Recently in Washington

Last week the House passed H.R. 2219, the FY2012 Defense Appropriations Act, which provides discretionary budget authority for defense activities.  Congressman Simpson voted for the bill.

House Appropriations Committee to Mark Up - FY 2012 Interior Appropriations Bill, Tuesday, July 12 10:30 EST/ 8:30 MST
House Interior and the Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson will hold a full committee markup on the FY 2012 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations bill on Tuesday, July 12, at 8:30 MST. The House Appropriations Committee will consider the bill and numerous amendments are expected to be offered. The markup will be live on a webcast that can be watched from the Appropriations Committee website.

Currently the federal government borrows over 40 cents for each dollar it spends. In his bill, Chairman Simpson is taking necessary measures to reduce discretionary spending. “While reductions in discretionary spending alone will not erase the deficit, FY12 Interior and Environment Appropriations Act is a step forward in that direction.”

The Interior Appropriations bill also addresses several regulations placed on business and industry by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “If we want our economy to make a sustainable recovery, we need to provide the certainty that job creators need to invest in their businesses and get our economy growing again. This bill takes important steps to do that.”

Interior Appropriations Bill Passes Subcommittee
Chairman Simpson initiates significant spending cuts maintains funding for National Parks
The House Interior and the Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, which is chaired by Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson, last week marked up its appropriations act for fiscal year 2012.  The Act provides a responsible level of funding for the Department of the Interior, the EPA, and related agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, by saving $2.1 billion from the current fiscal year’s level and focusing on proven, core programs.

“We are living at a time when the federal government borrows over 40 cents for each dollar that it spends.  We are also living at a time of record deficits and debts,” Chairman Simpson said during the subcommittee markup.  “This committee is taking meaningful steps to help put our country’s fiscal house in order.  While reductions in discretionary spending alone will not erase the deficit, the bill before us this morning is a step forward in that direction.”

The FY12 Interior and Environment Appropriations Act funds agencies under the bill at $27.5 billion, a 12% cut from the President’s budget request.  The EPA will see an additional $1.5 billion in cuts from the current level.  Between this bill and the FY11 Continuing Resolution passed in April, EPA funding has been reduced by 31 percent during the current calendar year.

“Some naysayers will no doubt try to portray Republicans as not supporting clean water, clean air, and a clean environment, but such assertions are simply untrue,” said Simpson.  “The reality is that the EPA has received unprecedented and unsustainable increases in recent years.  In an environment of historic budget deficits and reduced spending, it should come as no surprise that the agency that saw the greatest increases will inevitably see the greatest cuts.”

The bill also shifts funding away from unproven programs and government growth and focuses it on agencies’ core missions and programs that have demonstrated value to taxpayers.  The Chairman’s mark drastically reduces funding for new land acquisitions but provides adequate funding for priorities like National Park Service operations and resource management.  The bill cuts funding for expensive and uncoordinated climate change programs by 22% but enables the government to meet its trust responsibilities to Native American communities. 

The bill also contains a number of provisions intended to provide the regulatory certainty needed for economic growth, including:
• A provision instituting a one-year prohibition on the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources;
• A provision prohibiting the EPA from changing the definition of “navigable waterways” under the Clean Water Act;
• A provision enabling the BLM and Forest Service to reduce grazing permit backlogs while focusing on the most environmentally sensitive areas;
• A provision clarifying that aquatic pesticides, which are currently regulated under FIFRA, are not subject to duplicative regulation under the Clean Water Act;
• A provision requiring agencies to make information regarding payments for legal fees to litigants who sue the federal government available to the public;
• A provision providing exemptions from greenhouse gas reporting for certain agricultural activities;
• A provision putting an effective hiring freeze on EPA employees, rejecting the President’s proposal to hire additional regulators.

Congress and the President Must Solve Budget Crisis
By Congressman Mike Simpson
Washington, D.C. – “During the debt debate, as Congress and the President circle each other, make offers and counter offers, propose concessions, then refuse to compromise, the American people can’t help but think they have been to this dance before.  They didn’t like what they saw during the government shutdown dispute and they don’t like this new version of the same old thing.

“It’s no surprise, then, that only one out of five people approve of the job Congress is doing.  One of five is a number that, quite frankly, seems high as I read the letters and hear the phone calls that come into my office every day from frustrated Idahoans.  Americans simply don’t believe Congress will solve the biggest problems facing the nation, chief among them being the $14.3 trillion national debt.  The 24 hour news cycle only makes it worse -- both parties just dig in their heels, fearing the repercussions that would come with any compromise. Meanwhile the national debt continues to climb.

“Turn on the news today and you are likely to hear something about the approaching debt limit, which has become a pressure point in the ongoing debate.  But once the debt limit increase debate is over, the really tough part begins. Will Congress have the political will to craft and follow through on a long term plan that lays out a path toward fiscal well-being?  Will the President support such a plan? Will Congress and the President then have the self control to follow through on that plan over the next 10, 20, even 30 years? 

“I was encouraged by the budget proposal put forth this spring by House Republicans and Chairman Paul Ryan that laid out a detailed path to balance.  It was a beginning to the debate, and while it may not have been perfect, it was a first step.  It illustrated just how difficult it will be to meet this challenge. House Republicans were heavily criticized for offering a plan that included reforms to Medicare and Medicaid, but any serious plan will have to bring those programs back into fiscal solvency or put serious controls on mandatory spending, which makes up two-thirds of the budget every year. It will have to deal with health care costs, which are skyrocketing at almost four times the rate of inflation while 10,000 baby boomers retire every day.

“Americans agree that the national debt is a real and serious threat to our economy, but they realize it is more than that. It is more than the cost of the interest paid every year ($202 billion in fiscal year 2010); it is more than the fact that Congress borrows more than 40 cents on every dollar it spends.  A $14.3 trillion debt symbolizes the fear of some that America is now in decline and the strength and standing of our country in the world is under threat.  Now is the time for Congress to overcome partisan disagreements and work together to craft a tough, responsible plan to meet this challenge.”

Committee Action

Tuesday
At 10:30 a.m. the House Appropriations Committee will mark up Chairman Simpson’s Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for FY2012.

At 10:00 a.m. the House Budget Committee will hold a hearing entitled, “Medicare’s Future: An Examination of the Independent Payment Advisory Board.”  Scheduled witnesses include:  The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services; Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President, American Action Forum; Grace-Marie Turner, President, Galen Institute; Judith Feder, Ph.D., Professor and Former Dean, Georgetown Public Policy Institute and Urban Institute Fellow.

Wednesday
At 10:00 a.m. the House Appropriations Committee will mark up the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Act for FY2012.

At 10:00 a.m. the House Budget Committee will hold a hearing entitled, “Medicare and Social Security: The Fiscal Facts.”  Scheduled witnesses include:  Richard Foster, Chief Actuary, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services; Stephen C. Goss, Chief Actuary, Social Security Administration

Floor Schedule

MONDAY, JULY 11TH
On Monday, the House will meet at 12:00 p.m. for morning hour and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Continue Consideration of H.R. 2354 - Energy and Water Appropriations Act, 2012 (Open Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen / Appropriations Committee)

The rule provides for no further general debate and makes in order any amendment offered that complies with the House rules.

H.R. 2417- Better Use of Light Bulbs (BULB) Act (Suspension, 40 Minutes of Debate) (Sponsored by Rep. Joe Barton / Energy and Commerce Committee)

TUESDAY, JULY 12TH, AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK
On Tuesday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business.

On Wednesday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business.

On Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business.

On Friday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business. Last votes for the week are expected no later than 3:00 p.m.

H.R. 1309 - Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2011 (Structured Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Judy Biggert / Financial Services Committee)

H.R. 2018 - Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011 (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. John Mica / Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)

Complete Consideration of H.R. 2354 - Energy and Water Appropriations Act, 2012 (Open Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen / Appropriations Committee)
The rule provides for no further general debate and makes in order any amendment offered that complies with the House rules.

Begin Consideration of H.R. 2434 - Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2012 (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Jo Ann Emerson / Appropriations Committee)

Possible Consideration of Legislation Related to H.R. 658 - FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act (Sponsored by Rep. John Mica / Transportation and Infrastructure Committee / Science and Technology Committee / Judiciary Committee)

In the News

Republican spending measure would block EPA climate rules
By Andrew Restuccia and Ben Geman - 07/06/11; The Hill
A fiscal 2012 spending bill unveiled Wednesday by House Republican appropriators includes a policy rider that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and refineries for one year.

It is the latest effort by the House GOP to delay the agency’s climate regulations, which Republicans and some Democrats argue will impose huge costs on the economy.

“The bill reins in out-of-control regulation and provides the certainty that our economy needs to make a strong recovery,” said Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee’s Interior, Environment and Related Agencies panel.

The spending bill, which will come up for a vote Thursday in Simpson’s subcommittee, includes a slew of other policy riders that reflect House Republicans’ energy and environmental priorities.
The bill would speed up air pollution permits for Shell Oil and other companies seeking to drill in Arctic waters off Alaska’s coast. It contains provisions that mirror a GOP-led bill the House approved last month on the matter.

It sets new deadlines for EPA action on offshore air permit applications, prevents challenges to EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board and eases air pollution standards for offshore projects.

Another provision targeting EPA would prevent the agency from regulating a coal combustion byproduct called coal ash as a hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The provision reflects the goals of a bipartisan group of coal-state lawmakers who want to prevent EPA from issuing tough rules regulating disposal of coal ash.

Other policy riders include provisions preventing federal regulators from moving forward with regulations intended to protect streams from mountaintop-removal coal mining; language blocking a change in the definition of “navigable waterways” under the Clean Water Act; and a provision exempting some agriculture activities from greenhouse-gas reporting requirements.
 
Overall, the legislation continues the GOP push to sharply cut the budget of the EPA, an agency Republicans accuse of crafting rules that place excessive burdens on power companies and other industries.

It provides $7.1 billion for the EPA, well below the agency’s current-year funding of $8.7 billion and $1.8 billion less than the White House is seeking for fiscal 2012.

The House GOP proposal includes fresh cuts to wastewater and drinking-water infrastructure funding, grants for state environmental programs and cleanup programs for the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay.

The bill includes $27.5 billion in total spending. That’s $2.1 billion below last year’s levels and $3.8 billion below Obama’s fiscal 2012 request for the agencies, which in addition to EPA include the Interior Department, the U.S. Forest Service and others.