The Week Ending July 14, 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:
Clinton Trumps Congress on TMDL Regulation
The Clinton administration bypassed Congress this week and adopted a new regulation aimed at reducing the amount of pollutants flowing into an estimated 20,000 rivers, lakes and streams. The regulation, which establishes a federal timetable for states to establish a "total maximum daily load" (TMDL) for pollutants in thousands of waterways, was promulgated hours before the president signed into law a bill prohibiting him from adopting "new" TMDLs. Because the rule was promulgated before the law was signed, it was not a "new" rule under the meaning of the legislative requirement.
Angry members of Congress, who strongly opposed new pollution restrictions under pressure from regulated industries, now appear ready to block implementation of the TMDL regulation by refusing to give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) any funds to carry out the program. But the rule itself says it will not take effect until October 1, 2001, rendering meaningless any congressional budget restrictions that may be imposed during the coming fiscal year.
EPA proposed the TMDL rule in August 1999. The regulation is designed to set a cap on the pollution entering a given water body and decide how much of that pollution can come from various sources. The Agency agreed to a number of changes in the program in response to the comments received after its initial proposal, including those from Members of Congress. In general, the changes provide the states with significant new flexibility in implementing the program.
The changes include dropping provisions that could have required new permits for forestry, livestock, and aquaculture operations; significantly enhancing state flexibility; giving states four years instead of two years to update inventories of polluted waters; and allowing states to establish their own schedules for when polluted waters will achieve health standards, not to exceed 15 years.
Dam Rehabilitation Bill Vote Likely Next Week
Early in the week of July 17, The House of Representatives is expected to finally vote on H.R. 728, "The Small Watershed Rehabilitation Amendments of 1999." The vote had previously been delayed because of a privacy amendment, attached to the original bill by Congressman Charles Stenholm (D-TX), to prohibit the U.S. Department of Agriculture from releasing privileged information obtained from farmers while providing technical assistance. That issue has reportedly been worked out.
Thanks to those members who have already contacted their Representatives in support of H.R. 728 -- those who haven't, as well as those who have, still have time to call their Representatives to remind them to support H.R. 728. For those who wish to closely track this vote, the House's voting schedule is available on their web site at http://majoritywhip.house.gov/whippost.asp. The site is updated periodically to reflect changes in House floor schedules.
H-1B Visa Action Unlikely Until End of Session
Congressional and industry supporters of H-1B visa legislation were continuing to map strategy on July 13 in the wake of a contentious exchange earlier this week between the bill's key House Republican and Democratic sponsors. Various bills under consideration would increase the number of skilled workers permitted to enter the United States each year. The current limit of 115,000 per year had already been reached.
Both Republicans and Democrats, eager to be supportive of high-tech industry, support the increases but have differing ideas on how to implement the increases. However, ASCE and other engineering and scientific societies have expressed concern about raising the caps. ASCE believes that the nation's best interests would be solved by improving education opportunities for U.S. workers and reforming the permanent immigration admission system to ensure a capable and resilient U.S. workforce.
Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) has accused Republicans of foot dragging on some immigration proposals designed to benefit Haitians and Central Americans that many Democrats want added to the bill. The exchange has raised concerns that the H-1B legislation will remain hung up amid partisan wrangling.
Aides to House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-MO) reportedly met with various Democratic staff members on July 13 for a strategy session on the bill. Several congressional and industry sources this week said they believe the situation is salvageable--but probably only later in the session, when H-1B visa legislation may be folded into an omnibus spending package. Sources said that would seem to largely rule out either party getting the credit for having passed the legislation, which is strongly backed by the high technology industry.
Senator Spencer Abraham (R-MI) who is engaged in a tight re-election race, is among the leading Senate sponsors of similar H-1B legislation, which would increase the cap on the number of skilled foreign professionals who could enter the United States. The high tech industry says it has projects languishing because of a lack of skilled employees.
Meanwhile, Representatives Christopher Cox (R-CA) and David Wu (D-OR) are crafting an amendment to the H-1B bill that would require employers who hire H-1B workers to make scholarship payments to institutions of higher education in an amount equal to a Pell grant.
Senate Backs Permanent Extension of the R&D Tax Credit
In an encouraging, but more than likely futile, move the Senate on July 13 voted 98-1 to approve an amendment to permanently extend the research and development tax credit. The amendment was to the H.R. 8, the tax bill that includes the repeal of estate taxes and the marriage penalty. The bill is likely to pass the Senate July 14 or early in the week of July 17. The House has already passed a version of the bill. The President has indicated that he will veto the bill as too costly, citing the estimated cost of $28.3 billion over five years.
Senate Rejects Gas Tax Repeal
The Senate on July 13 rejected a proposal to suspend the 18.4 cents per gallon gas tax as a way of countering high gas prices. The proposal, offered as an amendment to H.R. 8, the tax relief bill, was sponsored by Senator Spencer Abraham (R-MI). Opponents attacked the proposal as a threat to the integrity of the Highway Trust Fund. It drew support from only 40 Senators with 59 voting to reject the proposal. This is the third time the Senate has turned back a proposal to repeal, reduce or suspend the gas tax in the past few months. ASCE opposes all gas tax repeal bills because gas tax revenues are directly deposited into the Highway Trust Fund under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) and any cut in those taxes could reduce highway funding to all states. Though the 18.4 cents per gallon is labeled as a tax, it is really a user fee--it helps to ensure that highway users pay for highway programs and air travelers pay for airport infrastructure.
Transportation Contributes More Than Expected to Economy
The most up-to-date picture of transportation services shows that these services contributed 60 percent more to the U.S. economy than is shown by traditional economic accounts. A report, issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), shows that transportation services contributed $378 billion to the national economy in 1996, the latest year for which figures are available, $142 billion larger than the estimate from traditional accounts. The transportation sector grew by 21 percent from 1992, the only other year for which comparable figures are available. The report and related data are available on BEA's website at http://www.bea.doc.gov (under National Industry and wealth data). A PDF version of the report is on the web at the BEA Website.
House Passes Agriculture Appropriations Bill
The House of Representatives on July 11 approved their Fiscal Year 2001 Agriculture spending bill. The legislation (H.R. 4461), which passed with a vote of 339-82, would provide $75.4 billion, $6 billion more than in FY 2000 but $1.5 billion less than the President's budget request. Conservation programs would be funded at $676.8 million, $16 million more than FY 2000. President Clinton has said he will veto the measure in its present form.
Last Chance to Complete Issues Survey On-Line
July 14 is the deadline for filling out the 2001 Issues Survey. If you haven't done so already, please fill out the survey on-line. 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. If you have any questions, please contact Liz Hermsen, Manager of Grassroots Programs at govwash@asce.org or (202) 789-2200.
State Legislative Update
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 govwash@asce.org.
- "Smart Growth" to Top Governors' Agenda
Maryland Governor Parris Glendening, the newly elected chairman of the National Governors' Association (NGA), has vowed to make smart growth the top issue for that association, much as he has done in his home state of Maryland. Glendening, who as governor has pushed for policies to check what he views as uncontrolled growth, noted that different states have taken a variety of approaches to the issue of smart growth. While having no official policy-making powers, the NGA is nonetheless seen as a major forum for ideas, and many positions it has espoused have gone on to legislative enactment in many states. Glendening's support for smart growth may still encounter opposition from a number of his colleagues in the NGA, such as Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorn, who warned that he would attempt to see that any policies adopted by the NGA contained "strict adherence to private property rights." - Gas Tax in New Jersey
New Jersey became the latest state to take action on rising gas prices by repealing a new gas tax that was set to take effect July 1. The tax would have been 2.75 percent per gallon at the wholesale level, which would have translated into an increased cost of about an extra four cents per gallon for consumers. - Environmental Regulations in North Carolina
The North Carolina House's Environment and Natural Resources Committee approved a pilot program designed to increase environmental quality while reducing regulatory burdens on business. The program would allow 10 companies that substantially comply with state environmental regulations for three years to enter into a negotiated emissions agreement whereby they could avoid the state's pollution permitting process and regulations while being allowed to increase certain amounts of pollutants in exchange for reducing others.
