November 2, 2009

Update on Senate Climate Bill
FUNDING FOR CLEAN TRANSPORTATION INCREASED IN SENATE BILL

On October 23, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) released the chairman's mark of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733). When introduced in late September by the Chairwoman and Senator John Kerry (D-MA), the climate bill did not include a breakdown of allocations (the funding generated from selling permits to emit greenhouse gases). The allocations announced on the 23rd include a new program to fund transportation projects that cut greenhouse gas emissions. Allocations for clean transportation and smart growth programs would average out to about 2.4% over the life of the bill. See our press release and fact sheet for more details on the policy and funding included in the bill. Although the allocations in the chairman's mark fell short of the 10 percent included in CLEAN-TEA (S. 575), it is a great improvement upon the House bill (HR 2454), which included a 1 percent cap on such allocations. Thank you to Senators Carper (D-DE) and Specter (D-PA), sponsors of CLEAN-TEA as well as co-sponsors Senators Bennet (D-CO), Cardin (D-MD), Gillibrand (D-NY), Lautenberg (D-NJ), Merkley (D-OR), and Nelson (D-FL) for championing transportation funding in the bill and also to Senators Boxer (D-CA) and Kerry (D-MA) for their leadership to reduce our country's greenhouse gas emissions through a comprehensive climate bill.

A series of hearings were held in the Senate EPW Committee during the past week to examine the bill. Witnesses on the first day included Senator John Kerry (D-MA), Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, and Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Jon Wellinghoff. In his written testimony, Secretary LaHood referenced the DOT-HUD-EPA sustainability initiative and complete streets programs.  Wednesday's hearing focused on the economy, security and utilities and did not address smart growth or transportation issues.  Thursday's hearing included an entire panel on transportation made up of representatives from the Bipartisan Policy Center's National Transportation Policy Project, American Public Transportation Association, the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) and Hahn Transportation, Inc.  Overall, witnesses commended the transportation provisions and funding already in the bill, recognized the need for investment even beyond what had been allocated, and recommended that the goals of the bill work in tandem with the transportation authorization once it is drafted.

Senator Boxer has announced that she would like to schedule a markup of S. 1733 for Tuesday, November 3. EPW ranking member James Inhofe (R-OK) has indicated that Republicans would boycott the meeting until they receive more information on the economic impacts of the bill from the EPA and the Congressional Budget Office. The EPA released an analysis of the bill last week, which found that the bill has similar impacts to the House passed climate bill and would cost the average American household about $100 a year.

The Senate is expected to try again to pass a six-month extension of SAFETEA-LU during the first week of November. In late September, the House approved a measure to extend the current national surface transportation program for three-months, which would likely be amended and used as a platform for a longer extension by the Senate.  Response from House lawmakers overall is mixed; a six-month extension is more likely to go through if Senate leaders guarantee to take up a larger transportation bill soon to prevent any additional extensions.  House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN) is continuing his push to get a transportation authorization bill done this year, saying that he would not support any extension that would last into 2010.

In June, Rep. Oberstar introduced the $500 billion Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009, which has been approved by the House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee. The progress of the bill has been delayed from moving further since it does not include any funding mechanisms, which has delayed the progress of the legislation. The House Ways and Means Committee, which will be responsible for adding the financing piece, has finished working on climate legislation and may be able to take up transportation next.

Currently, transportation programs are being funded through the most recent stopgap spending measure that extends funding at FY 2009 levels until December 18.

Congress Clears FY2010 Spending Bill for U.S. EPA, the Interior Department and the Forest Service
STOPGAP FUNDING MEASURE INCLUDED IN THE LANGUAGE

Last week Congress approved the Fiscal Year 2010 Interior and Environment appropriations bill. The bill includes $32.2 billion in discretionary budget authority, a $4.7 billion increase over the fiscal year 2009 enacted level. The total includes $10.3 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 35% more than FY 2009 funding, and provides a 67% increase for programs addressing global climate change.  The final language included the Administrations request of $5.146 million for the EPA's Smart Growth office. The Department of Interior was funded at $11 billion and $5.3 billion for Forest Service.

The final conference agreement included two contentious measures that were negotiated during conference. The first is language that would exempt 13 steamships that operate exclusively on the Great Lakes from pending EPA regulations to limit the sulfur content of fuel burned by large vessels in internal U.S. waters and along U.S. coastlines. The bill also includes an amendment that will exempt manure management systems at factory farms for one year from an EPA rule requiring large farms to report their greenhouse gas emissions.

Congress also included another continuing resolution that would fund the federal government through Dec. 18. To date, Congress has completed just five of the 12 fiscal 2010 spending bills.

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