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Week of June 19, 2000
The
League of Conservation Voters (LCV) continues to monitor
Congressional activity and hold members of Congress accountable for
their actions on important environmental issues. See the information
below for a concise look at what happened in Congress last week and
what we anticipate for the coming
week.
SUMMARY:
Last week the Senate struck a
compromise deal during debate on the Corporate Average Fuel Economy
(CAFE) standards for better fuel economy for light trucks such as
the popular SUVs. In the House, Representatives spent the week
debating appropriations bills. LCV monitored passage of the Interior
Appropriations bill and votes on many riders to the bill. On June
13th, LCV sent a letter to Capitol Hill to urge pro-environment
votes on the Interior bill. See LCV’s Action Center to view
the letter.
ACTIONS AND VOTES LAST WEEK
Senate:
- SENATE TAKES ONE STEP CLOSER TO BETTER FUEL
STANDARDS
During debate on the FY 2001 Transportation
Appropriations bill, H.R. 4475, the Senate made a compromise on an
effort to increase the fuel economy of cars and trucks, or the
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE). The compromise will allow a
study to determine if changes should be made to the nation’s
vehicle fuel economy standards. For the past five years, the
Department of Transportation has been restricted from even
attempting to raise CAFE standards. With last week’s compromise,
the National Academy of Sciences will study fuel economy to
determine whether changes should be made to the current standards.
In recognizing that the agreement falls short of actually
implementing stronger CAFE standards, LCV called this action a
step in the right direction for the American consumer and the
efforts to reduce pollutants. Look for LCV’s complete statement in
our media
center.
House:
The
House took several votes on amendments to the Interior
appropriations bill last week. We have included a summary of final
passage and a brief summary of several amendments to the
bill:
- FINAL PASSAGE OF INTERIOR BILL
The House worked
through the night on Friday of last week to pass the FY 2001
Interior Appropriations bill, H.R. 4578, by a vote of 204-172. The
bill appropriates $14.6 billion for the Interior Department,
related agencies and cultural programs and agencies in fiscal year
2001. The bill also provides funds for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, the National Parks Service and the Minerals Management
Service.
LCV has issued many Weekly Congressional Updates
concerning the Interior Appropriations bill and the
anti-environment riders attached to the bill. Many of these riders
came to a vote last week. Here is the outcome of the most
significant ones:
Columbia Basin – Rep. George
Nethercutt (R-WA) introduced a rider to restrict funding for the
Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Plan in the Pacific
Northwest. The environmental community opposed this rider. It was
adopted 197 to 180.
National Monuments – Rep. Jim
Hansen (R-UT) lost his battle to amend the bill to prohibit the
Interior Department from using funds to designate federal lands as
new national monuments. All of the Clinton administration’s
announcements after 1999 would be affected, including the four
recently announced. The environmental community opposed this
rider. It was rejected 187-234.
Yolo Bypass in
California – This rider restricts funding to establish a
wildlife refuge at Yolo Bypass in California and on the Kankakee
River in Illinois and Indiana. The environmental community opposed
this rider and Rep. Doug Ose (R-CA) worked to strike this rider.
His amendment to take this rider off the bill passed by voice
vote.
Funding Cut to the Land Water Conservation
Fund – With the final passage vote, the bill will now head to
the Senate with a 56 percent reduction to the Land and Water
Conservation Fund. The House debate did not center on funding. LCV
will monitor the Senate version of the bill to see if the LWCF
gets its fair share of money.
Grazing Permits – Rep.
Jay Inslee (D-WA) worked to strike a rider to allow grazing
permits on federal lands to be renewed without environmental
review. During the debate, Rep. Ralph Regula (R-OH) and Rep.
Inslee worked out a compromise and Inslee withdrew his amendment.
The environmental community supported Inslee’s attempts to amend
the Interior bill.
Rider to Prevent Clinton’s Roadless
Policy – Before the bill came to the floor for final passage,
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) indicated that would offer an amendment to
prevent funds for the Clinton administration’s roadless policy
initiative in national forests. In the end, Stupak did not
introduce his rider. The environmental community opposed his
idea.
Tree Harvesting – Rep. David Wu (D-OR) offered
an amendment to increase funding for the Forest Service's wildlife
and fish habitat management program by $15 million and offset the
increase by reducing the Forest Service's forest products account.
The environmental community supported this amendment. It was
defeated 173-249.
- LABOR – HHS FUNDING BILL PASSES HOUSE
The FY 2001
Labor-HHS Appropriations bill, H.R. 4577, passed the House last
week on close vote of 217-214. The bill would appropriate $351.8
billion for the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education
departments and a related agency, which is a $12.3 billion
increase in discretionary spending and $11.5 billion increase in
mandatory spending. The bill includes $18.8 billion for the
National Institutes of Health and $1.1 billion for the Low Income
Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The environmental
community did not object to those funding
levels.
ON THE FLOOR THIS WEEK:
Senate:
- SUMMARY OF SENATE ACTIVITY THIS WEEK
This week the
Senate is scheduled to vote on two funding bills, the Defense
Authorization bill and other legislation previously described in
LCV’s Weekly Congressional Updates. The Labor-HHS and Foreign
Operations appropriations bills were approved by the
Appropriations Committee in May and could come to the floor for a
vote soon. Funding for environmental programs in the Labor – HHS
bill is solid while the Foreign Operations bill slashed the
administration’s budget for the Global Environmental Facility to
$50 million from $176 million. An amendment to the Defense
Authorization bill may be offered by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) to
reinstate EPA’s ability to fine the Defense Department for
violations to environmental compliance. Several other issues
including the County Payments bill, S.1608, and the Coastal
Barrier Resources Reauthorization Act, S. 1752, could come to the
floor. If you are interested in these issues, click
http://www.lcv.org/actioncenter/ to see our letters.
House:
- EPA FUNDING BILL IS EXPECTED THIS WEEK
The bill to
fund the Environmental Protection Agency for 2001 is expected on
the floor this week. The bill includes a number of
anti-environment riders including a rider that would interfere
with the EPA’s ability to combat global warming and blocks the
agency from issuing a rule to limit radon in drinking water. The
bill also cuts funding for a program to make grants to clean up
the Great Lakes and would block the EPA from issuing new
regulations on point source pollution – or the Total Daily Maximum
Load program.
- ANTI-ENVIRONMENT RIDERS ON HOUSE AGRICULTURE
BILL
The House is also scheduled to vote on the $75 billion
appropriations bill for the Department of Agriculture, HR 4461
(although controversial provisions relating to Cuba still loom).
About 80 percent of the money in this bill goes to mandatory
programs such as food stamps. The other 20 percent, or $14.4
billion, is discretionary spending for various programs including
the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which runs the
conservation operations for the USDA. The bill includes funding
cuts for farm conservation programs, including a cut that would
restrict enrollment in the Wetlands Reserve program in 2001 to
15,000 acres.
The bill also includes a rider that would bar
funding for the Kyoto protocol including any actions to reduce
greenhouse gases under the protocol. The administration has
expressed its strong opposition to this rider. In addition the
bill contains a provision that will prohibit the use of
Agriculture’s conservation funding, including funds in the
Conservation Reserve program and Wetlands Reserve program, in
support of the administration’s American Heritage Rivers program.
Rep. Sue Kelly (R-NY) is working on an amendment to support the
Heritage Rivers program and allow Agriculture funding to be used
in support of the program. To see more about the Heritage Rivers
program, see: www.epa.gov/rivers/.
IN
COMMITTEE THIS WEEK:
Senate:
- The Senate Agriculture Committee will mark-up several
environmental bills this week. Among other bills, the committee
will consider legislation, S. 1066, requiring the Department of
Agriculture to conduct research on agricultural practices to
reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
The Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee is expected to mark-up legislation to
restructure the electricity industry. Electricity deregulation has
significant environmental impacts with regards to emissions of
pollutants (i.e. nitrogen and sulfur oxides, mercury and carbon
dioxide) as well as requirements for use of renewable energy
sources.
The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to
mark-up legislation providing funding for the Interior Department.
The House approved its version of the FY 2001 Interior
Appropriation's bill on June 16th by a vote of 204-172. Land and
energy conservation programs in the bill are funded through the
U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Energy
respectively.
House:
- RESOURCES TO MARK-UP TWO CONTROVERSIAL ESA BILLS
The
House Resources Committee will mark-up two controversial bills
this week both sponsored by Chairman Don Young (R-AK). One bill,
H.R.3160, is a controversial measure to amend the Endangered
Species Act (ESA) that is opposed by the environmental community.
The second bill, H.R.1142, would add a provision to the ESA that
would alter the standards for deciding when a government action is
a “taking.” Environmental groups oppose this bill also.
The
House Appropriations Committee is expected to mark-up its FY 2001
Energy and Water Appropriations bill. The legislation provides
funding for water resources projects through the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers as well as renewable energy research by the
Department of Energy.
The House Appropriations Foreign
Operations Subcommittee will mark-up its FY 2001 Foreign
Operations Appropriations bill. The legislation contains funding
for the Global Environmental Facility as well as monies for the
United Nations Population Fund.
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