Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - October 3, 2003
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October 3, 2003
AMSA Takes Action to Ensure Senate Minority Does Not Stall Key Security Bill
To ensure the progress of S. 1039, the Association this week contacted key AMSA members to encourage their Senators on the EPW Committee to support the legislation and has forwarded its security letter to public agency members' public relations (PR) staff, as well as to over 600 national press contacts in an effort to gain support for, and put the spotlight on, S.1039. In related advocacy efforts, AMSA has written an editorial in response to the minority hold-up of S.1039, outlining the need for Senate Democrats to put their partisan views aside and pass this critical legislation. The Association is working to get its editorial published in prominent newspapers in Washington, D.C. early next week and will forward this document to its public agency member PR contacts for their use in article placement efforts with their local media.
AMSA sent a letter this week to Minority members on the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee urging them not to stand in the way of bringing the Wastewater Treatment Works Security Act of 2003 (S.1039) to the Senate floor. The bill's Report language indicated that EPW Ranking Member, James Jeffords (I-VT), and the Committee Democrats intend to oppose the bill and AMSA's letter urges these Senators to allow S. 1039 to move to the Senate floor, stating that even "[i]f you are not actively working toward passage of S. 1039, we urge you to support - and ask your colleagues to support - an immediate floor vote on S. 1039 because you think America deserves a more secure future." It is imperative that S. 1039 move forward now because the window of opportunity to have a Senate floor vote on it this year is rapidly closing. In a positive development, EPW Chairman, James Inhofe (R-OK), has pledged his support for S.1039 and may push the legislation to the Senate floor for a vote this year despite a preference to move the bill to the floor with bipartisan Committee support. If brought to the Senate floor, AMSA is confident that S.1039 would pass on a broad bipartisan basis just as H.R. 866 passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support on a vote of 413-2. A copy of the letter can be found on AMSA's website at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/legreg/outreach/2003-10-01s1039letter.pdf.National Newspapers Put Spotlight on Infrastructure Funding, Quote AMSA
AMSA continues to garner national media attention on the issue of long-term wastewater infrastructure funding. In an article that ran in over a dozen city newspapers both AMSA Executive Director Ken Kirk and Board Member and Engineer-Director of Alexandria Sanitation Authority, Alexandria, Va., James Canaday, were quoted on the pressing need for infrastructure funding in the wake of the recent power outages, Hurricane Isabel and multi-billion dollar spending to rebuild the water infrastructure in Iraq and Afghanistan. Kirk stated that "They have critical needs over there, but at the same time we have critical needs over here," adding that "[i]f you're going to make an investment in Iraqi infrastructure, then you should make similar investments in U.S. water resources." Canaday re-emphasized the need for water infrastructure funding in the United States, citing the increased expenses his facility faces due to unfunded federal regulations. Rep. John Duncan (R-TN), Chair of the House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee, was quoted as saying that "[i]f we can spend $1 billion a week in Iraq, we should be doing the same type of things in this country." The article also cited AMSA's Survey results from the polling performed by Frank Luntz, which was released in May and showed vast public support for federal clean and safe water funding. In a related matter, as the case for a dedicated revenue source for water infrastructure funding becomes clearer, new allies in this worthy cause are coming to the fore. Most recently, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation joined the Water Infrastructure Network (WIN), which is ramping up its efforts to gain new coalition members in the coming weeks and months. The newspaper article on water infrastructure funding is available on AMSA's Newsroom website at http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/news/092703.cfm.