The Week Ending February 4, 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:
Smith Sets Agenda for Senate Environment Committee
Senator Bob Smith (R-NH) has set an ambitious course of action for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, according to David Conover, the Committee's staff director.
Conover outlined the Committee's agenda for the coming congressional session at a meeting of architects, engineers, and construction industry leaders in Washington.
Legislation to restore the Everglades will be a key priority and the Committee has already held a field hearing in Florida. The project, developed by the Army Corps of Engineers, has a price tag of $7.8 billion.
The Committee will also work to find a compromise on the Superfund issue, which may come in the form of stand-alone "brownfields" legislation if the larger funding and liability issues cannot be resolved in the House and Senate. Hearings will also be held on EPA's proposed rule on TMDLs. Further, Conover made it clear that there is not a lot of support by the Republicans on the Committee for additional funds to be appropriated for Wilson Bridge construction. President Clinton is requesting an additional $600 million for the project in his FY 2001 budget.
In the longer term, Conover stated that Smith wants to reestablish the Environment and Public Works Committee as the oversight committee of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by writing an overall authorization bill for the EPA every one or two years. Congress appropriates more than $7 billion a year to the EPA but there has never been an authorization bill for the agency. Authorizing legislation would provide the Congress with more formal oversight over the projects and programs of the agency.
Smith also hopes to move legislation reauthorizing funding for the State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF) program under the Clean Water Act, Conover added. He said the needs total billions and the Congress has only been appropriating millions for the program. He said any such legislation also might include provisions on "wet weather" issues such as combined sewer overflows.
Chairman Shuster Says AIR-21 Still His Priority for This Year
House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Shuster stated this week that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill, known as AIR-21, is his number one priority this year. Once again, Shuster called for an end to the stalemate plaguing the conference committee on the FAA bill, and expressed confidence that Senate Majority Leader Lott would push the Senate to come to a compromise. Shuster said the airport trust fund must be unlocked so the money can be spent on aviation, an issue on which he said he and Senate Budget Chairman Domenici have a "verbal agreement." Both sides said they are willing to compromise, but so far appear to be at an impasse. Shuster said the General Accounting Office has estimated that Congress needs to spend an additional $1 billion a year to keep up with increased air travel projected in the future.
Shuster also listed among his other priorities for this year finishing a water resources bill, passing the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act, reauthorizing the Surface Transportation Board and the Federal Railroad Administration, and streamlining disaster relief.
Use Sound Science for Endangered Species, ASCE Tells House Panel
Congress should ensure that any changes to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) require the use of sound science in the listing and delisting of endangered species, ASCE told a House committee this week.
ASCE favors a narrowly tailored, middle-ground approach to amending the ESA," ASCE said in a letter to the House Resources Committee. "A major goal of the ESA is the recovery of species to the point at which the protection of the Act is no longer necessary. Judged by this standard, the Act could be considered a failure: only 11 species have been delisted due to recovery as of mid-1997. Seven species have become extinct since their listing, and nine have been delisted due to improved data. Some of the nine species were originally listed to protect any last remaining few that might have been alive at the time of listing."
ASCE also said that Congress should ensure that the ESA integrates science and engineering in the process of identifying and listing critical habitat. Critical habitat decisions should require peer review and improved collection and field testing of data, the Society's letter said. "The law should allow concerned individuals to consult with the U.S. Department of the Interior to determine whether a proposed action will jeopardize a species. The Act should require that a scientific demonstration of a take of individuals of a species precede enforcement actions," ASCE concluded.
The committee, chaired by Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), is considering Young's bill, H.R. 3160, which would overhaul the ESA. The bill would, among other things, require the Interior Department to establish "scientifically valid standards" for determining the taxonomy of all species and subspecies and require that any subspecies protected under the act must first be determined to be "reproductively isolated" from other populations.
Congress Unlikely to Reopen TEA-21 to Tinkering, Hill Staff Say
Congress is unlikely to consider amending the Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) until the current highway funding authorization expires on September 30, 2003, according to senior Capitol Hill staff members.
"TEA-21 has been a success," said Patty Doersch, Republican counsel to the Ground Transportation subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. "Our approach is to stay the course." Doersch said a "technical corrections" bill could cause more harm than good by opening the entire act to possible amendments. "There's a lot you can lose [on funding formulas], so you have to be careful," she said. Reopening the act carries considerable risks, including the possibility of a wholesale attack on the budgetary 'firewalls' that link highway and transit spending to gas tax receipts.
Dawn Levy, counsel to Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana) on the Senate and Environment and Public Works Committee, agreed. "We passed a six-year bill [in 1998] for a reason," she said at a national meeting of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) this week.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Bud Shuster (R-PA) also had made it clear the firewalls put in place to protect the transportation budget should not be touched, nor should money in the highway trust fund be moved to fund mass transit. Shuster previously urged caution on reopening the major highway bill without bipartisan agreements that it would not be used to reallocate funds. "Everyone in the world but me is saying we're going to have a technical correction bill," Shuster said. "But we can't do it unless we can deal with the policy issues in a bipartisan fashion."
A number of environmental and road improvement projects were being discussed for inclusion in a corrections bill this year. This was being pushed in part by a projected $3 billion surplus in gas tax revenues flowing into federal coffers this year.
In his Fiscal Year 2001 budget, President Clinton is expected to distribute a part of those extra highway funds to transit, rail, or other non-highway transportation programs and not according to the TEA-21 formula. However, Shuster, as well as members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said he is prepared to oppose such a plan saying that the budget should allocate the extra money according to the law's formula. On the other hand, appropriators may be more tempted to support the Administration's budget proposal because certain interest groups want to have a share of the surplus.
CBO Projects Surplus, Clinton Proposes More for Sciences
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected last Wednesday that the on-budget surplus, which excludes Social Security and Postal Service spending and revenue, will accrue over ten years to more than $800 billion and as much as $2 trillion by 2010, depending on congressional spending scenarios. Both Democrats and Republicans have proposals in the works to pay down the $3.6 trillion national debt with much of the surplus. However, the question remains as to whether the leftover. money should be used for tax cuts or new spending.
On Monday, President Clinton is scheduled to send his proposed Fiscal Year 2001 budget to Capitol Hill with a $2.8 billion increase for science and technology research. The President will ask for $4.6 billion, a $675 million increase from FY 2000, for the National Science Foundation (NSF), which includes funding for nanoscale science and engineering and the creation of centers for improving science, education, and technology. ASCE supports the mission of the NSF and promotes programs and funding that support the research and education needs of the civil engineering profession. "We need for more Americans to understand why we need a broad research agenda in science and technology", Clinton said last month.
Increased spending for science-related issues seems likely since House Science Committee Chair James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) said that he has heard some very positive comments by the Administration recently about science emerging as a budget priority.
OSHA to Clarify Rules on Home Offices
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Administrator Charles Jeffress stated before a Congressional Subcommittee that OSHA will issue a directive to spell out the agency's policy retreat on home offices. OSHA had earlier issued a letter stating that home offices were covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The agency later withdrew the letter.
Jeffress outlined the agency's policy toward working at home in seven broad statements that will form the basis of the formal directive. These statements are:
- The Occupational Safety and Health Act does not apply to an employee's house or furnishings.
- OSHA will not hold employers liable for work activities in employees' home offices.
- OSHA will not inspect home offices.
- Injuries and illnesses that occur in home offices must be logged under OSHA's record-keeping rule.
- Employers are responsible for the safety of workers employed in manufacturing operations and other potentially hazardous work within the employee's home.
- OSHA will only conduct inspections of those hazardous home-work sites when it has received a compliant or referral from a government agency.
Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), Chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation, urged Jeffress to issue a formal rulemaking proposal instead of a directive. Rulemaking would give the public and Congress an opportunity to have input into the policy. Several bills have been introduced which would prohibit OSHA from regulating home offices.
Thanks to Those Who Responded to Key Alert
A special thanks to all Key Contact program members who responded to last month's e-mail alert regarding the Congressional Wind Hazard Reduction Caucus. For those who have not done so, it is not too late to contact your Representatives encouraging them to join the Congressional Wind Hazard Reduction Caucus. The goal of the caucus is to seek government funding to support a National Wind Hazard Reduction Program that would focus on increasing public safety and decreasing the economic losses associated with tropical storms, thunderstorms, and tornadoes.
The alert can be found on ASCE's web site under Key Alerts. Please be sure to send a copy of your correspondence to ASCE's Government Relations Department, or fax 202/289-6797.
ASCE Congressional Fellow's Monthly Report
January 2000
The second session of the 106th Congress has begun its work. This means that the budget cycle has started toward the FY2001 budgets for executive branch agencies. Along with the State of the Union address in which President Clinton laid out broad goals come the proposed White House budget plans. These budgets were submitted by the agencies last fall and have been reviewed by White House policy experts and are ready to be submitted to Congress. Budget Briefings are scheduled to begin Feb 7.
Senator Conrad is a member of the Senate Budget Committee so this is a busy time in the office. All of the agency budgets will be the subject of hearings and oversight by the Senate and the House. My interests will be in following the budgets of the Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Energy, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Defense, which includes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Along with the important budget process is legislation pending on reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Water Resources Development Act of 2000.
Oversight hearings are scheduled on the EPA. s proposed new rules on total daily maximum loads (TMDLs) for non-point pollution sources. My preparation for these hearings included a three-day series of briefings by the Senate Agricultural Committee, which included presentations by EPA, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA), and other interested parties. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) summarized the issue on the last day. The rules require states to provide a list of "impaired streams" and a plan for their cleanup. Some non-point sources of pollution from forestry and agricultural activities that have been considered as non-point sources would be reclassified as point sources and would require a NPDES permit. A good information source for TMDLs is http://www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl.
Another issue which I have been involved with is the Nuclear Waste Bill (S. 1287) which authorizes Yuca Mountain, Nevada as the nation's nuclear waste site. While the original bill had the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as the agency to set standards for public health, the proposed revisions include the EPA as the standard-setting agency. This issue, along with nuclear waste transportation issues and a possible Presidential veto, looms on the horizon.
The North Dakota congressional staff met staff from the Senate Energy and Public Works Committee to discuss preparations for a summit meeting on the Dakota Water Resources Act, which is scheduled for late February. We outlined issues and a possible agenda for the meeting where Senators will discuss the possible resolution of the use of Missouri River water for drinking water uses in North Dakota.
This month, the Washington Post wrote a series of front page articles on American Rivers. The article of Monday, January 10 is specific to the Missouri River and is good background reading. I have been involved with the revisions to the Missouri River Master Manual. The Manual is the operating procedures that the Corps of Engineers use to regulate discharges through the powerhouse and spillway facilities of the six mainstream dams. These dams have a combined storage volume of 73.4 million acre feet (MAF) and provide multi-purpose uses for eight states. I have had to review the basic system description and operation reports and have participated in Corps of Engineers briefings here on Capital Hill on their proposed revisions which promote fisheries habitat, energy production and river navigation. Congressional approval of the revisions is pending.
Respectfully submitted,
David L. Westerling, 1999-2000 ASCE Congressional Fellow
