Dallas American Society of Civil Engineers

Congress Adjourns Leaving Many Issues Pending For Next Year
The first session of the 105th Congress ground to a close on November 13, marking the earliest end of a first session of Congress since 1965. The Senate was in session for a total of 153 days this year; the House managed to get by with 132 days. While it took six continuing resolutions, Congress managed to keep the government operating and passed all 13 annual appropriations bills before going home for the year. Lawmakers are not expected to return to Washington, D.C. until the end of January. This year's undisputed legislative landmark was the agreement to balance the budget by the year 2002. In addition, Congress managed to pass the biggest tax cut since the Reagan era. Overall, the plan provides about $140 billion in tax cuts and roughly $50 billion in tax increases for a net cut of about $94 billion over a five-hear period. The final budget deal also included a provision to transfer the 4.3 cents-per-gallon gas tax that presently goes to deficit reduction into the highway trust fund. The gas tax shift has been a long-term ASCE goal, and is a major development for transportation.

	Passed	Pending
Trust Funds Off-Budget		X
Multi year ISTEA		X
Short-term ISTEA	X
Section 127 (undergrad)	X
FY98 Appropriations	X
Budget/Taxes	X
Endangered Species		X
Superfund		X
Clean Water Act		X
4.3 Cents Gas Tax	X
Dam Safety Act	X

These accomplishments, however, were overshadowed by the huge stack of bills that Congress failed to complete. Among those measures most important to ASCE were the six-year reauthorization of the nation's highway and mass transit programs (H.R. 2516/S. 1173); a major rewrite of the Endangered Species Act (S. 1180); Superfund reform (S. 8/H.R. 3000); and restoring integrity to the transportation trust funds (H.R. 4).

Highlighted below is a brief summary report on the major issues that Key Contacts acted on this year:

Trust Funds Off-Budget
Legislation (H.R. 4) to move the four transportation trust funds -- Highway, Airport & Airways, Inland Waterways, and Harbor Maintenance -- off-budget was again introduced in the 105th Congress by Rep. Bud Shuster (R-PA). At the close of the session the legislation, known as the Truth in Budgeting Act, had 245 cosponsors in the House, including majorities of both Republicans and Democrats. Companion legislation was never introduced in the senate. The text of H.R. 4 was eventually included in the House ISTEA reauthorization bill, H.R. 2400. However, the measure never came up for a final vote in the House. Resolving disputes over the equity of the state funding formula proved a daunting task for House and Senate lawmakers, and both panels postponed final action until next year. In the interim, they passed a short-term extension bill (S. 1519) to keep money flowing to the states through May 1998.

Outlook for 1998: Preliminary reports released from the Office of Management & Budget indicate that highway spending will be cut next year to roughly $21.5 billion--far less than the $23 billion recently included in the transportation appropriations bill (H.R. 2169 - PL 105-66) signed by President Clinton.

As lawmakers look for ways to increase funding for ISTEA programs, expect momentum to build in Congress to spend the balance in the highway trust fund (HTF). The current balance in the HTF is $23.7 billion. Next year, the federal government will collect an additional $32 billion in federal highway user fees. Only $ 23.3 billion has been appropriated for mass transit out of the trust funds.

Section 127
While ASCE has been pushing for permanent extension of the employer-provided educational assistance tax exclusion (Section 127) for both undergraduate and graduate programs, the compromise agreement (H.R. 2014) worked out by Congress and the White House extends Section 127 through May 31, 2000, and applies only to undergraduate programs.

Outlook for 1998: Opportunities for a major tax reform bill in 1998 are unlikely in light of the fact that Congress just enacted the biggest tax cut in sixteen years. The House leadership has indicated that several tax-related issues will be on their agenda for 1998, but discussion is likely to focus on replacing the existing tax system with a flat tax or imposing a national sales tax.

National Dam Safety Program
Those of you who responded to the June 17, 1997 targeted Key Alert on "Funding for the National Dam Safety Program" played a critical role in convincing lawmakers to provide funding for the program in the fiscal 1998 VA-HUD spending bill. Only Key Contacts who have Representatives on the VA-HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee received this Alert. This type of targeted Alert allows ASCE to conserve its resources. As a result of our efforts, Congress included ASCE's funding request of $2.9 million in their final bill (H.R. 2158 - PL 105-65) which was signed by the President on Oct. 27. The National Dam Safety Program, administered by FEMA, is designed to prevent dam failures. Funding will be used for research to enhance technical expertise as dams are built and rehabilitated to improve their safety.

Outlook in 1998: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) recent announcement, which calls for the removal of the Edwards Dam on the Kennebec River in Augusta, Maine, will be closely watched by western states in the U.S. where several more hydro-power dams are under consideration for removal. Over 550 dams are up for relicensing by FERC in the next 15 years. Until now, the federal government has regarded dams as permanent structures on the landscape. This change in policy, which coincides with deregulation of the electric-utility industry, increases the likelihood that Congress will address hydro issues next year.

ISTEA Reauthorization
One of ASCE's top legislative priorities has been the reauthorization of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) which expired on September 30. Congress' grueling struggle to reauthorize the nation's surface transportation programs ended for the year on Nov. 12 when lawmakers reached a compromise agreement (S. 1519) to temporarily extend highway, bridge and transit programs through May 1998.

The legislation authorizes funding for highway construction, mass transit and safety programs while lawmakers work on the long-term ISTEA reauthorization next year. Last minute attempts to reach a compromise failed when the ISTEA bill became bogged down in the Senate amid maneuvering over campaign finance legislation.

Many of you responded to the September 12 and November 4 Key Alerts which proved to be instrumental in pressuring Congress to pass a short-term extension bill if a long-term, multi-year agreement could not be reached. Due to congressional time restraints, ASCE only sent the November 4 Key Alert to those members with fax numbers listed in the ASCE database.

Under the short-term agreement worked out between house and Senate leaders, states will have access to about $10 billion in unused highway funds from previous years. In addition, the bill provides $5.5 billion in advance authorizations for federal-aid highway and safety programs. The funds, however, will have to be re-paid once a multi-year bill is passed next year. States' total spending of reserves and new money will be capped at $9.8 billion, which is equivalent to three months funding. Each state could spend no less than 50 percent of the transportation money it received in fiscal 1997, but not more than 75 percent. States will also be allowed to transfer funds among other program categories. But those funds are also subject to "repayment" once a bill is enacted next year.

Outlook for 1998: ISTEA reauthorization will be a top priority in 1998. Election-year politics, however, could once again push reauthorization efforts into the fall of 1998.Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) has stated that he will resume debate on ISTEA as soon as Congress reconvenes in January. Meanwhile, House Transportation & Infrastructure Chairman Bud Shuster (R-PA) intends to wait until after the budget resolution negotiations are settled in April to see what type of funding levels are established for highway and transit programs.

A strong economy will be critical in persuading Congress to provide more money for ISTEA programs in the budget plan. Now that a balanced budget has been enacted into law, and the fiscal 1997 deficit is projected to dip to an all-time low of $23 billion, members of Congress are debating how to spend the surpluses should they materialize next year. Several House and Senate lawmakers are hoping to use the surpluses to increase transportation spending for ISTEA programs.

A Look Ahead To 1998
When congress returns at the end of January, they will face a full legislative plate. Election-year politics could very well slow the entire process down.

Many issues important to civil engineers will be debated in the second session of the 105th Congress. Topping the list of priority issues is the rewrite of ISTEA, Superfund reform, revising the Endangered Species Act, and Clean Water Act reauthorization. The debate over new ozone and particulate matter standards is also destined to continue next session.


Dallas Branch, Texas Section American Society of Civil Engineers Webmaster's Email: Roger Behgam <dlsasce@flash.net>