| NACA
Members | Past
Issues | Key
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.Volume 2, No. 43
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...
November 17, 2006
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... LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Democrats picked Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) to be U.S. House Majority Leader on Thursday, spurning Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), who was hand-picked by House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
A 25-year veteran of Congress, Hoyer defeated Murtha by a vote of 149-86. His election to the number two position came shortly after the Democratic caucus put Pelosi in line to become the first woman to be speaker, a position which is second in line of succession to the presidency.
On the other side of the aisle, House Republicans chose Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) as minority leader, succeeding Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) in the top GOP leadership post. Boehner defeated Indiana conservative Rep. Mike Pence. The vote tally was 168-27 with one vote for Rep. Joe Barton
(R-Texas).
Boehner's election cements the Ohio conservative's resurrection within GOP leadership ranks. His elevation to succeed Speaker Hastert as the party's front line leader came despite unrest within the
rank-and-file, as well as in the aftermath of a spirited campaign by Pence.
In addition, Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) won the post of Minority Whip for the 110th Congress. Blunt received 137 votes; his challenger, Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), received 57. One member abstained from voting.
Also, on Wednesday, Senate Republicans chose Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as minority leader and picked Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) as whip.
McConnell, 64, will replace Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), who is leaving the Senate and has been weighing a run for president in 2008. McConnell served as the number two Senate Republican for the past four years and was unopposed for the minority leader post.
Lott defeated Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) for whip, a job that involves counting votes and working to unify the caucus on legislation.
For more information, contact: Robert Sullivan, David Hubbard, John Shaw, Jim Kolb, or Randy Pence.
Nation's
Capital to be Pioneer in Green Construction
The District of Columbia (D.C.) is poised to become the first major
city in the country to require private developers build environmentally
friendly projects that incorporate energy-saving measures.
Most large construction in the city—commercial and city-funded
residential—would
have to meet the standards if the D.C. council gives final approval
to a new bill next month.
Although smaller cities have adopted similar laws, the District would
be the first large city to force private developers to meet the U.S.
Green Building Council (USGBC) standards.
Under terms of the bill, all new District-owned projects, including
schools would have to meet the USGBC standards within
two years; also,
in 2009, any building receiving more than 20 percent public financing
would have to do the same.
By 2012, every new commercial building over 50,000 square feet would
have to meet the guidelines.
For more information,
contact: Robert Sullivan or
Tom Harman.
Motor Carrier Safety Developing
New Compliance and Enforcement Protocol
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) yesterday held
one of several "listening sessions" to solicit input from the regulated
community and other stakeholders about an initiative the agency started
in 2004.
The initiative, Comprehensive
Safety Analysis 2010, is expected to replace the current safety
fitness determination (SFD) compliance review that is labor-intensive
and captures only a small percentage of motor carriers. After an SFD
audit, carriers learn their rating: satisfactory, conditional, or unsatisfactory.
The rating is then put into SAFESTAT, a public database that has been
criticized as not being out of date and inaccurate.
The new system that FMCSA presented yesterday uses BASIC, or Behavioral
Analysis & Safety Improvement Categories. The BASIC categories are the
same as those currently audited, but the revised program allows FMCSA
to intervene before a carrier receives an unsatisfactory rating.
Motor carriers will be either unfit or they will continue to operate
under the new model. FMCSA is on an aggressive timeline for CSA 2010.
The prototype development is being done now and will continue through
2007. States will conduct pilot tests in 2008, and FMCSA will evaluate
the pilots in 2009. Targeted deployment of the new model is 2010.
All motor carriers with U.S. Department of Transportation numbers will
be affected. FMCSA has not proposed a rule at this time.
Contact:
Tom
Harman.
Incoming
Senate Leaders Seek Climate Change Compromise
Senators Barbara
Boxer (D-Calif.), Jeff
Bingaman (D-N.M.), and Joseph
Lieberman (I-Ct.), the incoming Chairs, respectively, of the Senate
Environment and Public Works, Energy and Natural Resources, and Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs Committees, sent a letter to the President
on Wednesday seeking to work with him to craft a legislative program to
address climate change. Click here
to read the letter.
Reference was made in the letter to legislation introduced by each of
the Senators in prior Congresses and to a non-binding resolution passed
by the Senate in 2005, supporting mandatory limits on greenhouse gas
emissions.
In
a separate but related development, Senator Boxer this week indicated
that she would be holding hearings on climate change soon after the
new Congress convenes and would be promoting the adoption of national
legislation similar to that recently enacted in California (Assembly
Bill 32).
Contact:
Andy O'Hare.
Fate
of Annual Appropriations Bills Remain Unclear
Although the U.S. House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution
on Wednesday keeping departments and agencies funded through December
8, the overall outlook of the pending FY 2007 appropriations bills remains
unclear.
House and Senate Republicans have expressed optimism and a desire to
complete work on these important bills, although it is unclear what
the incoming Democratic majority intends to do regarding the completion
of this legislation since their own priorities are different than those
of the current Republican majority.
Democrats have expressed a willingness to complete action on FY 2007
appropriations measures during the lame duck session in order to "clear
the deck" and allow them to begin the 110th Congress without the prior
year's appropriations bills complicating efforts to pursue their overall
priorities.
It is unclear this is possible given the limited time remaining during
the lame duck session.
At the conclusion of legislative business this week, Congress begins
a recess until December 4, at which time they will continue to address
a variety of issues in the lame duck session.
NACA groups
are carefully watching the appropriations end game and working with
key Members of Congress as necessary.
For more information,
contact: David Hubbard or
Jim Kolb.
Negotiations
Continue on Water Resources Bill
Prospects for passage of the long-overdue Water Resources Development
Act (WRDA) reauthorization legislation (S. 728/H.R 2864) during the
lame duck session dimmed somewhat following remarks by Sen. Russ
Feingold (D-Wisc.) earlier in the week.
Senator Feingold said that he would not accept changes to an Army Corps
of Engineers reform and peer review provision contained in the Senate-passed
bill. The provision, which he authored with Sen. John
McCain (R-Ariz.), is a major sticking point between House and Senate
negotiators working on a final bill. Despite Senator Feingold's remarks,
negotiations between the House and Senate conferees reportedly made
progress this week.
Meanwhile, the incoming Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee, Rep. James
Oberstar (D-MN), listed WRDA as a top priority next year, if a bill
is not passed during the lame duck session.
Contact: David
Hubbard
Modular
Homes Called Questionable
Choice for Emergency Housing
The Associated Press reported recently on the Department
of Homeland Security Inspector General's report that said, "Hundreds
of modular homes bought by FEMA for victims of last year's hurricanes
were damaged beyond repair as they sat unused and, in many cases, unprotected
from the elements."
The report was delivered to FEMA on October 18, but not released publicly until Wednesday
FEMA
bought the homes as emergency housing for victims of Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita. But many sat unused for months at an Army depot in Texarkana,
Texas, because of restrictions on where such homes could be erected,
FEMA said.
A June inventory had 1,790 homes at the site. FEMA put the total damage
to homes both salvageable and unsalvageable at $5 million. The homes
cost an average of $36,000 each, according to FEMA.
"For future planning, given that some modular home units are designed
to be assembled soon after they are received rather than stored, many
modular home units are questionable choices for emergency housing,"
Inspector General Richard
Skinner wrote.
Contact: John
Sullivan.
Transportation
Partners Sponsor
Surface Transportation System Hearing
The Transportation
Construction Coalition and the Americans
for Transportation Mobility hosted a field hearing of the National
Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission.
The hearing was held in New York City and focused on the challenges
and needs for reconstructing the multimodal surface transportation network,
the important role the surface transportation network plays in the nation's
and the northeast region's trade, economy, emergency preparedness, and
public health.
The hearing also addressed strategies and options for meeting the needs
of the surface transportation network.
The Commission was mandated by SAFETEA-LU to examine the future needs
of the surface transportation network and to develop recommendations
to meet these needs.
Contact: Jim
Kolb.
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