Dear Mayor:

The National League of Cities (NLC), our voice in Washington, reports that both the House and Senate have returned from their spring recesses and have moved quickly on a number of fronts including FY 2008 funding, housing finance issues, public safety and energy sustainability.

The following is an update on Congressional activity on some NLC priorities.

Local Programs in the Federal Budget

The outlook for increases in federal spending on programs important to cities and towns looks positive.

The FY 2008 budget resolutions adopted in the House and Senate would fund the Community Development Block Grant at $4.1 billion, fully fund surface transportation and mass transit at their authorized levels and provide $1.5 billion for the Community Oriented Policing program. In addition, funding for the Safe Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund, slated to be ended by 2011, was increased  and funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is at $2.45 billion, $250 million above FY 07.

A House-Senate conference committee will meet soon to resolve differences in the two versions of the spending resolution, which sets overall guidelines for FY 2008 spending. The funding focus now moves to the House Appropriations subcommittees to review the President’s FY 2008 budget requests. Based on the initial round of hearings, Congress is likely to oppose proposed cuts to local programs.

Energy and Environment

As we reported yesterday, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced the Energy Efficiency Promotion Act, S. 1115. The bill has bipartisan sponsorship and includes language authorizing a local government energy and environmental block grant entitlement program.

Earlier in the month, the Environment and Public Works Committee gave voice-vote approval to S. 992, directing the General Services Administration to install more efficient lighting, heating and cooling systems and implement other energy-cutting practices in 8,000 buildings the government owns or leases within five years. The bill also included $20 million to help local governments make their buildings more energy efficient.

Numerous bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate regarding caps on emissions and establishment of a cap and trade program. The ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that the Environmental Protection Agency must regulate emission of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming likely will spur Congressional action on climate issues and set up a debate on federal preemption of state environmental activity.

Telecommunications

Several national organizations, including NLC, have appealed the Federal Communication Commission’s video franchise order and are enlisting the support of the state leagues. Congress has, thus far, been reluctant to revisit this issue and is likely to stay out of the fray until the court case is resolved.

Immigration Reform

Congressional leaders continue to stress their support for action on immigration reform, but progress still seems slow in gaining consensus on a particular piece of legislation. A bipartisan proposal, the Security through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy Act of 2007, introduced in the House of Representatives in March, currently has 39 cosponsors.

The bill would give illegal immigrants who arrived by June 2006 an opportunity to apply for a six-year work visa, after they have paid a fine and passed various background checks. Once during the six years, they would be required to leave the country and return legally. The bill also includes a crackdown on workplace enforcement and calls for a new biometric identity card that would prevent the trafficking of stolen Social Security numbers.

In the Senate, Senators Kennedy and McCain, sponsors of a bill passed by the Senate last year, were unable to agree on a new bill this year.

A more hard-line proposal has emerged from White House-sponsored negotiations with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and a group of Republican Senators.

The proposal would include requirements for immigrants to learn English. Senate leaders still expect to take the lead on reform legislation and have reserved time on the Senate floor for debate at the end of May. Leaders in the House hope to have completed action on a bill before Congress leaves for its August recess.

Transportation

First on the transportation legislative agenda is aviation reform. Reauthorization of federal aviation programs and the taxes that support federal aviation programs both expire on September 30, and legislation submitted by the Administration has generated substantial controversy.

The administration proposal would greatly reduce the current level of general funds that support airport programs, which both Houses rejected in their FY 08 budget resolutions.

The bill would allow individual airports to raise the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) to $6.00 from the current $4.50 cap and give airports more flexibility in how they spend the funding generated by the PFC. With the pending deadline of September 30, it is unlikely that Congress would have time to resolve differences or be willing to go along with the massive changes contained in the administration proposal.

NLC President Bart Peterson, Mayor of Indianapolis, testified on NLC’s behalf at a hearing before the DOT National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission last month in Washington, D.C. The commission is expected to issue its recommendations for the next surface transportation reauthorization program by the end of the year. 

For more information on any of this, contact Jon Moran at 609-695-3481, ext. 121.

Very truly yours,

                                                                        William G. Dressel, Jr.
                                                                        Executive Director