 LEGISLATIVE WATCH
Natural Resources Defense Council's
LEGISLATIVE WATCH
September 27, 2002
Contents:
1) Legislative Watch
2) About Our Bulletins/How to Subscribe & Unsubscribe
3) About NRDC/How to Contact Us
The information in this bulletin is also available on our website at http://www.nrdc.org/legislation/legwatch.asp. The web version links
to the text of bills and congressional web pages. To take action on
these and other environmental issues, visit NRDC's Earth Action
Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action, where you can use our online
activism tools or subscribe to Earth Action, our biweekly activist
bulletin.
1) LEGISLATIVE WATCH
This is a status report on congressional action on the environment.
To make new or updated sections easy to find, we've highlighted them
with:
= N O T E ! =
9/27/02
With less than half of their appropriations work completed, both the
House and the Senate have reached a stalemate in the process. As a
result, Congress is moving toward passing the first of a series of
stopgap funding bills, called continuing resolutions, that will
extend past the November elections, and perhaps into next year. In
the meantime, the Senate is debating forest policy in the Interior
appropriations bill and is also attempting to pass its version of the
homeland security bill. Work on the energy bill is also progressing.
...
Budget/Appropriations
= N O T E ! =
The Senate continues to debate the Interior Department's FY '03
funding bill (H.R. 5093) after reaching a stalemate on whether to
include an amendment offered by Sen. Craig (R-ID) that, under the
guise of fighting wildfires, would bypass federal laws for
environmental review and public participation when approving logging
projects in national forests. On 9/18, Sen. Boxer (D-CA) succeeded in
adding an amendment to the bill that would for one year prevent the
Interior Department from approving an environmentally harmful gold
mine on California public land that local Quechan Indians consider
sacred. The bill also includes Senate Majority Leader Daschle's (D-
SD) amendment to provide nearly $6 billion in compensation for
western farmers who have suffered huge losses due to drought over the
last two years, and Sen. Graham's (D-FL) and Sen. Nelson's (D-FL)
provision to speed up work on the Everglades restoration project that
Rep. Hansen (R-UT) had removed in the House. The Senate also approved
Sen. Boxer's (D-CA) amendment (similar to Rep. Capps' (D-CA)
amendment in the House) to prevent federal funds from being used to
develop 36 California offshore drilling leases. Both the House bill,
which passed on 7/17, and the Senate bill contain language that would
expand damaging grazing practices on federal public lands. The House
version also includes a provision added by Rep. Hinchey (D-NY) that
would prohibit funding of oil and gas drilling in the Finger Lakes
National Forest in New York.
On 9/5, the House Appropriations Committee approved a $26 billion
FY '03 energy and water spending bill (H.R. 5431) that would increase
funding above the administration's request for both renewable energy
programs (supported by environmentalists) and for nuclear energy
programs and water infrastructure projects (opposed by environmental
groups). The bill includes a provision that would block the best
option for restoring endangered Coho salmon by preventing the partial
demolition of the Elk Creek Dam in Oregon, which now prevents salmon
from swimming upstream to spawn. The bill also would cut funding for
a number of important restoration projects in the Everglades, the
lower Columbia River and estuary, and the upper Mississippi River.
The Senate Appropriations Committee passed its version of the bill
(S. 2784) on 7/24. Sen. Bond (R-MO) may try to attach a provision to
override the Endangered Species Act and prevent much-needed reforms
in the current federal management of Missouri River water flows when
the bill reaches the Senate floor. Current management practices have
created conditions in the Missouri watershed that threaten the
continued existence of three endangered or threatened species.
On 8/2, President Bush signed a nearly $29 billion supplemental
spending bill for FY '02, which consists primarily of new funds for
homeland security. The final version of the bill does not include
language offered by Rep. Kolbe (R-AZ) in the House bill that would
have exempted the Department of Defense from the Endangered Species
Act in certain instances. The bill, however, does include a provision
offered by Sen. Daschle (D-SD) that waives environmental review of
logging activities on public lands in South Dakota. Although it is
narrowly tailored, environmentalists opposed this provision.
On 8/1, the Senate approved the FY '03 Department of Defense spending
bill (H.R. 5010). The House approved the bill on 6/27. The bill
includes $4.1 billion for departmental pollution prevention programs,
cleanup of contaminated DOD sites, and other environmental programs.
On 7/25, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved S. 2797, which
includes funding for the Environmental Protection Agency. The bill
contains a significant increase in funding (more than $670 million
over what the Bush administration requested) for the EPA and ensures
funding increases for water quality programs, toxic waste site clean-
ups, and enforcement. Significantly, the bill also would ensure that
the EPA have sufficient funding to continue its work in the area of
pesticide regulation.
Also on 7/25, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the
agriculture spending bill (S. 2801); the House Appropriations
Committee approved its version of the bill (H.R. 563) on 7/11. The
bill would restore funding for watershed protection initiatives that
was cut in President Bush's budget request, but would limit a new
program that would pay farmers for implementing conservation
practices and setting up wetlands reserves.
On 7/18, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill to fund
the Department of Commerce and other agencies (S. 2778). The bill
includes funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's ocean and coastal conservation activities, but
environmentalists note that the bill does not adequately fund NOAA's
fisheries management and coastal runoff programs.
Also on 7/18, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the budget
for federal foreign operations (S. 2779), which includes solid
funding levels for biodiversity, tropical rainforest conservation,
and renewable energy programs in developing countries.
See NRDC's analysis of the Bush budget: http://www.nrdc.org/legislation/abudget03.asp
For a step-by-step guide to our annual odyssey through resolutions,
reconciliations and appropriations, see NRDC's budget process fact
sheet. http://www.nrdc.org/legislation/fbudg.asp
...
Air, Energy, and Climate
= N O T E ! =
As House and Senate conferees enter the home stretch on energy
legislation negotiations, they have already approved funding for more
coal-based energy, a natural gas pipeline from Alaska, and less
stringent fuel economy standards for motor vehicles. Conferees are
currently debating whether to restructure the electric power
industry, tackle climate change, increase use of renewable energy by
power plants, and mandate increased use of ethanol in cars. Proposals
to open sensitive public lands, such as the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge, to increased oil and gas drilling remain unsettled. On 9/24,
more than 100 House members sent a letter to the Senate, expressing
support for including a strong climate change policy in the final
energy bill. The letter endorses provisions that would ensure public
disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions from large polluters, create a
White House Office of Climate Policy, encourage U.S. participation in
international climate change negotiations, and expand research and
innovative technology to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. On
9/23, 100 Democratric senators and representatives sent a letter to
the energy conferees, requesting that the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge not be opened to oil and gas drilling.
= N O T E ! =
On 9/25, the EPA and the Department of Energy agreed to turn over to
Sen. Jeffords (I-VT), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public
Works Committee, documents related to the administration's decision
to ease regulations on power plants under the Clean Air Act's "new
source review" program after the committee announced it would
subpoena agency heads to appear before it unless the documents were
produced. The Bush administration plans to exempt power plants from
regulations requiring the installation of modern pollution controls
when the facilities upgrade their operations and increase emissions;
Sen. Jeffords wants to examine the administration's documents
concerning the public health and environmental impacts of the rule
changes.
= N O T E ! =
On 9/19, Senate Majority Leader Daschle (D-SD) announced that he
intends to make legislation to reduce emissions of four major
pollutants from power plants, including carbon dioxide, a high
priority in the next congressional session. On 6/27, the Senate
Environment and Public Works Committee approved S. 556, a bill co-
authored by committee chair Sen. Jeffords (I-VT) and Sen. Lieberman
(D-CT) that seeks to accomplish this goal by imposing mandatory cuts
in carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and mercury
emissions. No action has been taken on the House companion bill (H.R.
1256), which was introduced on 3/27/01 by Rep. Waxman (D-CA) and Rep.
Boehlert (R-NY). The Bush administration opposes regulating carbon
dioxide emissions, arguing that the costs on the economy would be too
high.
On 7/29, the Bush administration's plan for regulating pollution from
power plants (the "Clear Skies Initiative") was introduced in the
House (H.R. 5266) by Rep. Barton (R-TX) and Rep. Tauzin (R-LA), and
in the Senate (S. 2815) by Sen. Smith (R-NH). The bill would set
significantly weaker limits for several key pollutants than a measure
already passed by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
(S. 556, see below). Unlike S. 556, the administration's bill ignores
carbon dioxide emissions, which are largely responsible for global
warming. The bill also would repeal and weaken current safeguards for
meeting public health standards, protecting local air quality,
curbing pollution from upwind to downwind states, and protecting
national parks.
NRDC has detailed an energy policy that would provide a secure energy
future without destroying wilderness or rolling back environmental
safeguards in reports including Dangerous Addiction: Ending America's
Oil Dependence
(http://www.nrdc.org/air/transportation/oilsecurity/securityinx.asp)
and A Responsible Energy Policy for the 21st Century
(http://www.nrdc.org/air/energy/rep/repinx.asp).
...
Clean Water
= N O T E ! =
On 9/24, Rep. Calvert (R-CA) attempted unsuccessfully to bring his
CALFED funding bill (H.R. 5099) to the House floor. (CALFED is a
federal and state partnership in California that provides water for
urban and agricultural users as well as for wildlife and habitat
restoration.) The bill would allow the construction of new dams in
California without adequate review and could give agricultural water
users priority over the environment. On 6/5, the Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee approved Sen. Boxer's (D-CA) and Sen.
Feinstein's (D-CA) bill to reauthorize CALFED (S. 1768) after
approving an amendment to limit the program's duration and level of
funding. On 5/2, Rep. Tauscher (D-CA) and Rep. Napolitano (D-CA)
introduced a similar bill (H.R. 4657) in the House.
...
Forests
= N O T E ! =
On 9/12, Rep. Combest (R-TX) introduced a bill to implement the Bush
administration's "Healthy Forests Initiative" that would "thin" or
log forests to reduce wildfire risk. Not only does the plan call for
relaxing environmental rules to allow increased logging in national
forests, these projects would not be subject to administrative review
or the Forest Service appeals process. The timber industry supports
the plan, while environmentalists have voiced strong opposition. On
9/4, Rep. McInnis (R-CO) introduced a bill (H.R. 5319) that also
would waive environmental protections for logging projects.
On 7/25, Sens. Cantwell (D-WA), Warner (R-VA), and Chafee (R-RI),
among others, introduced a bipartisan bill to permanently protect our
remaining wild national forests from roadbuilding and logging (S.
2790). On 6/5, Rep. Inslee (D-WA) introduced H.R. 4865, similar
legislation that also would protect wild forests.
...
International Environmental Protections
On 8/6, President Bush signed H.R. 3009, legislation granting him new
trade negotiation authority (called "fast track"). The Senate passed
the bill by a vote of 64-34 on 8/1; the House approved the bill, 215-
212, on 7/27. Environmental groups oppose "fast-track" authority
legislation because it contains weak environmental standards and
safeguards and inadequate protection for international environmental
agreements.
...
Public Health
= N O T E ! =
As the Senate continues its work on its version of the Homeland
Security Act (S. 2452), Sen. Corzine (D-NJ) may try to add his
Chemical Security Act (S. 1602) -- which unanimously passed the
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in July -- to the
homeland security bill. Sen. Corzine's bill would require a safety
assessment for many of the nation's 15,000 chemical facilities and
establish guidelines to reduce the risk of exposure to hazardous
substances as a result of terrorist attacks. The chemical industry is
lobbying aggressively against passage of S. 1602, arguing that
government oversight would hinder the voluntary steps already being
taken by some companies.
On 9/5, the Senate passed a bill (S. 351), introduced by Sen. Collins
(R-ME) and Sen. Kerry (D-MA), that would ban the sale of mercury
thermometers and provide grants for a thermometer exchange program.
Mercury is a dangerous neurotoxin that causes brain damage and
developmental disabilities.
...
Wilderness and Wildlife Protection
= N O T E ! =
A House-Senate conference committee continues to try to resolve
differences in the Defense Department authorization bill. The House
version of the bill (H.R. 4546) includes exemptions from the
Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act requested by
the Department of Defense, and also would reduce protections for Utah
wildlands. These provisions are not included in the Senate version of
the bill (S. 2514).
On 7/10, along a nearly party line vote, the House Resources
Committee approved H.R. 4840, a bill introduced by Rep. Hansen (R-UT)
that would require additional scrutiny of data when extending extra
protection to an endangered species, but not when withholding extra
protection. Environmentalists oppose the bill, along with two others
(Rep. Pombo's (R-CA) H.R. 3705 and Rep. Walden's (R-OR) H.R. 2829)
that would modify the Endangered Species Act, making it harder for
the government to protect endangered and threatened species. These
bills would impose a higher burden on federal agencies to obtain
additional scientific information on species and mandate additional
review of that data, resulting in delay and additional hurdles before
protections could be put in place.
...
For information on the environmental voting records of members of
Congress, see the League of Conservation Voter's National
Environmental Scorecards at http://www.lcv.org/scorecard/index.asp
...........
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...........
3) About NRDC/How to Contact Us
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a nonprofit environmental
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scientists, attorneys and environmental experts. Our mission is to
protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and ensure a safe and
healthy environment for all living things.
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2002-09-27, 17:01
