Update from Washington, D.C. 04/01/2011
After a week-long district work period, lawmakers returned to
Washington on March 28 to a growing list of issues to sort
through. Most of the legislative items, however, were
overshadowed by the continued stalemate over fiscal year 2011
spending.
With little progress made during recess, policymakers continued
where they left off with intense rhetoric over the current year
budget. Holding back a long-term compromise between House
Republicans and Senate Democrats are the deep spending cuts and
policy riders supported by the GOP in the Full Year Continuing
Appropriations Act for 2011 (HR 1) .
Republicans remain committed to their proposed $62 billion in
discretionary cuts, as well as elimination of funding for a
number of contentious programs such as Planned Parenthood and the
president’s health care overhaul law. Although those policy
riders are not expected to gain any traction in the
Democratic-controlled Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
has indicated that he is willing to look at some of the
provisions, signaling what could be a step forward in passing a
long-term compromise spending measure. One of the less
controversial policy riders includes an amendment that would
transfer $298 million from the NASA Cross Agency Support program
to the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program.
However, late the week of March 28, negotiators were reportedly
closing in on a compromise package that would shave $33 billion
in spending. Details are scarce and many GOP conservatives are
likely to oppose any deal that falls well short of the $62
billion target.
Currently, the federal government is operating under a continuing
resolution (CR) (PL 112-6) – the sixth CR enacted since the
October 1 start of the fiscal year. Lawmakers will have another
week to try to hammer out a negotiation as the current CR is set
to expire on April 8. Several lawmakers, including House Majority
Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), would like the current CR to be the
last. However, if a long-term spending agreement is not reached,
a seventh stop-gap spending bill will be the only option on the
table to keep government operations up and running.
In other budget-related matters, Senate Republicans introduced
March 31 a constitutional amendment that aims to balance the
budget by capping federal spending at 18 percent of the gross
domestic product. The measure would also require a two-thirds
majority vote from both chambers to raise taxes.
The Constitution is extraordinarily difficult to amend, requiring
a two-thirds vote from Congress, as well as ratification by the
required 38 states. Many lawmakers also argue that the provisions
of the Republican balanced budget amendment would limit their
spending power during times of economic crisis.
In other developments, legislation (S 676 / HR 1234) was
introduced in the House and Senate the week of March 28 that
would overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s Carcieri v. Salazar
decision. In Carcieri, the Court held that the Secretary of
Interior lacks authority to take land into trust for Indian
tribes that were not under federal jurisdiction at the time of
the passage of the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934.
According to the bills’ sponsors, the legislation – which would
restore the Secretary of Interior’s authority to take land into
trust for all Indian tribes – would clarify existing law and
remove uncertainty caused by the Supreme Court’s action. For
their part, a number of State and local governments, including
CSAC, are adamantly opposed to the legislation because of the
bills’ failure to address long-standing systemic flaws in the
current fee-to-trust process.
Since the Carcieri decision in February of 2009, CSAC has called
upon Congress to thoughtfully re-examine the fee-to-trust process
and to provide for necessary reforms. Among other things, the
association is advocating for clearly defined standards for trust
land acquisitions, as well as sufficient notification
requirements. CSAC also has been promoting that intergovernmental
agreements should be mandated between tribes and local
governments to require mitigation for adverse impacts of
development projects, including environmental and economic
impacts from the transfer of the land into trust.
In the House, the Natural Resources Committee is expected to hold
hearings on the implications of the Carcieri v. Salazar decision;
the committee will likely hear from a broad range of witnesses.
Across Capitol Hill, a hearing schedule in the Senate Indian
Affairs Committee is less clear.
Also on Capitol Hill this week, the House Transportation and
Infrastructure (T&I) Committee held a two-day hearing on
surface transportation reauthorization. Testimony was given by
over 40 transportation stakeholders from around the country. The
hearing represents the culmination of a month-long series of
field hearings during which time the committee has received input
from state and local government representatives and industry
professionals as it prepares to compose a six-year transportation
reauthorization bill.
Transportation programs enacted under current law (SAFETEA-LU)
expired on September 30, 2009. In order to continue authority for
highway and transit programs, Congress has approved a series of
short-term extensions. The current extension (PL 112-5) is set to
expire on September 30, 2011.
Looking ahead, House T&I Committee Chairman John Mica (R-FL)
has indicated that his reauthorization bill will largely focus on
streamlining project delivery, as well as developing innovative
financing options such as bonding, public-private partnerships,
and loan programs. Mica is expected to unveil a draft bill
sometime in the near future.
In another transportation-related issue, on March 29 Congress
passed a short-term extension (HR 1079) of programs under the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), providing lawmakers with
additional time to work on a long-term reauthorization without
disrupting current FAA operations. The extension includes $2.5
billion for the Airport Improvement Program for an eight-month
period beginning October 1, 2010. The extension is the latest
amongst a long series of short-term extensions since the FAA
reauthorization expired in fiscal year 2007.
On the House side, the lower chamber started debate this week on
the longer-term FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011 (HR
658). The bill, sponsored by Chairman Mica, would cover fiscal
years 2011 to 2014, with an overall funding level of $59.7
billion. The bill requires funding to be set at the fiscal year
2008 levels for the remainder of fiscal year 2011 and beginning
in full in fiscal year 2012. In agreement with the GOP moratorium
on earmarks, the measure contains no congressionally directed
funding.
At press time, the House was poised to approve HR 658. Passage of
the long-term FAA bill would set the stage for conference
negotiations with the Senate, which passed a two-year airport
reauthorization measure (S 223) in February.
Finally, the Senate debated a small business measure (S 493) the
week of March 28. The bill, which would extend a number of small
business programs, contains several controversial policy
provisions that have heated up the seemingly neutral, bipartisan
measure. Among the contentious items is a provision that would
prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from imposing
regulations that would curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The
amendment, offered by Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), would limit
EPA’s ability to enforce the Clean Air Act by stripping the
Agency of regulatory authority over carbon dioxide and greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions. Nevertheless, a vote on the McConnell
amendment will largely be viewed as a symbolic stance on EPA
authority since the measure is not expected to pass the Senate.