This Week in Washington

This weekly report is written by the American Society of Civil Engineers' 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 by e-mail or at 202/789-2200.

Inside This Week:

• Congress Begins Detailed Work on Energy Legislation
• Congress Backs Tougher Standards for Arsenic in Drinking Water
• ACEC Lobbyist Joins Bush Administration at OFPP
• House Passes Initiatives on Education

1. Congress Begins Detailed Work on Energy Legislation

Congress began putting the details into a comprehensive energy bill August 1, as members anticipated the start of a month-long recess at the end of this week.

The U.S. House of Representatives rejected steeper increases in automobile fuel economy standards as it debated the broad energy bill. On a 269-160 vote, the House rejected a proposal that would have required gas mileage of sport utility vehicles to rise to an average of 27.5 miles per gallon by 2007, making them comparable to cars.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee began writing its own comprehensive energy bill on the same day. The Committee took a tougher stand on automobile fuel efficiency by approving a provision requiring the industry to produce a car that gets 110 miles a gallon by 2015 and improve efficiency by 25 percent.

The Senate bill proposes spending $38.5 billion on research and development over the next five years, an increase of $3.9 billion above existing funding levels for a five-year period. The Senate plans to consider energy legislation in September.

2. Congress Backs Tougher Standards for Arsenic in Drinking Water

The U.S. Senate voted August 1 to require new arsenic standards for drinking water, approving compromise language that would add pressure on President Bush to lower acceptable levels of arsenic permitted. Senators voted 97-1 to require the Environmental Protection Agency to put new arsenic regulations into effect immediately.

The Senate provision was more vague than the U.S. House of Representatives measure approved last week, which would require the administration maintain the maximum level of 10 parts per billion that former President Clinton set before leaving office in January.

3. ACEC Lobbyist Joins Bush Administration at OFPP

Jack Kalavritinos, general counsel and vice president of government relations for the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), the industry trade association, has been appointed Assistant Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP). The OFPP oversees all federal procurement regulations, including those implementing qualifications based selection for architects and engineers and federal design-build programs.

Steven Hall, former Chief of Staff for Rep. Sue Kelly (R-NY), has been appointed to replace Kalavritinos as head of ACEC's government affairs operations.

4. House Passes Initiatives on Education

On July 30, the U.S. House of Representatives approved two bills designed to help boost math, science, engineering and technology education across the country. The first bill, H.R. 1858, introduced by Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) would authorize $200 million annually over five years for education partnerships. It would also authorize $15 million a year for research scholarships for math and science teachers, plus $20 million each year to create a Web-based digital library compiling math and science research for teachers.

The second bill, H.R. 100, introduced by Congressman Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), would authorize grants for teachers in an effort to increase the math and science proficiency of American youngsters. Both bills passed on voice votes.

Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Pat Roberts (R-KS) have introduced the U.S. Senate companion legislation, S.1262, to Rep Boehlert's NSF bill, HR 1858.