The Week Ending May 19, 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:
Senator Asks for Floor Action on H-1B Legislation
The partisan squabbling over an increase in H-1B visas took a new turn Thursday as Senate Minority Whip Harry Reid (D-NV) called on Republicans to bring H-1B legislation to the floor for a vote - even as the GOP continues to blame Democrats for the delay in moving the measure. The letter urged Senate Majority Leader Lott (R-MS) "to bring H-1B legislation to the Senate floor for consideration as soon as possible ... I have heard from more than enough companies to know that this is imperative to the [information technology] industry maintaining a worldwide lead in this sector."
The bill, approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in March, would increase to 195,000 the number of H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers through 2002 and would exempt from the numerical caps holders of graduate degrees and employees at institutions of higher learning. The current limit is 115,000 per year, which has already been reached for 2000.
On the House side, the Judiciary Committee approved legislation (H.R. 4227) that would completely eliminate the cap for the years 2000-2002. The House bill would require employers seeking H-1B workers to demonstrate that there was a net increase over the previous year in the median wages paid to fulltime U.S. workers on their payroll. Industry has raised objections to provisions of this bill.
ASCE has expressed concern about these bills and has urged Congress to directly address the short fall of technical workers through better education and training.
Committee Holds Hearing on Math and Science Education Bill
The House Science Committee held a hearing on Wednesday, May 17 on H.R. 4271, the "National Science Education Act." The bill, introduced by Representative Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), is part of a package of bills designed to improve science, math, engineering and technology (SMET) education. The legislation has the backing of a strong coalition of engineering (including ASCE), scientific, technology, mathematics, educational and industry groups.
The bill directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) to set up a program to establish master teachers of math and science for grades K-8. These master teachers would mentor and train their peers in hands-on, inquiry-oriented, concept-based instruction. The bill received a sympathetic hearing from the Science Committee and will likely be cleared for floor action in the near future.
Congressman Ehlers had earlier asked for help in his efforts to improve SMET education. Information is available in the May 5 edition of This Week in Washington on the web at /govnpub/grweekly/grwk0505_sciencebill.cfm.
Small Watershed Dam Rehabilitation Vote Delayed
Last week, the House of Representatives was scheduled to vote on H.R. 728, "The Small Watershed Rehabilitation Amendments of 1999," but postponed it, until a later date to be determined, because of disagreements over funding levels. The Senate Agriculture Committee is also expected to soon take action on its own similar version of the bill, S. 1762, "The Small Watershed Rehabilitation Act of 1999," and then send it to the full Senate for its consideration.
ASCE previously sent a Key Alert regarding H.R. 728. The Alert is available on ASCE's web site at /govnpub/key_contact/ka0500_watersheddams.cfm. Thanks to those members who have already contacted their Representatives in support of H.R. 728 -- those who haven't still have time to contact their Representatives to support H.R. 728 and also their Senators to support S. 1762.
House Approves Transportation Spending Bill
The House of Representatives on May 19 passed the Fiscal Year 2001 Transportation appropriations bill by an overwhelming vote of 395-13. The bill would provide a total of $15.8 billion, of which nearly $15 billion is new, discretionary budget authority. As a result of House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee oversight hearings, the FY2001 bill also includes a provision to prohibit federal officials from authorizing advance construction on the Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel project in Boston.
ASCE Holds Civil engineering Research Policy Forum
ASCE on May 17-18 held its Civil Engineering Research Policy Forum, the last of three policy forums this year. At the kick-off luncheon, Representative Ralph Hall, Ranking Member of the House Science Committee, updated members of ASCE's Committee on Government Affairs, National Research Policy Committee, and the Civil Engineering Research Foundation on the status of funding for the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Building and Fire Research Lab. The ASCE members then made visits to their congressional offices and attended an evening reception on Capitol Hill. The policy forum's purpose was to increase awareness of the research study, development, and dissemination of information about issues affecting the civil engineering profession.
DOT Secretaries Kick Off National Transportation Week
At the May 15 launch of National Transportation Week, four U.S. Secretaries of Transportation joined to discuss the future of transportation. In a panel discussion entitled "Transportation in the 21st Century" held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., former Department of Transportation Secretaries Alan S. Boyd (1967-69), William T. Coleman (1975-77) and Samuel K. Skinner (1989-91), along with current U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater, shared their views of the transportation system of the future. During the forum, Secretary Slater outlined his vision for the next 25 years, and his fellow Secretaries provided their perspectives, reflecting on Slater's upcoming "Transportation 2025" report. The secretaries said issues such as e-commerce, globalization, and technology will have a major impact on transportation needs in the coming years. ASCE is a sponsor of National Transportation Week.
Congress first designated National Transportation Week over 35 years ago to draw attention to transportation issues. During the week, transportation organizations sponsor community events, conduct outreach to schools, and work with the media to increase public awareness of transportation and to educate the public about transportation issues. The week also provides a major opportunity to carry the message of transportation careers to students, teachers, and parents. Additional information on National Transportation Week can also be obtained from the website http://www.ntweek.org.
EPA Proposes Sharp Reductions in Sulfur in Diesel Fuel
The Environmental Protection Agency this week proposed to reduce by 97 percent the amount of sulfur presently in diesel fuel "to create the cleanest running heavy-duty trucks and buses in history."
"This action will provide greatly improved air quality for all Americans," said EPA Administrator Carol Browner. "It will reduce smog-causing nitrogen oxides from these vehicles by 95 percent. It will reduce harmful particulate matter, or soot, by 90 percent. It is the clean air equivalent of removing from the air the pollution generated by 13 million of today's trucks."
Older, dirtier diesel vehicles can emit almost eight tons of air pollution a year. There also is increasing evidence that diesel exhaust may cause lung cancer in humans, the EPA said. This proposal would reduce 2.8 million tons of smog-causing nitrogen oxides emissions each year once the program is fully implemented. Emissions of soot would be reduced by 110,000 tons each year, according to the Agency.
ASCE continues to provide updates on state legislation affecting civil engineers as state legislative sessions progress. For more information on the following bills, or any other state legislative matters, please contact Austin Fulk, ASCE's Manager of State Government Relations, at (202) 789-2200 or via email at afulk@asce.org.
Regional Report Card in Delaware
Following up on the momentum generated by the 1998 release of ASCE national's Report Card on America's Infrastructure, the Delaware Section became the first section to grade its regional infrastructure. The Report Card on Delaware's Infrastructure was unveiled at a hearing of the Delaware legislature's Capital Infrastructure Committee on Tuesday, May 16, and received an enthusiastic reception. The legislators on the committee wholeheartedly endorsed the report card's findings, which gave the state's infrastructure an overall grade of D+, and praised the section for its efforts to draw attention to the problem of poor infrastructure. Following the hearing, the section held a news conference on the Report Card, which generated news coverage from three newspapers, two radio stations, and a TV station where the report card was the lead story. The section also plans to follow up on the success of the report card by issuing updates to the grades in the future.
