01-22-2000

ENVIRONMENT: Anti-Green Measures Are Riders in the Storm

An eye-opening report last year by a major environmental organization
listed the number of notable legislative initiatives in the form of
stand-alone bills winding through congressional committees: a dozen. The
same report listed the anti-environmental riders that were spliced into
budget bills: 43.


That pretty much defines the playing field for 2000 and suggests where the
action is going to be. When it comes to environmental legislation,
insiders know the show doesn't start until lawmakers begin attaching
riders to spending bills, a process typically done in private, without
hearings, and with minimal debate.


"The agenda that many in [the Republican] leadership are working to
promote is overwhelmingly unpopular with the American public-so it's
evolved into this closed, byzantine process," said Gregory Wetstone,
the director of programs for the Natural Resources Defense Council in
Washington. "We anticipate many areas where we will be right back in
this same process. It's a habit...they're not ready to
break."


A number of potentially important and freestanding resources and
conservation measures could be considered this year. Among those being
watched most closely is the bipartisan Conservation and Reinvestment Act
(CARA), which would round up $2.82 billion in already-levied offshore oil
taxes and fees into a national conservation fund. But even that landmark
piece of legislation stands to be drowned out in the din of this year's
appropriations battles.


"I think there's good momentum to keep the process clean, but I think
that would be overly optimistic," said Anna Aurilio, a staff
scientist for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. Aurilio said that
the election-shortened year will make it even more difficult to get work
done through normal channels, "so budget bills and the appropriations
process will be the vehicle."


Environmental riders routinely are aimed at relaxing specific areas of
environmental law for narrow purposes sought by industry. Among the dozens
of riders offered last year were those that would loosen federal oversight
of public lands and roll back the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act,
wetlands laws, forest regulations, and other measures. Some made it into
law. Aurilio called it the "shrapnel approach: throw 60 riders at
them and hope 20 make it through."


President Clinton warned throughout the process last year that he would
veto appropriations bills containing potentially damaging
anti-environmental riders. He was aided by a vigorous lobbying effort and
public outreach campaign by consumer and environmental groups, and by
behind-the-scenes moderating by some in the GOP leadership, particularly
in the House. The result: Most of the objectionable riders were
withdrawn.


"The `just say no' approach to all riders is the way to win,"
Aurilio said.


A key objection to the rider approach is that it inhibits the opportunity
for public input and debate. There is no bill, no public hearing, and no
markup.


Among the failed 1999 riders expected to reappear in 2000 is one favored
by West Virginia mining companies and pushed by Sen. Robert C. Byrd,
D-W.Va. The rider would allow coal companies to continue mining on
mountaintops and depositing wastes in rivers and streams. Because a
stand-alone bill achieving the same ends would require unpopular
amendments to the Clean Water Act and Surface Mining Act, Byrd is expected
to go through the appropriations process once again.


Meanwhile, Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, chairman of the House Resources
Committee, plans action on a pair of stand-alone bills designed to relax
Endangered Species Act regulations on landowners. Other resource bills
likely to see initial action include a reauthorization of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.


The CARA bill is considered Young's highest priority. It was the product
of an unusual collaboration last year between Young and Rep. George
Miller, D-Calif., the committee's ranking Democrat and usually a sharp
adversary of the chairman. The Resources Committee passed the bill in
November over the protests of Western Republicans who are land-rights
advocates.


Before it can reach the House floor, however, the legislation may have to
withstand referrals to one or two other committees: Budget and
Agriculture. The bill will be formally filed late this month, with
decisions on additional referrals to follow. The big question is whether
the session allows time for all of that, given the likelihood of a storm
of riders in appropriations bills.


At a Glance: Resources and Conservation Measures


The Issue: Most of the environmental workload will involve lashing riders
to appropriations bills, despite efforts to move such stand-alone bills as
the bipartisan Conservation and Reinvestment Act.


Key Players:


Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., sponsor of a disputed coal mining
provision


Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., ranking Democrat on the House Resources
Committee


Recent Action: Last year, the House Resources Committee passed the CARA
bill, and the White House pressured Republicans to drop most of the budget
riders that environmentalists considered objectionable.


What to Watch: The progress on CARA may slow down if the bill is referred
to other House committees. A deluge of spending riders will test the
mettle of Clinton and conservation advocates.


Robert Ourlian

National Journal