For the Week Ending September 22, 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:

   
FREE BREAKFAST IN SEATTLE
Will you be attending the 2000 Civil Engineering Conference and Exposition in Seattle? On Thursday, October 19 from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., members of ASCE’s Key Contact Program are invited to learn more about the accomplishments of the 106th Congress and how to make the most of the Key Contact Program. Representative Norm Dicks (D-WA) has been invited to be the keynote speaker. Representative Dicks is the Ranking Minority Member of the House Appropriations Interior subcommittee and also sits on the Military Construction and Defense subcommittees.

ASCE’s Key Contact Program provides members with the opportunity to help shape public policy in areas that affect the civil engineering profession. This breakfast is offered free of charge to Key Contact Program members by the ASCE Government Relations Department. Advance registration is required. Please contact Liz Hermsen, ASCE Manager of Grassroots Programs at (202) 789-2200 or lhermsen@asce.org to reserve your seat or to learn more about the Key Contact Program.

   
HOUSE AND SENATE STILL STRUGGLING WITH APPROPRIATIONS
Once again, Congress went another week without sending any appropriations legislation to the White House for signature, and just eight days before the end of the fiscal year only two of thirteen appropriations measures have been signed by President Clinton. The Senate failed in its attempt to pass a mini-omnibus appropriations bill that included both the Legislative Branch appropriations and the Treasury-Postal-General Government Appropriations legislation.

House and Senate conferees were nearing agreement late this week on the Interior spending bill. However, the Transportation Appropriations legislation still had a number of sticking points including language that would penalize states that do not adopt a drunk driving standard of .08 percent blood alcohol content. If included in the final bill, states would lose up to 10 percent of their federal highway funds for not adopting the more stringent standards.

   
SENATE BEGINS DEBATE ON WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT BILL
The Senate began debate on September 21 on a bill that would authorize the Corps of Engineers to carry out an estimated $2 billion for 22 new inland navigation, flood control and damage reduction, environmental restoration, and shore protection projects in over the next two years.

The bill, the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2000, also would authorize about $1.7 billion to begin a long-term project to restore the natural environment of the south Florida ecosystem, including the Everglades. The entire Everglades project is expected to cost nearly $8 billion over 36 years. The Senate is expected to vote on its bill on the evening of September 25.

The House has not yet begun consideration of its water resources bill. A draft bill prepared by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in July has been stymied by partisan differences over the extension of Davis-Bacon Act prevailing wage requirements to the water resources projects funded by WRDA.

   
SENATE STILL STRUGGLING WITH H-1B SIDE ISSUES
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) is still working on legislation to increase the numbers of “high-tech” workers permitted to enter the US under the H-1B visa program. A clear majority of both Republican and Democratic Senators support the measure, in view of the wishes of the computer industry and despite opposition from ASCE and other engineering and scientific societies. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the H1B legislation the evening of Tuesday, September 26.

The bill was stalled over Democrat plans to add so-called “Latino fairness” provisions to the bill. Democrats view H-1B, which is the only immigration bill to be considered in the final days of the 106th Congress, as the only avenue for their issues.

Lott is attempting to reach a compromise which would permit a “clean” H-1B bill to be considered in exchange for an agreement to consider the other immigration issues as part of the FY 2001 Commerce-Justice-State appropriations bill. Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) is seeking to have an up or down vote as an amendment to the H-1B visa bill.

   
ASCE URGES DOT TO REVISE TEA-21 STREAMLINING RULE
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has asked the Department of Transportation to revise a proposed regulation in order to improve the Department's ability to streamline the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process for federal-aid highways.

In comments filed with the DOT on September 20, ASCE said the environmental streamlining regulation proposed by the DOT in May would not result in speedier environmental reviews as required by TEA-21. "We believe the proposal is faulty because it fails, at a minimum, to establish firm deadlines for the completion of the federal portion of the transportation streamlining process and it opens the door for streamlining pilot projects in contravention of the intent of Congress," ASCE said. Comments on the proposed rule may be viewed at the DOT Web site at http://dms.dot.gov/search/hitlist.asp.

   
NAS URGES FASTER PROCESS FOR SCIENCE, ENGINEERING APPOINTMENTS
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) believes the slow process of appointing scientists and engineers to senior policy positions in the federal government discourages more highly qualified applicants from seeking these critical jobs. In a report released on September 21, NAS urged the White House and the Congress to improve the process. The report is available on NAS’ web site at http://www4.nationalacademies.org/pd/presappt.nsf.

The report said more timely selection of scientists and engineers is important. It concluded that the pool of talented candidates for presidential appointments is not as extensive as it should be, and the current appointment process "is slow, duplicative, and unpredictable."

To remedy these difficulties, the President needs to initiate the appointment process for key science and technology posts early in the administration. The President also needs to increase the breadth and depth of the pool of candidates by reducing the financial and vocational obstacles to government service, the report added. Finally, the President and the Senate must work together to accelerate the approval process for all nominees in science and technology positions.

   
FED CHAIR TESTIFIES ON MATH AND SCIENCE EDUCATION
Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, testified on September 21 before the House Education and Workforce Committee on H.R. 4272, “The National Science Education Enhancement Act.” The bill is one of three bills introduced by Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) designed to improve Kindergarten-12th grade (K-12) science, math, engineering and technological (SMET) education in the U.S. ASCE is a strong supporter of these bills. Learn more about Rep. Ehlers’ legislation at http://www.house.gov/ehlers/issues/science.

In his statement, Greenspan noted that “early success in problem solving clearly enhances the self-esteem of young people and encourages them to engage in ever more complex reasoning. We all tend to gravitate toward those activities that we do best. This is a self-reinforcing process in which early success promotes further effort in a self-perpetuating direction. This is true of playing Little League baseball or the piano, as well as doing math.” Greenspan’s entire statement can be read at http://www.federalreserve.gov.

   
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 bill(s), 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.

Ballot Initiative in Colorado
In addition to Amendment 24, Colorado voters will also be facing a decision on election day about tax cuts. Amendment 21, also appearing on the November ballot, would mandate a $25 reduction per tax bill in a variety of taxes. Opponents of this initiative, including the Colorado Association of Homebuilders, claim that it would lead to drastic reductions in state services, including reducing the amount of money available for transportation spending by one-third.

   
ASCE CONGRESSIONAL FELLOW’S FINAL REPORT
Below is David Westerling’s final report as ASCE’s 1999-2000 Congressional Fellow. As reported last week, Yumei Wang has begun her Fellowship year and her reports will begin at the end of the month.

In addition to returning to his teaching position, Dave has stayed on in Sen. Kent Conrad's (D-ND) office on a part-time basis until the session is over. Dave is also contemplating a run for the Massachusetts House in 2002.

A second appropriations bill, the Department of Defense Spending bill, was signed by the President on August 9th. That leaves 11 appropriation bills to be sent to the President by the end of the 106th Congressional session. The Senate will reconvene from summer recess on Tuesday 5th. Majority Leader, Trent Lott (R-MS), has set the daytime agenda to discuss the China Permanent Normal Trade Relations Bill and the evening agenda to discuss the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill (H.R. 4733). The House passed H.R. 4733 on June 28th by a vote of 407 yeas to 19 nays. As discussed in last month’s Congressional Fellows Report, H.R. 4733 contains language for construction of the Devil’s Lake Outlet only if the Secretary of the Army’s Report to Congress finds that the project is economically justified and environmentally acceptable.

This month I attended the ASCE 2000 Joint Conference on Water Resources Engineering and Water Resources Planning and Conference in Minneapolis. As a member of the Environmental Water Resources Institute (EWRI) Public Policy Committee, I attended weekend meetings of EWRI held in conjunction with the conference. As a conference attendee I presented a paper titled: “Water Resource Development from a Congressional Viewpoint.” The paper presented the various committee structures in both houses of congress and discussed the process for successfully passing water resource project legislation. I used the case study of Devils Lake North Dakota to provide samples of previous and current legislation for design and construction of the project. Copies of the paper, as well as other conference presentations, will be available on CD-Rom from ASCE later this month.

Also this month I attended the Congressional Research Service’s (CRS) Graduate Institute. This week long institute begins with two days of hearings and caucus meetings at the Madison Building here in Washington. It continues in Richmond, Virginia at the Virginia State House where we participated in floor discussion and debate on two major bills along with amendments and bills proposed from the floor. I took the role of a Democratic Senator from North Dakota and was the Minority Party Whip. Some of the floor debates lasted up to six hours with various bills coming over from the House side. Floor procedures and articulation of personal and caucus positions were emphasized. Also I was Ranking Member of the Conference Committee on the Biological Pathogen/Terrorism legislation. CRS should be congratulated for its efforts to educate congressional staff through this institute.

As mentioned last month I will attempt to summarize my year here on Capital Hill. The best way would be to review my columns in “This Week in Washington” over the past 12 months. I appreciate the time which Senator Conrad has given to me and the help I was given from the excellent staff here in Senator Conrad’s office. I was always given a warm and friendly welcome even if it was in the heat of a hectic day of Senate business. The interaction with other Senators and Congressmen and their staffs was the best part of being here. The entire process of legislative hearings, caucusing within the party, and meeting with other stakeholders including lobbyists, nonprofit groups and constituents was both informative and provocative.

Also I would be remiss not to mention the support I received from the ASCE Washington office staff, especially Casey Dinges, Brian Pallasch and Martin Hight. Their support along with that of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) will be remembered. AAAS, through their Fellows orientation and year long seminar/social series, provided me with a continuous flow of scientific and engineering topical lectures and gave me a great network of Science and Engineering Fellows to work with here on the Hill and throughout the beltway network of agencies and public policy organizations.

Lastly the good news is that I will be continuing on here through the 13th of October on a part-time basis. I will be here in Senator Conrad’s office on Mondays and Tuesdays through the end of the congressional session. As Yumei Wang, the new ASCE Congressional Fellow, starts her year, I hope to work with her to continue these monthly updates which provide ASCE members some insight into the action here in Washington, DC.