Transportation Appropriators Approve Highway Trust Fund Fix

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development approved on Wednesday its FY 2009 spending bill and within it, an $8.017 billion for the Highway Trust Fund.  The provision, which is not included in the House version, transfers funds from the general treasury into the Highway Account.

Responding to actions by Senate Finance Committee leaders Senator Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the appropriators approved this measure, which among other things, would resolve the potential $3.3 billion shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund.
                 
Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Ranking Member Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-Mo.) also have demonstrated bipartisan leadership in addressing this critical issue.  

The Senate bill appropriates $41.2 billion for the federal-aid highway program, which exceeds the amount prescribed in the Safe and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2005, or simply SAFETEA-LU. 

Under SAFETEA-LU, the federal-aid highway program should have been reduced to $40.2 billion because of revenue aligned budget authority (RABA) provisions caused by lower than anticipated fuel excise tax receipts.  

The appropriations bill also rescinds a total of $3.15 billion in unobligated balances of highway program contract authority previously apportioned to states.

In addition, the appropriation measure provides $3.515 billion for the Airport Improvement Program, an increase of $500 thousand over the FY 2008 level and $765 million over the President’s request.

This action is expected to save hundreds of thousands of jobs at a time when the nation’s economy is uncertain at best, but likely in a deep recessionary cycle.   The initiative also serves to ensure uninterrupted projects that will enhance the nation’s surface transportation system and boost the U.S. economy.

Contact Leif Wathne or  David Hubbard.

World Leaders to Seek Drastic Emissions Reductions

Leaders of the Group of Eight (G-8) industrialized countries agreed to seek a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions worldwide at the United Nations-sponsored climate negotiations in 2009.

The G-8 leaders, however, did not commit to reducing their own emissions absent a global agreement. In a combined statement, the leaders said they seek to "consider and adopt" with the other parties to international climate negotiations "the goal of achieving at least 50 percent reduction of global emissions by 2050, recognizing that this global challenge can only be met by a global response, in particular, by the contributions from all major economies...."

The statement released by leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States also said that nations should have "common but differentiated responsibilities" for reducing emissions consistent with their ability to do so. Still, the agreement lacked a specific baseline for reducing emissions by 50 percent.

G-8 officials had different takes on what that baseline year would be, with Japan saying the 50 percent reduction in emissions would be based on 2005 levels and an European Union official saying the issue will be determined at the U.N. climate negotiations in Copenhagen in 2009.  Under the Kyoto Protocol that expires at the end of 2012, parties were to reduce emissions by an average of 5.2 percent, based on 1990 levels.

Contact Andy O'Hare.

Bipartisan Senate Group Crafts Compromise Energy Bill

A group of bipartisan Senate lawmakers met this week to work on a compromise energy bill to address high gasoline prices.

It remains unclear when a specific proposal might be offered. The proposal would combine conservation and with an increase in domestic drilling. Expanding oversight of oil futures markets is another area under review. The group hopes to develop a proposal that can win the 60 votes needed for most major Senate legislation.

New offshore oil exploration is among the areas under consideration. A big question looming is whether there is enough support for even modest expansion of areas available for leasing, an idea that faces heavy opposition in the Democratic caucus.

Current leasing restrictions essentially cover both coasts and much of the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Advocates of relaxing the bans say public concern regarding record gasoline prices, which now average roughly $4.11 per gallon nationwide, is generating new support for revisiting the current bans.

Contact Deidra Ciriello.

Federal Advisory Committee Legislation Approved

The U.S. House recently approved a bill, Federal Advisory Committee Act Amendments of 2008  (H.R. 5687), to improve transparency and independence of advisory committees used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal agencies to provide outside input on government policy. 

The bill would require agencies to ensure that no conflict of interest relevant to the functions of the advisory committee exists for members appointed to those committees.  In some cases, agency heads could make exceptions if “the need for the individual’s service outweighs the potential impacts of the conflicts of interest.” 

The bill would require the General Services Administration to issue regulations defining “conflict of interest” and how conflicts must be disclosed.  EPA has several advisory committees, including the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee and others that offer input on policy, risk assessment,  and economic issues.  The bill was introduced by Rep. William Lacy Clay, Jr. (D-Mo.) in April 2008 and was approved by voice vote last month.

Contact Tyrone P. Wilson.

Environmental Group Threatens Lawsuit to Force  Ozone Standard Compliance

A Louisiana environmental organization has threatened to file a citizen enforcement lawsuit to compel the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state regulators to comply with Clean Air Act requirements for protecting the five-parish Baton Rouge area from ozone. 

The Louisiana Environmental Action Network issued a Notice of Intent to File a Citizen Enforcement Suit to EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Harold Leggett on Tuesday.

The notice charged that the Baton Rouge area has not met the Clean Air Act's minimum health protection standard for ozone pollution and further noted that children in the Baton Rouge area are an important at-risk group for health damage due to dangerous ozone

Contact Tyrone P. Wilson.

Webcast of Congressional Testimony Available Online

Following a report in the Washington Briefing (June 27, 2008), a Webcast of testimony presented on the topic of sustainable and energy efficient infrastructure is now available online. To view the Webcast, click here to access the Subcommittee’s Web site and then, click on “view the Webcast” in the upper right page position. 

The testimony was presented by ACPA President and CEO Gerald F. Voigt, P.E., to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology (Subcommittee on Technology & Innovation).  Voigt was one of five experts to address sustainability and lifecycle energy consumption related to pavements and associated research and development efforts.  The subcommittee, chaired by Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.), is examining current sustainable practices and research initiatives, while also assessing what can be done to make greater use of sustainable technology in the nation’s surface transportation infrastructure. 

To view the Webcast, you will need “Real Player,” which can be accessed free of charge for 14 days.

Click here for additional information about the hearing.  Click here to read the official, written testimony ACPA prepared and entered into the Congressional record. ACPA received input for the formal, written testimony from PCA, the CP Tech Center, and the IGGA.

Contact Jerry Voigt.

Card Check Media Campaign Begins in Minnesota

The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) on Monday started the second phase of its media campaign aimed at educating voters about the dangers of "Card Check" legislation. 

This latest step involved the release of a new anti-Card Check television ad in Minnesota. The ad uses humor and a familiar face to reinforce the importance of protecting private ballot elections for workers.

Click here to view the ad at CDW's Web site.

Contact Kerri Leininger.

The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s subcommittee on Highways and Transit held a hearing on Wednesday to examine the laws regulating truck weights and lengths on federal-aid highways.

David Cole, commissioner from the Maine Department of Transportation, and Mike Smid, president and CEO of YRC North American Transportation, both emphasized the need for increasing the allowable weight of trucks operating on the Interstate Highway System (IHS).

They testified that increasing the 80,000 pound threshold for trucks traveling on the IHS would improve highway safety;  relieve congestion, reduce energy use; alleviate driver shortages; reduce secondary road deterioration; and improve efficiency.

U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) disagreed with the idea of increasing truck weights, stating that such a change would only create more of a safety risk for motorists who share the road with heavy trucks.

Contact Kevin Walgenbach.

Testifying before the committee were representatives from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The witnesses told committee members that the next transportation funding bill should include major changes in addition to an increase in federal funding.

Jayetta Hecker, director of physical infrastructure issues at the GAO said, “We have concluded that the whole system is broken.”

Contact Kevin Walgenbach or Leif Wathne.

House Passes Bill for Building Codes Enforcement

The U.S. House of Representatives this week passed the Community Building Code Administration Grant Act (H.R. 4461).

Sponsored by Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.), the bill directs the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide grants to local building code enforcement departments to increase staffing; provide staff training; increase staff competence and professional qualifications; support individual certification or departmental accreditation; and support department administration.

The legislation, which appropriates $100 million for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013, will help expand and foster the continued use and development of residential and commercial building codes.

A similar bill in the Senate has been referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Contact John Sullivan, Kevin Walgenbach, or Kerri Leininger.

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