate remain deadlocked over the issue of taking the airport trust fund off budget. ASCE supports taking the trust fund off budget.
School Modernization
ASCE is also supporting legislation to modernize America?s schools. ASCE is supporting various proposals from the Administration and members of Congress to provide funds to repair and modernize the nation?s schools. Most of the proposals, including the Administration?s, would provide tax credits and/or low and no interest loans to local school boards. Other proposals would support the use of innovative design and construction.
Watershed Dams
ASCE favors legislation (H.R. 728, S. 1742) that would authorize $600 million over 10 years for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide up to 65 percent of funding for local governments to rehabilitate watershed dams. The House of Representatives is expected to act on the Small Watershed Rehabilitation Amendments of 1999, H.R. 728 when Congress returns in February. Action on the Senate companion bill (S. 1762), introduced by Sens. Paul Coverdell (R-GA) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), is likely in the spring.
Clean Water Act
Congress returns to work at the end of January following a two-month holiday break and must decide whether to move ahead with several bills dealing with various aspects of the Clean Water Act, including new loan authority for the construction and repair of sewage treatment plants.
Lawmakers will return to find that the Clinton Administration is trying to pre-empt the focus of the debate, having announced a plan to pump almost $1.3 billion into federal water pollution control programs for Fiscal Year 2001.
Vice President Gore announced this week that the Administration will request the funding for conservation programs that help family farmers take steps to protect water quality and the environment and to preserve farmland. The White House said the centerpiece of the proposal is a new program to provide $600 million to family farmers who voluntarily adopt comprehensive plans to curb erosion and protect water supplies from pesticide and nutrient runoff.
ASCE will strongly urge the House and Senate to take up legislation that would provide $15 billion for the Clean Water Act's state revolving loan fund (SRF) program over the next five years. Money for the loan authority was authorized in 1987 and expired in 1994. Congress has been providing funds for sewage treatment plants on an ad hoc basis since then.
Superfund
As part of the omnibus spending package bill enacted late last year, Congress added a rider that exempted recyclers of scrap metal and paper from strict Superfund liability. But other reforms to the Superfund program remain in limbo and are expected to be tackled again early in the second session of the 106th Congress, which begins January 24.
The legislative proposals advanced in the first session were much more streamlined than the bills in past congresses. The strategy was to push language with "agreed to" provisions to make widely sought revisions to the infamously flawed hazardous waste cleanup law and to facilitate brownfields cleanups but skirt the numerous, divisive issues that have essentially blocked enactment of a reform bill in the past. But that tactic had little success.
The sticking point remains over the renewal of the old Superfund oil and chemical feedstock taxes and the corporate environmental tax, all of which expired in 1995. Also difficult to resolve are differences between Republicans, who generally want to narrow the reach of the natural resources damages provision in the current law, and Democrats who want to keep the law as it is.
Debate also will sharpen in the Senate, where Sen. Bob Smith (R-N.H.), the new chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, may steer a new course on Superfund. It is not known whether Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.), who was appointed to carry out the remainder of his late father's term and who is now chairman of the Senate Superfund Subcommittee, will seek to restart stalled Superfund proceedings.
Employer Paid Educational Assistance
It is unlikely that there will be any congressional action on Section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code, which provides for the tax exemption for employer-paid educational benefits. The tax exemption was extended last year for three years. ASCE will continue to work for permanent extension of the measure.
Infrastructure Research
Because of last year?s success in extending the Research and Experimentation tax for five years, a further extension will not be an issue in the 2nd session of the 106th Congress. However, ASCE will be focusing on research issues and budgets in programs such as the Engineering Directorate at the National Science Foundation. ASCE will also actively advocate full appropriations for the Building and Fire Laboratory, the Advanced Technology Program, and the Manufacturing Extension Program, all at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
A new area we will be looking at this year is the research grants program at the Commerce Department?s Economic Development Administration (EDA). EDA provides approximately $205 million in public works grants to help distressed communities attract new industry and encourage business expansion. The grants provide seed money for road, sewer, water and other infrastructure improvements need to stimulate commercial enterprise. The EDA?s budget includes about $500,000, which is available for infrastructure research grants. ASCE will work to actively support and increase this effort.
Also on the agenda is legislation that would double federal civilian research spending. Supporters in both the House and Senate have introduced legislation (S. 296 and H.R. 3161). ASCE will continue strong efforts to support this legislation.
Natural Hazard Impacts Reduction
ASCE will build on the success of creating the Congressional Wind Hazard Reduction Caucus by seeking the introduction of legislation that would create a National Wind Hazard Reduction Program. Additionally, ASCE will be seeking additional members for the Wind Caucus and building the industry coalition to support the efforts of the Wind Caucus.
Additionally, ASCE will be working with other industry groups to maintain or increase funding for both the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program, and the Streamgaging program sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey.
OSHA Will Not Regulate At-Home Workers
The Labor Department, in a week of clarifying and further clarifying notices, backed off a finding that at-home workers fall under the jurisdiction of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). On Tuesday, the Washington Post noted the existence of an advisory that OSHA posted in response to a request from a Texas company. The unnamed company sought clarification on whether employers that allow employees to work at home are responsible for federal health and safety violations that occur in the home-work site. The advisory concluded that an employer is responsible for making sure that an employee?s home-work environment meets the same standards that it would in the employer?s office
Following an outcry from business groups and groups that promote telecommuting, OSHA released a statement noting that it had no plans to conduct inspections of private homes or require employers to routinely inspect home work sites. Critics noted that the advisory still left employers exposed to liability. Facing the growing criticism from industry, advocates of telecommuting, and members of Congress, Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman ordered that the advisory be withdrawn.
Congressional Fellow December Report
By David Westerling, 1999-2000 Congressional Fellow
The House adjourned the first session of the 106th Congress on November 22, 1999 and the Senate adjourned the following day, November 23, 1999. During the final days of the first session the passage of the budget bills for several cabinet level agencies was still undergoing scrutiny by members of Congress. The omnibus bill took the form of the DC (Washington, DC) appropriations bill. During this time many agreements to either fund or pursue funding for civil works projects took place. While individual legislators worked to fund projects in their home states, the Legislative Committees (which are chaired by the majority party in both houses) faced a Presidential veto in order for these budget bills to become law. Thus there was plenty of room for compromise.
Many important issues were postponed to the second session, which will begin later this month. Among these was the Dakota Water Resources Act. During December I worked with congressional staff and agency staff to prepare for a Dakota Water Resources Act Summit Meeting scheduled for February.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) hosted its annual Project Impact Summit 99 meeting here in Washington. This is a new FEMA initiative under Director James Witt, which strives to build a disaster resistant community. Cities and towns from around the nation were present for workshops and meetings. In conjunction with the meeting I worked to arrange a meeting between the Mayor of Fargo, North Dakota and his staff with FEMA personnel. The City of Fargo is attempting to purchase platted (subdivided) land, which they have placed under a Red River flood plain building moratorium. During the meeting the City Engineer presented maps and aerial views of the subdivisions and argued that the City needed support for its moratorium until FEMA completes its flood plain mapping.
Later that week I was on hand for the Capital Hill meetings where the U. S. Congress hosted the Summit 99 participants. Many city engineers and public works directors from around the country were also present. Those that I spoke with were surprised to find a civil engineer on the Senate staff. They were also very supportive of my work in hopes that their issues on flood control will receive a fair hearing. While in my commuting mode on Monday, December 6th, I overheard some gentlemen on the airport shuttle bus discussing the day?s news in the New York Times. It seems the Devils Lake, North Dakota project which I have been working on was reported as one of the major water resource issues for the Canadian Government as it pertains to the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. Manitoba Premier Gary Doer had visited the site with North Dakota Governor Ed Schafer and the Times was reporting their visit. The project will provide an outlet to the Cheyenne River which flows into the Red River north into Canada.
Toward the end of the month I met with Stephanie Osborn, Congressional Affairs Officer for the American Public Works Association (APWA) and Ann McColloch, Manager of Rebuild America Coalition. APWA is proposing legislation for wet weather flows sponsored by Rep. LaTourette (R-OH). I will be working on the combined sewer overflow (CSO) funding legislation as the second session begins.
Also of note is a very pleasant lunch that I had, just before the holidays, with our ASCE President Delon Hampton. It was a very informal affair but the discussion centered on his vision for the future of Civil Engineering. One of his focus points is public policy and the need to ?show up? during leadership and policy discussions involving our infrastructure. We are fortunate in having a cadre of amazingly brilliant civil engineers who are willing to give of their time to lead our profession. Delon Hampton is one of these. Hopefully my post as ASCE Congressional Fellow will lend at least one small block to the great pyramid of public policy which ASCE wishes to construct.
Respectfully submitted,
David L. Westerling
