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
- JULY 4 RECESS APPROACHES; FINAL DEAL ON TEA 21 REAUTHORIZATION ELUSIVE
- TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS SUMMER'S DISTRICT WORK PERIODS
- TRANSPORTATION SPENDING BILL HEADS TO HOUSE FLOOR
- EXPLOSIVES FEES NOT INCLUDED IN APPROPRIATIONS BILLS
- WATER BILLS PASS COMMITTEE; READY FOR FLOOR ACTION
- NEPA TASK FORCE TO MEET IN TEXAS; WHITE HOUSE COUNCIL BEGINS IMPLEMENTING REFORM RECOMMENDATIONS
- SENATE, HOUSE PASS FAX BAN EXEMPTION
- FEC POSTPONES RULEMAKING ON PAC PAYROLL DEDUCTION
JULY 4 RECESS APPROACHES; FINAL DEAL ON TEA 21 REAUTHORIZATION ELUSIVE
The end of this week marks the expiration of the seventh extension of TEA 21 and the beginning of a week-long congressional Independence Day recess. Last week brought news that conferees had reached an agreement on the overall funding level of the highway reauthorization bill ($286.5 billion) and provided that 90.2 percent of all federal highway funds, including money for earmarks and large multistate projects, be included in the formula used to calculate the minimum rate of return states would receive for their dollars contributed to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). Under the proposal, senators would get to choose 40 percent of the high-priority projects earmarked in the bill and would have a say in how 50 percent of the funds in discretionary programs were awarded.But, as we cautioned in our June 25 Washington Watch Special Legislative Update, the talks between the negotiators are fluid. Discussion between a group of conferees continued Friday with all hesitant to comment on the specifics of the talks. The White House is standing by its $284 billion funding level. With the July 30 deadline rapidly approaching, an eighth short-term TEA 21 extension seems all but certain.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS SUMMER'S DISTRICT WORK PERIODS
Take advantage of this summer's two district work periods - Independence Day (July 4-8) and August (Aug. 1-31) - to meet with your lawmakers. Use this as an opportunity to continue to keep the pressure on and press for the enactment of a multi-year bill at the highest possible funding level to ensure the safety of our roads, and national and economic security. Visit NSSGA's Legislative Action Center for details on how you can help "Get it Done!"
TRANSPORTATION SPENDING BILL HEADS TO HOUSE FLOOR
The House Appropriations Committee passed the 2006 Transportation - Treasury - HUD - Judiciary - District of Columbia appropriations bill last week and it is due to be taken up on the House floor later this week. The $66.935 billion bill includes just over $37 billion for the federal highway program, an increase of $1.6 billion over the president's request and $1.9 billion over 2005, excluding emergency spending. The Federal Transit Agency is funded at $8.5 billion and the Federal Aviation Administration received $8.2 billion for operations, $3.6 billion for the Airport Improvement Program, and about $3 billion for facilities and equipment for a total of $14.4 billion. This appropriation legislation is operating under continuing authority of TEA 21 through the extension of the law.Included in the $37 billion highway program figure is $36.287 in guaranteed spending and $739 million for emergency spending, which is exempt from the guaranteed spending and mandatory. Because the House recently passed its version of TEA 21 reauthorization, the appropriators conformed their spending levels for federal highway, transit and highway and motor carrier safety programs to reflect the funding levels authorized in H.R. 3. At the June 15 markup, subcommittee Chairman Joe Knollenberg (R-Mich.) said that keeping in line with the surface transportation and aviation legislation left little discretion, interfering with any other DOT funding needs.
NSSGA is closely following action on the DOT funding bill and will continue efforts to ensure adequate funding for highways and continued funding for aggregate research priorities.
EXPLOSIVES FEES NOT INCLUDED IN APPROPRIATIONS BILLS
As Washington Watch earlier reported, President Bush included in his FY '05 budget a proposal to impose a user fee "on all explosives manufactured in or imported into the United States." NSSGA filed stern comments and joined other members of the Safety & Security Alliance for Explosives Coalition (SAFE) expressed opposition to this proposal via letters and in a meeting with House Judiciary Committee staff. The proposal was not included in the budget resolution passed by Congress. Further it has not been included in either the House or Senate FY '06 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bills. This is a significant victory for industries that use explosives, but we must remain vigilant in order to ensure that the Congress does not adopt the administration's proposed explosives user fee as part of a budget reconciliation measure considered by Congress later in the year.
WATER BILLS PASS COMMITTEE, READY FOR FLOOR ACTION
The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2005, H.R. 2864, on Wednesday, June 22, clearing the measure for consideration by the full House of Representatives later this week. The Senate version (S. 728) passed the Environment & Public Works Committee earlier this year and currently awaits floor action."This bill is long overdue and greatly needed in order to address the water resources needs of communities all over the country," said Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman John Duncan (R-Tenn.). Included in the measure are over 700 projects and studies located across the United States. Also included in the bill are a few major projects, including the Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway Navigation Improvement and Ecosystem Restoration Project; the Indian River Lagoon-Everglades Restoration Project; and, the Louisiana Coastal Area Ecosystem Restoration Project.
While the legislation includes provisions for the improvement of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers planning and project development process, including peer review of projects costing over $50 million, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) believes the provisions do not go far enough. He is expected to offer an amendment during floor consideration to address his concerns. Due to the Corps' oversight of the Section 404 program, among others, NSSGA is keeping a close eye on the bill to make sure no onerous provisions are included in it.
NEPA TASK FORCE TO MEET IN TEXAS; WHITE HOUSE COUNCIL BEGINS IMPLEMENTING REFORM RECOMMENDATIONS
Following up on a successful hearing in Arizona, the Task Force on Improving the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA") is planning to hold its next hearing in Texas sometime during the month of July, which will cover the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas.At the hearing held in Arizona, Bill Mackey of Granite Construction Inc. in Tucson testified on behalf of NSSGA. Robert Dugan, also of Granite Construction, cited "endless data requirements" and a lack of focus on the purpose of the NEPA reviews as primary problems of the law.
NSSGA has submitted comments to the Task Force with specific suggestions for actions that can be taken to improve the process. NSSGA strongly urges you to submit comments for yourself or your company. As an organization that works in the best interest of its members, feel free to work from NSSGA's comments. Click here to view NSSGA's comments. Simply e-mail your comments to the NEPA Task Force.
The NEPA Task Force is a select, bipartisan group of Resource Committee members chosen by Chairman Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) and Ranking Member Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.). The Task Force is charged with reviewing and making recommendations on improving NEPA with the goal of ensuring that the original intent of NEPA - that federal decisions are made in an appropriate, environmentally sound manner, rather than being focused by litigation - will become the way the statute will be implemented going forward. Click here for more information on the NEPA Task Force.
A separate federal effort to modernize NEPA, conducted under the auspices of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) which is responsible for administering the law, kicked off its activities on June 7. CEQ convened a meeting of federal agency representatives to begin implementation of the recommendations from its interagency NEPA Task Force that were issued in Sept. 2003. NSSGA will continue to monitor the work of the federal agency at the same time participating with the House Task Force hearing process.
SENATE, HOUSE PASS FAX BAN EXEMPTION
The Senate passed the Junk Fax Prevention Act, S. 714, by unanimous consent on June 24. The House of Representatives followed suit, passing the legislation on June 28. It will now be sent to the White House for the president's signature prior to the June 30 deadline set by the current Federal Communications Commission (FCC) stay.The legislation provides a statutory "established business relationship" (EBR) exception to the ban on unsolicited commercial faxes, maintaining an exemption that has existed for over a decade. It also holds that fax numbers in the possession of the sender at the time of enactment are "grandfathered" as to the means by which the number was obtained. As a result, businesses will be able to continue to send faxes to their established customers, just as they do now and have for years, while the Act maintains the strict prohibition on unwanted junk-faxes.
In the event that the legislation could not be signed by the president before the new FCC regulations were scheduled to take effect on July 1, the FCC has granted the Petition for Stay submitted by the Fax Ban Coalition, of which NSSGA is a member, postponing the effective date of the regulations to Jan. 9, 2006. We will alert you when the bill is signed into law and any additional rulemakings the FCC may have to undertake as a result of it.
FEC POSTPONES RULEMAKING ON PAC PAYROLL DEDUCTION
NSSGA has submitted written comments to and provided oral testimony before the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on a proposed rule change to allow trade associations to collect contributions for their PACs from their members using payroll deduction. The rule change would make it easier for NSSGA members to donate to ROCKPAC and bring trade association regulations in line with corporations and labor unions that have been permitted to collect contributions for their PACs using payroll deduction from employees and members since 1977.Although the proposal was discussed during the open FEC meeting held on June 23, a vote on the rulemaking was postponed until the next open business meeting scheduled for July 14. Action was delayed after Commissioner Scott Thomas, the FEC's Democratic chairman, put forward a proposal to give unions wider latitude to collect contributions for all divisions and branches of a corporation that allows payroll deduction for a trade association. This proposal stems from a portion of the FEC statute that the AFL-CIO highlighted in its testimony that appears to require the FEC to make such an accommodation if it grants trade associations this ability. NSSGA will update you on the status of the proposed rule following the July 14 meeting.