The Week Ending June 9, 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:
1. Bipartisan Brownfields Bill Introduced in Senate
Senior Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee have introduced a bipartisan bill that would aid in the cleanup of abandoned industrial areas, known as brownfields. The bill, which is designed to fund cleanups while reducing legal barriers to brownfields redevelopment, is supported by Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Bob Smith (R-NH) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), senior Democrat on the Committee. Other supporters include Sens. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).
The bill would provide $150 million per year for five years for grants to local governments to assess and clean up brownfields. The measure also seeks to reduce barriers to brownfields cleanups by eliminating legal hurdles, such as "clarifying" certain Superfund liability provisions for so-called contiguous property owners, prospective purchasers and innocent landowners. The bill would give $50 million annually to states to bolster their cleanup programs.
2. House Votes on OSHA Ergonomics Rule
The House defeated an amendment by Representative James Traficant (D-OH) to the Labor - Health and Human Service - Education Appropriations bill (H.R. 4577) that would have struck controversial language from the bill. The provision in question prohibits the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from spending any funds to issue a final rule on workplace ergonomics standards.
Blocking the OSHA rule is a top priority for the business community. In defeating the amendment, the House voted 220-203 to block the rule, which would require more than 1.5 million employers to take steps to prevent workers from being injured on the job.
ASCE submitted comments to OSHA on the proposed rule back in March. ASCE raised concerns about the fairness and cost to employers of the proposed rule. ASCE's comments are available on the web .
3. Transportation Spending Bill May Soon Move to Senate Floor
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) on June 6 said he plans to move the Fiscal Year 2001 Transportation appropriations bill to the Senate floor by the end of the week of June 12. His plans call for the bill to be marked up in the Transportation Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee early on June 9 and be taken up in the full Appropriations Committee on June 12 or 13. He said the bill might proceed to the Senate floor as early as June 14. However, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) is expected to attach to the bill controversial language that would allow states to use some of their highway funds on passenger rail service such as Amtrak.
The House of Representatives already passed its version of the FY 2001 Transportation spending bill (H.R. 4475) on May 19. The bill would provide approximately $55 billion for transportation programs, about $3 billion more than last year. H.R. 4475 met the spending levels required by the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA 21) as well as the recent Wendell H. Ford Airport Improvement Act for the 21st Century (AIR 21).
4. Democrats Try to Move School Construction Bill
House Democrats launched a rarely used discharge petition to force the Education and Workforce Committee to take action on H.R. 3705, a $1.3 billion emergency school repair and modernization proposal. If a majority of the Committee supports the petition, then the Chairman, William Goodling (R-PA), would be forced to consider the bill. Goodling has thus far refused to consider the bill. The bill would provide grants and loans for 8,300 renovation projects in high-need school districts.
5. House Passes Estate Tax Phase-Out Bill
The House of Representatives on June 9 passed H.R. 8, the "Death Tax Elimination Act of 2000," a bill to eliminate the federal estate and gift tax. The bill, introduced by Reps. Jennifer Dunn (R-WA) and John Tanner (D-TN), would completely phase out the estate and gift tax over ten years. The bill passed on a 279-136 vote, a big enough margin to override a Presidential veto. However, the measure faces an uncertain future in the Senate.
6. Issue Survey Coming to Your Mailbox
The next time you reach into your mailbox, you may find ASCE's first annual Key Contact Issues Survey. ASCE's Government Relations Department is asking you, as an important member of our Key Contact Program, to help us set our compass for 2001 on the most important public policy issues for the civil engineering profession at the federal and state/local levels. Your responses to the survey will be compiled into a report for ASCE's Committee on Government Affairs and Board of Direction to assist in determining our public policy priorities for the 107th Congress. Please complete the survey and return it to ASCE's Government Relations Department by July 12, 2000. If you have any questions, please contact Liz Hermsen, Manager of Grassroots Programs at govwash@asce.org or (202) 789-2200.
