Engineers Guide Congress on
Key Legislation
By Rachel Davis McVearry
Associate Editor
In upcoming legislative sessions, NSPE will go to bat for
sufficient water and wastewater infrastructure, better highways and
bridges, contracting out to the private sector on federal projects, and
funding for engineering and science research. Some of these issues will be
addressed in the next Congress, while others will be ongoing. NSPE members
are optimistic that lobbying successes in these areas will not only
increase job opportunities for engineers, but they will also help protect
the public’s health, safety, and welfare.
In 2003, the Society plans to testify before Congress on these issues
and others of importance to professional engineers (see box, page 14). And
as NSPE plans for the next legislative session, it will actively
participate as a member of the Water Infrastructure Network and other
partnerships to help achieve the Society’s goals.
According to a WIN report, which was recently supported by the
Environmental Protection Agency’s own Gap Analysis, U.S. needs
demand a five-year, $57 billion federal investment in drinking water,
sewer, and stormwater infrastructure. The funds would be used to replace
aging pipes, upgrade treatment systems, and continue to protect public
health and the environment. The report, Water Infrastructure Now,
says the funding increase is urgently needed to help close a $23 billion
per year gap between infrastructure needs and current spending. WIN is
therefore lobbying in support of the Clean Water Act Reauthorization.
The Clean Water Act grew out of 1972 Federal Water Pollution Control
Act amendments, which legislators enacted in response to increasing public
concerns about water pollution. The CWA formed a structure for regulating
discharges of pollutants into U.S. waters and gave the EPA the authority
to set wastewater standards for industry and municipalities. It funded the
construction of sewage treatment plants and recognized the need to address
nonpoint source pollution.
In 1987, the construction grants program was replaced with the Clean
Water State Revolving Fund, which NSPE supports. EPA finances the SRF
program, providing low-cost loans, through the states, to cities for
financing water pollution control projects. NSPE supports increasing
federal funding in the combined State Revolving Loan Fund to $57 billion
over five fiscal years. NSPE had a key role in providing economic modeling
and research that formed the basis of the SRF program.
“The Clean Water Act is but a small step in the right direction toward
meeting those needs,” says Professional Engineer Kermit Prime, senior vice
president of consulting engineering firm PBS&J. “WIN has recommended
that local governments provide half of the unmet capital needs and all of
the operation and maintenance requirements. Without federal funds to help
meet these needs, water infrastructure improvements will continue to be
deferred. This deferral will result in potential public health risks and
environmental harm.”
Prime also points out that NSPE members from all practice divisions
will benefit from the reauthorization of the Clean Water Act through their
involvement in the planning, design, and construction of needed
infrastructure.”
“The reauthorization will generate a lot of jobs for engineers at the
state and local levels, because agencies will have funding to design
sewer, wastewater, and drinking water systems,” adds NSPE Government
Relations Director Lee White.
White says it’s unlikely that Congress will address Clean Water Act
reauthorization this upcoming year because it must deal with the
reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century.
NSPE has actively lobbied in favor of the TEA-21 reauthorization, which
would also provide new job opportunities for engineers nationwide on
highway and transit projects.
TEA-21, which expires in September 2003, was the largest public works
bill in history, providing $175 billion for highways, $41.4 billion for
transit, and $2.2 billion for highway safety. NSPE supports a
reauthorization that builds on the framework of the original legislation.
This includes support for a budgetary firewall measure, which restricts
the use of highway-user revenue to authorized transportation projects and
prevents that revenue from being used for other purposes.
Dropped from the original legislation was a provision for taking the
highway trust fund off budget. It was replaced by a new budget category
for highway and mass transit funding. This budgetary firewall ensured that
at least $198 billion would be spent on highways and mass transit over the
subsequent six years. The other $18 billion were subject to the annual
appropriations process. The original legislation also dedicated the
4.3-cent share of the gas tax, formerly used for deficit reduction, to
transportation programs.
NSPE will take action when the reauthorization is introduced in spring
2003. While supporting the reauthorization, NSPE opposes requirements that
design professionals provide warranties on their design work on
federal-aid highway projects. NSPE also opposes any expansion of the
provisions of the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires that federal
construction contractors pay their workers “prevailing wages.”
Regarding air transportation, NSPE supports the reauthorization of
Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment & Reform Act for the 21st Century,
which would free up money for airport projects. Enacted in 2000, AIR-21
increased funding for aviation projects by $10 billion over three years.
Another hot topic at both the state and national level has been the
contracting out of A/E services on public projects. NSPE members have
lobbied in favor of government agencies’ ability to contract out to
private-sector firms at both levels.
The American Federation of Government Employees and the Federal
Managers Association are supporting the Truthfulness, Responsibility, and
Accountability in Contracting Act, which was introduced by Rep. Albert
Wynn (D-Md.) in February 2001. The legislation institutes a moratorium,
first on new contracting, and eventually on all contracting. Although some
construction is exempted, it is not clear whether the exemption covers
construction-related A/E services.
The bill would require all federal agencies to publish contractor
inventories, in addition to the annual lists of government jobs that could
be performed by contractors required by the Federal Activities Inventory
Reform (FAIR) Act. The bill would also require that federal workers be
considered for jobs before those responsibilities are contracted out.
“NSPE opposes efforts to reduce the services that the federal
government can contract out to the private sector,” says White. The
federal government has long relied on contracting out, particularly as the
number of in-house federal government engineers has declined, he says.
Also on the legislative agenda this year is the National Science
Foundation Doubling Act, which was placed on hold this session. The
legislation would authorize the doubling of NSF’s budget between fiscal
years 2003 and 2007 to $9.8 billion. The bill would authorize a variety of
math and science education programs, including competitive grants to
increase the number of college engineering graduates (for details, see
“NSPE in Washington,” page 8).
This fall, NSPE President and Professional Engineer Howard Blitman sent
a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Mitchell Daniels Jr.,
urging the Bush administration to allow the NSF bill to be considered by
the Senate. NSPE will continue to lobby Congress in favor of the
legislation during the lame duck session.
“Doubling of funding is important to NSPE members because engineers are
one of the most important components of the professional team that creates
new knowledge and develops innovative products and services,” says
Professional Engineer David Gibson, chairman of the Education Subcommittee
of NSPE’s Legislative & Government Affairs Committee. “NSF has been
one of America’s strongest forces in technological development and
education.”
Gibson says that doubling NSF funds will increase the demand for
engineering talent by creating a stronger basic and applied research
effort, which requires engineering skills. “This demand will be multiplied
by requirements for engineers in the broader economy, which provides the
services, equipment, and products developed from research.”
To get involved in NSPE’s government relations program, go to
www.nspe.org and click on “Government Relations.”
More Targets for
NSPE’s Government Relations Efforts
NSPE will be lobbying toward several goals that are
beneficial to engineers in the upcoming legislative sessions. In addition
to supporting the Clean Water Act reauthorization, TEA-21 authorization,
and doubling of National Science Foundation funding, NSPE is opposing
legislation that would restrict contracting out on public projects. The
following are some of the other issues that NSPE members will be
discussing with their senators and representatives:
| • |
NSPE supports
the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration and the
Airport Improvement Program. The Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment
& Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21) became law in 2000,
increasing the nation’s aviation investment by $10 billion. NSPE
believes that AIR-21 provides the foundation for a U.S. air
transportation system that meets the nation’s needs.
Action: When AIR-21 reauthorization legislation is
introduced in 2003, NSPE will lobby legislators to support it.
|
| • |
NSPE supports a
comprehensive and flexible national energy plan that reduces U.S.
reliance on foreign energy sources. The Society supports oil
exploration and development of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,
efficiency standards for automobiles, federal funding for research
and development of alternative energy sources, and streamlined
construction and licensing for new nuclear power plants.
Action: The Society sent letters to the House and
Senate in 2001 and 2002 to support passage of legislation
establishing a comprehensive national energy policy that encompasses
NSPE’s Energy Position Statement. NSPE is also an active member of
the Alliance for Energy and Economic Growth (see
www.yourenergyfuture.org). |
| • |
NSPE favors
strengthening the nation’s K–12 science, math, engineering, and
technology education to prepare students for careers in those
fields.
Action: The Society strongly supported Title II of
the No Child Left Behind Act, which establishes the Math &
Science Partnerships program through NSF to encourage schools to
form educational partnerships with engineers and scientists. Title
II also provides other professional development opportunities for
teachers. NSPE lobbied for a package of bills introduced by Rep.
Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.) that would expand professional development
opportunities for teachers and give tax incentives to businesses
that assist local schools. NSPE also lobbied in favor of legislation
introduced by House Science Committee Chair Sherwood Boehlert
(R-N.Y.) that includes $160 million for Math & Science
Partnerships. NSPE also supports another bill introduced by Boehlert
that would enhance programs at NSF to expand the number of U.S.
students majoring in engineering, science, math, and technology.
|
| • |
The Society
supports Good Samaritan laws that provide immunity from liability to
licensed professionals who voluntarily provide engineering services
in emergency situations. Although professional engineers are often
willing to voluntarily assist in emergency situations, they face
substantial liability exposure when doing so. Without sufficient
immunity from liability, professional engineers may be hesitant to
volunteer.
Action: NSPE has a professional policy that urges
the enactment of Good Samaritan laws and includes a Model Engineers’
Good Samaritan Act, intended to assist state licensure authorities,
state legislators, and the engineering profession in drafting Good
Samaritan legislation. Engineers have been lobbying for such
legislation in states across the country, resulting in at least 18
states having Good Samaritan laws that cover engineers.
|
| • |
Because
technical professionals have been affected by shortcomings in
retirement income policies in recent years, NSPE has supported
portability of benefits from defined benefit plans, decreased
vesting periods, and greater participation in voluntary savings
arrangements (IRAs).
Action: NSPE participates in the Engineers and
Scientists Joint Committee on Pensions of the American Association
of Engineering Societies. The Society is also a member of the
Employee Benefits Working Group, which was formed when ESJCP
developed a design/feasibility study and comprehensive market survey
on occupational retirement plans for engineers and
scientists. |
NSPE actively supported H.R. 10 and encouraged the inclusion of the
bill in H.R. 1836, The Economic Growth & Reconciliation Act, signed by
President George Bush in 2001. The bill accelerated vesting, enhanced
portability between various retirement vehicles, increased the
contribution limits for 401(k) plans, allowed workers to “catch-up” on
their retirement savings after age 50, promoted pension simplification,
and encouraged small businesses to establish retirement plans for their
workers.
