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Obey Eyeing Amendment to Boost Wastewater Fund in EPA Bill
Darren Samuelsohn, E&E Daily senior reporter
House Appropriations Committee ranking member David Obey (D-Wis.) is expected
to offer an amendment on the House floor later this week that would increase
funding in the U.S. EPA spending bill for the agency's major wastewater
infrastructure account, according to sources on and off Capitol Hill.
Obey is considering several different tactics to boost EPA's Clean Water State
Revolving Loan Fund, which for the coming fiscal year faces a $240 million cut,
down to $850 million.
Sources familiar with the bill, H.R. 2361, said one approach Obey is considering
would boost the wastewater account to its fiscal year 2004 level of about $1.35
billion. Obey would offset the $500 million increase with a reduction in recent
tax cuts for some of the highest-income Americans.
The $500 million amendment is likely to be ruled out of order by the House
parliamentarian, sources say, leading Obey also to weigh a second amendment that
would increase funding for the wastewater program by between $100 million and
$200 million.
Chances for Obey finding success in passing such an amendment remain unclear.
Support for increased wastewater funding reaches across party lines, but any
moves to increase spending also flies in the face of GOP budget hawks who want
to keep all of this year's spending bills on a tight leash.
George Behan, a spokesman for Environment and Interior Appropriations
Subcommittee ranking member Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), confirmed yesterday that Obey
intends to offer an amendment on the wastewater funding issue. But Behan said a
final decision had not been made on specific strategies.
The $26.2 billion spending bill for EPA, the Interior Department and U.S. Forest
Service is on track for House floor debate as early as tomorrow evening. The
exact timing is still up in the air as House GOP leaders must first complete
debate on the first-ever reauthorization bill for the newly created Department
of Homeland Security.
When the House Interior and Environment appropriations spending bill does come
up, it is expected to be under an open rule that allows members to offer as many
funding-related amendments as they wish so long as they include offsets from
elsewhere in the bill. Policy-related amendments that limit EPA's ability to
spend funding on certain functions, a popular strategy used by lawmakers
concerned with specific agency actions, are also likely to be allowed.
Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) is weighing a couple of amendment options related
to EPA's environmental justice enforcement efforts, including report language
that would try to pressure the agency into better implementation of a 1994
executive order from President Clinton that mandated the agency's attention on
such issues. Hastings may also try to address a cut of $1.9 million for
environmental justice enforcement, which would go from $5.8 million this year
down to $3.9 million, Hastings spokesman Fred Turner said.
Also expected is language from Reps. Clay Shaw (R-Fla.) and Bart Stupak (D-Mich.)
that would prevent EPA from issuing new guidance on a controversial method for
treating sewage during storm events. And Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) is still
considering whether to offer an amendment that would restore $12 million in cuts
to EPA's civil, criminal and Superfund enforcement accounts, Inslee spokesman
Scott Baker said yesterday. According to the House GOP bill, EPA would see a $3
million drop in civil enforcement, $2 million reduction in criminal police
efforts, and another $7 million for Superfund enforcement.
On the wastewater account, this year's dilemma for supporters of more funding
face a new wrinkle because the agency must now compete for money with Interior
and the Forest Service. Previously, Interior and the Forest Service had their
own appropriations panel, and EPA's budget was a small piece of legislation that
included almost $100 billion in spending for veterans' health care, public
housing, NASA and other agencies.
If members wanted to increase EPA spending in past years, their decisions about
finding offsets did not involve taking funds from programs related to the
environment. That paradigm has shifted this year for EPA's budget, and it has
been most apparent with the GOP-imposed cuts on the wastewater loan fund. While
Republicans have taken the popular program beyond Bush's budget request of $730
million, it still represents a cut from the current $1.09 billion level.
House Republicans had originally wanted to cut the wastewater account down to
about $750 million, which is close to Bush's request of $730 million. But
Democrats found offsets elsewhere in EPA's budget from unused previous agency
appropriations and managed to get a $100 million increase before the House
Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee marked up the bill two
weeks ago.
Proponents of more wastewater funding have been looking for more funds since the
subcommittee markup, but finding more offsets suitable to the bill's authors has
been particularly difficult. "Obviously if it was that easy, we would have done
it," said a House GOP aide.
Lee Garrigan, a spokeswoman for the wastewater industry's National Association
of Clean Water Agencies, said her organization has been lobbying this year to
get the revolving loan fund restored to its recent historic high of $1.35
billion. But she also conceded that Obey and other supporters are having more
trouble this year than in the past.
"I don't know if the money is there," Garrigan said. "Obviously they can't agree
to something if it's not real money."