Update from Washington, D.C. 07/08/2011
Typically, activities in Washington come to a grinding halt the
first week of July as Congress breaks for its traditional
Independence Day recess. However, with the looming debt-ceiling
deadline drawing closer, Senate leadership cancelled the usual
week-long Fourth of July recess. House leaders had opted earlier
to take their break the week before the holiday.
Yesterday, President Obama invited top congressional leaders to
the White House to hash out a deal to increase the $14.3 trillion
debt limit. The July 7 high-level meeting focused on some of the
more contentious items such as taxes and entitlement programs,
which are holding back Republicans and Democrats from agreeing on
a compromise package. Democrats are pushing for increased tax
revenues in order to reel in the deficit, while Republicans are
arguing for significant reforms to entitlement programs and
spending cuts that would at the least meet the amount of a debt
limit increase.
Although the meeting produced no breakthroughs, negotiators
agreed to meet again on Sunday, July 10, with their staffs
expected to work through the weekend. Several Republicans have
indicated that this upcoming Sunday may be a make-or-break
deadline for producing a deficit reduction and debt limit
package.
CSAC and other organizations, including the National Association
of Counties, has written to the California congressional
delegation and President Obama expressing concern about the
potential cuts to Medicaid in a deficit reduction package,
arguing that such cuts shift costs to states and counties.
With the August 2 default deadline rapidly approaching, many
lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are becoming a bit antsy.
Recently, there have been hints of a possible compromise by key
Republicans, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA).
Several GOP leaders have signaled that they would consider some
modifications to the tax code such as closing
loopholes.
For their part, key Democrats, including House Minority Whip
Steny Hoyer (D-MD) have indicated that they would consider a
short-term increase to the debt limit if a larger deal isn’t
struck before the early August target date. Senate Minority
Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has also hinted that Republicans
would agree to a short-term compromise as well. Given the lack of
any details, it remains uncertain whether the rank and file of
either party would agree to a plan even if their leaders signed
off on an agreement.
While much of the focus and attention has been placed on the debt
ceiling controversy, other important issues are being considered
on Capitol Hill, including several fiscal year 2012
appropriations bills.
The House continues its appropriations work for next year,
including the $30.6 billion Energy-Water funding measure (HR
2354), which may be considered on the House floor next week. A
number of other measures are in the queue for Appropriations
Committee consideration throughout July.
State Criminal Alien Assistance Program
The House Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) Appropriations
Subcommittee approved July 7 its $50.2 billion draft fiscal year
2012 spending bill. The legislation would cut federal spending
for CJS programs by six percent, or a $3.1 billion reduction from
the fiscal year 2011 funding level.
Significantly, the bill would eliminate funding for the State
Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), which is a critically
important program for California’s counties. SCAAP is funded at
$273.3 million in the current fiscal year, which was a decrease
from the previous year’s (fiscal year 2010) funding amount of
$330 million. Key members of the California congressional
delegation are considering options for amending the CJS spending
measure to restore SCAAP funding.
Overall, the spending package includes roughly $1.7 billion for
various state and local law enforcement activities, juvenile
justice programs, and public safety grants. This represents a
$1.1 billion reduction in funding from the current spending
level. The full Appropriations Committee is slated to mark up the
CJS bill on July 13.
Transportation Reauthorization
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John
Mica (R-FL) recently unveiled details of his surface
transportation reauthorization measure. According to Chairman
Mica, funding for the bill would be strictly limited to the
amount that can be supported by the Highway Trust Fund, which is
about $230 billion over six years. Mica’s proposal also adheres
to the constraints of the House’s budget resolution (H Con Res
34), which places strict limits on program spending based on
trust fund receipts.
Mica’s measure would expand initiatives designed to promote
private-public investment projects such as the Transportation
Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA). TIFIA would
receive around $6 billion over six years.
The bill also would consolidate 100 transportation programs into
30, and would give states more flexibility on how dollars are
spent and more power to streamline and approve transportation
projects. If all goes according to schedule, Mica is set to
formally introduce his bill next week and begin consideration of
the legislation the week of July 25.
On a related matter, the chair of the Senate Environment and
Public Works Committee, Barbara Boxer (D-CA), signaled she will
soon be introducing a transportation reauthorization package that
would maintain current spending for two years, with an allowance
for inflation. However, Senator Boxer did not give any indication
as to the how the additional $12 billion needed to fund
transportation programs at their current levels would be raised.
A number of lawmakers, including the committee’s Ranking Member,
James Inhofe (R-OK), have expressed some support for Boxer’s
proposal. Senator Boxer is hoping to mark up the measure prior to
the August recess.
Clean Water Act – Section 404 Permitting
On Wednesday, July 6, Congressman Gary Miller (R-CA) officially
introduced the Flood Control Facility Maintenance Clarification
Act. The bipartisan legislation (HR 2427) would provide a narrow
exemption for maintenance removal of sediment, debris, and
vegetation from flood control channels and basins under Section
404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA).
Under Section 404, counties, local flood control agencies, and
similar local government agencies are required to obtain permits
from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) for the discharge
of dredged or fill material into navigable waters. The CWA also
provides a permitting exemption for the maintenance of currently
serviceable structures. However, the Corps has determined that
this exemption does not apply to certain routine maintenance
activities.
The narrow interpretation of the law adopted by the Corps has
caused a number of unintended consequences, including drastically
increasing the Corps’ workload and creating a significant
permitting backlog. The processing time for a 404 permit can take
from one to three years and often comes with costly mitigation
conditions attached. It also has hampered local agencies in their
efforts to perform routine maintenance in a timely and responsive
manner, leaving them open to undue liability for flood
damage.
CSAC has worked closely with Congressman Miller on HR 2427 and
has endorsed the legislation. Several Members of the California
congressional delegation are original cosponsors of the bill.
On a related matter, the House Interior-Environment
Appropriations Subcommittee approved on July 7 its $27.5 billion
fiscal year 2012 spending measure, which includes significant
budget cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Under
the bill, which remains in draft form, EPA would receive $7.1
billion, which is a $1.5 billion cut from current levels and $1.8
billion below the Obama administration’s budget
request.
A large chunk of the EPA cuts would come from the Clean Water and
Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, which help finance state
and local water infrastructure projects. In discussing the
proposed reductions, Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson (R-ID)
noted that the accounts received $6 billion in stimulus funding
and that nearly half of that money is still available and
unobligated.
The spending measure also includes a policy rider that would bar
the EPA from changing the definition of “navigable waters” under
the CWA. The EPA, which earlier this year published for public
comment an updated version of proposed guidance that describes
how the agency will identify waters protected by the Act, has
come under fire from a number of lawmakers who have criticized
the agency for seeking to implement a dramatic federal
jurisdictional grab through unilateral expansion of the CWA.
The spending bill also includes a provision that would delay EPA
greenhouse gas regulations for one year and would limit the
agency’s authority over regulating coal ash from power
plants.
The Interior-Environment spending bill is expected to be marked
up by the full Appropriations Committee on July 12.