Jim Riley, Director, Government Affairs
John Boling, Director, Government Affairs
Joe Colaneri, Director, Government Affairs
Patricia Maeder, Division Coordinator
www.nssga.org
Action Center
e-Digest
- PRESIDENT EXPECTED TO SIGN MINER BILL THIS WEEK
- MSHA NOMINEE FINALLY TO GET A VOTE
- SPENDING BILLS CONTINUE TO ADVANCE THROUGH LEGISLATIVE PROCESS
- NSSGA TRACKS STATE EFFORTS TO SUSPEND, REPEAL HIGHWAY USER FEES
- HOUSE PANEL HEARS ABOUT SAFETEA-LU IMPLEMENTATION
- BILL INTRODUCED TO TAKE ACGIH OUT OF PROCESS
- HOUSE RESOURCES COMMITTEE SCHEDULE HEARING ON ENERGY BILL INCLUDING PROVISIONS TO SUPPORT MINING SCHOOLS
- HOUSE TO CONSIDER RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INTERSTATE
PRESIDENT EXPECTED TO SIGN MINER BILL THIS WEEK
As reported last week, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the "Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006" (MINER Act) by a vote of 381-37 on June 7, clearing the bill for the president's signature. It is the first revision to the nation's mine safety law in 28 years. The bill, S. 2803, proposes increased fines for safety violations and would require additional safety equipment in coal mines. Due to the efforts of NSSGA and its non-metal mining coalition partners, the bill distinguishes between coal mining and non-metal mining. Several elements, including the fine increases and the 15-minute emergency notification provisions, apply to all mines. NSSGA will be engaged in the regulatory process to ensure that these provisions do not overly burden the aggregate industry. A summary of the bill can be accessed here.
President Bush's nominee to lead the Mine Safety and Health Administration, Richard Stickler of West Virginia, will see his nomination taken up for a vote on June 13. Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) has placed a "hold" on the nomination, so far blocking a vote on confirmation, based upon concerns of how aggressively Stickler will act on safety issues. If Stickler receives the 60 votes necessary to limit debate on the nomination, thus ending Byrd's hold, there will be an immediate vote on confirmation. Sen. Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.) will manage floor debate for the Republicans, while Byrd and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) will split duty for the Democrats.
MSHA NOMINEE FINALLY TO GET A VOTE
A number of appropriations measures are winding their way through the committee process and are expected to reach the House floor the week of June 12. Expected to be considered is the conference report on the supplemental spending bill, followed immediately by the House Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, and District of Columbia (T-THUD) spending bill.
Starting is the supplemental spending bill to help fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Originally passed by the House at a level of $94.5 billion, the Senate chose to increase spending to $109 billion, which quickly drew a veto threat from the administration. At the end of the conference committee to reconcile the different versions of the bills, House and Senate negotiators agreed to stay within the administration's original spending request of $94.2 billion, plus an additional $2.3 billion for avian flu preparations. Conferees included in the conference report an appropriation of $702,362,500 from the general fund for the hurricane-related emergency relief highway program for formal requests from states identified in a list sent to Congress by the Federal Highway Administration. The money is offset by a rescission of $702,362,500 from apportionments of highway contract authority to states. The conferees gave the maximum amount of flexibility to meet the goals of the rescission.
Next in line for consideration by the House will be the $67.4 billion annual transportation spending bill, commonly referred to as "T-THUD," which passed the full Appropriations Committee on June 6. As reported in prior editions of e-Digest and Washington Watch, the bill funds the federal-aid highways program at $39.1 billion, as set by the recently enacted surface transportation authorization legislation, SAFETEA LU. This is an increase of half a billion more than the president's request and more than $3.1 billion over the FY '06 enacted level, excluding emergency spending bills.
There were two noticeable changes to the bill during committee consideration, the first being a manager's amendment by Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Joe Knollenberg (R-Mich.) which included 1,000 earmarks for highways, transit and economic development projects. The second was an amendment by Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) to prohibit the State of Alaska from using any funds in the bill to pay for the two controversial bridges dubbed "the Bridge to Nowhere." Considered a rule violation by "legislating" on the vehicle of an appropriations bill because of the way the amendment was written, it is unclear if the amendment will be struck when the bill reaches the House floor. Other amendments to delete earmarks are anticipated.
The House has now approved seven of the eleven annual spending bills, with the transportation spending bill on the House floor this week the total will rise to eight. At the current pace, the House will again meet Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis' (R-Calif.) goal of passing all appropriations bills by the Independence Day recess to give the Senate ample time to do its work. NSSGA is closely following developments relating to the annual appropriations and will keep NSSGA members informed of developments.
SPENDING BILLS CONTINUE TO ADVANCE THROUGH LEGISLATIVE PROCESS
NSSGA has researched and compiled a comprehensive grid detailing recent attempts at the state level to suspend or repeal highway user fees. To date, only one state, New York, has enacted such a measure (capping their state user fee at 8 cents per gallon.) While other proposals to suspend or repeal the user fee have been offered in a number of states, only a handful of state legislatures remain in session, so the prospect that we will see widespread suspensions or repeals is not likely. Please click here to view NSSGA's state highway user fee grid.
NSSGA TRACKS STATE EFFORTS TO SUSPEND, REPEAL HIGHWAY USER FEES
In a sparsely attended hearing, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways, Transit and Pipelines held a hearing with Department of Transportation (DOT) officials on its progress implementing SAFETEA-LU.
Federal Highway Administrator Richard Capka noted that the Department is on track to make all the necessary changes required by SAFETEA-LU and that the Highway Trust Fund will not go bankrupt before 2009. Capka was joined by witnesses John H. Hill, assistant administrator and chief safety officer for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; Sandra Bushue, deputy administrator for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA); Jacqueline Glassman, deputy administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA); and Ashok G. Kaveeshwar, administrator for the Research and Innovative Technology Administration.
While the bulk of the questions dealt with specific local issues, members did discuss the research section of SAFETEA-LU. It was pointed out despite increasing the research and development program from $153 million to nearly $196 million in SAFETEA-LU, the funds are so heavily earmarked that the DOT does not have enough money to continue critical research and technology programs. To cover the shortfall, the administration has requested authority to transfer $38 million from other programs to cover the shortfall. Subcommittee Chairman Tom Petri (R-Wis.) pledged to work with the administrator to fully fund this important program. NSSGA remains concerned that all research designation including aggregates research will be reduced to help those programs that are without funding.
HOUSE PANEL HEARS ABOUT SAFETEA-LU IMPLEMENTATION
Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chairman Charlie Norwood (R-Ga.) introduced legislation on June 8 to prohibit the Department of Labor from using non-consensus standards and is set to hold a June 14 hearing on the bill. The "Workplace Safety and Health Transparency Act" (H.R. 5554) would prohibit the use of the American Council of Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) threshold limit values (TLVs) by the Department to set limits on exposure for certain chemicals and physical agents.
For a number of years Rep. Norwood has tried to get the Department of Labor to stop using ACGIH threshold limit values or change the process in which the values are prescribed, with little success. At the recent hearing on April 27, which NSSGA Pulverized Minerals Division Vice Chairman Jim Ruddell of Franklin Industrial Minerals testified on behalf of NSSGA, Chairman Norwood pledged further action.
The legislation would stop the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from incorporating by reference any finding, guideline, standard, limit, rule, or regulation based on a determination from a non-consensus organization that does not conform to the Occupational Safety and Health Act definition of a consensus standard. It would also prohibit OSHA from approving standards in states with their own occupational safety and health programs unless the standards are reached by consensus.
In the press release announcing the bill, Rep. Norwood stated, "Government development of safety standards typically involves rigorous examination to take into account the Data Quality Act, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, a small business impact analysis, stakeholder input, and judicial review before being finalized. The utilization of non-consensus standards - which may amount to little more than a literature review - without similar, stringent examination may inadvertently legitimize ineffective standards."
NSSGA will carefully review the proposed legislation and continue to work with Rep. Norwood and committee staff to ensure the final bill takes into account the problems faced by the aggregate industry.
BILL INTRODUCED TO TAKE ACGIH OUT OF PROCESS
The House Resources Committee has scheduled a June 14 hearing to consider a domestic energy bill introduced by Rep. Bobby Jindal (R-La.). "The Domestic Energy Production Through Offshore Exploration and Equitable Treatment of State Holdings Act of 2006" is designed to increase the nation's domestic energy production by allowing states to opt out of the current moratoria on offshore energy development. As an incentive, the bill provides states that choose to allow offshore energy activities with a share of revenue from energy production.
Of specific interest to the aggregates industry are provisions in the bill that establish a Federal Energy and Mineral Resources Professional Development Fund giving the Secretary of Interior the authority to make deposits into a designated fund and directs funding derived from 2 percent (phased in over 10 years) of federal onshore and offshore oil and gas and other minerals receipts. The fund would be used to maintain and encourage the growth of the energy and minerals workforce.
These provisions were included in the budget reconciliation bill passed at the end of last year but dropped in the face of insurmountable opposition. NSSGA has supported Rep. Jindal's effort to gain cosponsors for his bill, which now number 105, and will continue to work to advance legislation that would boost the mining workforce essential to the aggregates industry and other mining sectors.
HOUSE RESOURCES COMMITTEE SCHEDULE HEARING ON ENERGY BILL INCLUDING PROVISIONS TO SUPPORT MINING SCHOOLS
On June 13, under a suspension of the rules, the House will consider H.Con.Res. 372, recognizing the 50th Anniversary of the Federal Interstate Highway System. The resolution, sponsored by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska), will be passed by the House prior to the kick-off of the recreation of Transcontinental Motor Tour which led President Eisenhower, a participant in the 1918 tour, almost 40 years later to sign the law creating the interstate system.
The events celebrating the 50th anniversary of the interstate are commencing June 16. At each stop along the convoy route, activities will be held. Click here to learn how your state is participating. When there is a finalized itinerary of public events, NSSGA will provide it to you. NSSGA urges its members to participate in the 50th Anniversary activities. Possible ways to participate include taking part in state activities, participating in convoy stops, and including articles on the anniversary in your company newsletters or magazines.
NSSGA has prepared a special video, Rocks to Roads, first shown at the 2006 annual convention in Tampa on March 11, available in both DVD and VHS formats, ($12 per copy for NSSGA members; $15 for non-members) highlighting the role of aggregates in the interstate system and U.S. society. Click here to order your copy.
HOUSE TO CONSIDER RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INTERSTATE
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