House Lawmakers Introduce Mercury Monitoring Bill

Representatives Tom Allen (D-ME) and Jim Walsh (R-NY) introduced legislation (H.R. 1533) this week to establish a nationwide mercury monitoring network.

Under the Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Program Establishment Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would have the responsibility for establishing and monitoring the system in consultation with several other federal agencies.

The legislation authorizes $43.5 million over three years to establish a network of monitors to measure airborne mercury across the nation.

Similar legislation was introduced on March 14 by Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), and Susan Collins (R-ME).

Contact Tom Carter or David Hubbard.

Transportation Funds Restored in House Budget Resolution

The U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee this week approved its fiscal year (FY) 2008 budget resolution, which includes $631 million in revenue-aligned budget authority (RABA) funds and also restores $309 million for transit programs.

The Administration's FY 2008 budget request submitted to Congress in February did not include RABA funding and recommended cutting transit funding. RABA is a calculation designed to ensure that highway funding is congruent with actual and anticipated revenue into the Highway Trust Fund. The RABA calculation in FY 2007 was $842 million.

Meanwhile, the full Senate is expected to approve its budget resolution today. The Senate budget resolution assumes funding for RABA, according to Budget Committee staff.

Budget resolutions are generally spending blueprints and do not have the force of law. Rather, they are enforced within Congress by points of order.

Contact David Hubbard or Robert Sullivan.

Supplemental Appropriations Bill Includes Levee Funding

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee approved its $121.6 billion war supplemental spending measure, which also contains emergency add-ons for numerous non-defense programs.

Included in the legislation is $94 million sought by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) for the Army Corps of Engineers to make levee repairs on the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers.

The full Senate is scheduled to debate the measure next week. The House is expected to vote on its war supplemental appropriations bill today.

Contact John Sullivan or David Hubbard.

House Railroad Antitrust Bill Introduced

Representative Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) introduced H.R. 1650, the Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2007, this week aimed at eliminating the current antitrust exemptions for freight railroads.

Current law protects a wide range of railroad industry conduct from scrutiny by antitrust enforcers. Railroad mergers and acquisitions are exempt from antitrust law and are reviewed only by the three-member Surface Transportation Board.

Railroads that engage in collective ratemaking are also exempt from antitrust law. The bill eliminates these antitrust exemptions by allowing the federal government, state attorneys general, and private parties to file suit to enjoin anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions.

Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) introduced identical legislation (S. 772) two weeks ago.

PCA is monitoring this legislation since it likely to be tied to legislation addressing railroad competition, which PCA supports.

This week, Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) joined Senators Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), Senator John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.V.), Norm Coleman (R-Mn.), and David Vitter (R-La.) as a cosponsor of S. 772.

Contact David Hubbard.

House Passes Gulf Coast Hurricane Housing Recovery Act

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1227, the Gulf Coast Hurricane Housing Recovery Act, which requires the government to have plans for replacing housing projects damaged by Hurricane Katrina before razing them. It also grants public housing tenants the right to return.

The bill passed by a vote of 302-125. More specifically, H.R. 1227 would free up $1.175 billion for homeowners in rebuilding funds previously made available to the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) under the Hazard Mitigation Grants program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

It also permits a state or locality to use, as a matching requirement for any other federal program, certain community development block grant (CDBG) funds made available for disaster relief, long-term recovery, and infrastructure restoration in major disaster areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, or Wilma.

Additionally, the bill authorizes 4,500 new housing vouchers for the purpose of project-based assistance for housing units for seniors, the disabled, and the homeless.

It would also require the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide a replacement voucher for every public housing and assisted unit that is not brought back on line. H.R. 1227 now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Contact Robert Sullivan or John Sullivan.

Six Senate Bills Introduced to Address Natural Disasters

This week, Senators Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) introduced a "six-pack" of bills to address natural disasters.

The bills (S. 926 through S. 931) would:

• Allow insurance companies to set aside reserves tax-free to pay disaster claims
• Create tax free savings accounts for individuals
• Create a federal insurance "backstop"
• Address regulation of "surplus lines" of insurance; provide a tax credit for hurricane and tornado mitigation expenditures
• Establish a National Hurricane Research Initiative

NACA is monitoring developments on these bills.

Contact: John Sullivan or Robert Sullivan.

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