ENERGY

House Passes Offshore Drilling Bill Over Republican Objections

On September 16, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6899, the Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act, a bill that would open portions of the outer continental shelf to oil exploration. The measure passed by a vote of 236-189.

The legislation allows offshore drilling in areas more than 100 miles off the United States coastline but gives states the option of permitting drilling as close as 50 miles from their shores. The bill also contains incentives for renewable resource development, building efficiency projects, and clean coal technology.

Despite having pressed for a repeal of the moratorium on offshore drilling that has been in place since 1982, Republicans have strongly opposed H.R. 6899. They claim it offers little chance of actually increasing domestic energy production and Democratic leadership designed the bill primarily to offer political cover to Democrats in contested districts who feel pressure to break with the party and repeal the moratorium. A Republican-backed motion to have the bill recommitted to the Natural Resources Committee failed. President Bush has threatened to veto the bill as well.

Republicans cite the fact that Democrats wrote the bill without consulting Republican leadership to support their argument it is purely for Democratic political protection. Congressional Quarterly quotes increased drilling advocate Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) as saying: "The Speaker couldn't wait to get a [mutually acceptable] bill very much since she didn't talk to Republicans about designing one."

The Republicans also note that because the bill does not give states a share of royalties generated by oil production, states have little incentive to allow drilling off their coasts. H.R 6899 also totally excludes drilling in potentially oil rich areas such as Florida's Gulf coast.

Republicans have offered the National Conservation, Environment, and Energy Independence Act (H.R. 6709) as an alternative measure. This bill, sponsored by Reps. John Peterson (R-PA) and Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) would open more offshore areas to oil exploration.

The Democrat backed bill now heads to the Senate, where it is not expected to pass in its current form.

HOMELAND SECURITY

Congress Warned That Federal Government Cybersecurity Measures Are Weak And Ineffective

In a hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee's Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Cyber Security on September 16, the members of the Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency told representatives that U.S. computer networks are in grave danger.

James Lewis, head of the Commission, told the Subcommittee that intruders have acquired sensitive information from government networks and that cyber attackers can enter and extract data from many government computer systems without being detected. He concluded that U.S. cyber infrastructure is more vulnerable to attack now than it was ten years ago.

The Cybersecurity Commission recommends that the next president create an office in the White House charged with overseeing the development of the nation's cybersecurity strategy. It also criticized the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) efforts to protect computer networks and form partnerships with the private companies that operate much of the country's cyber infrastructure.

Also on September 16, Business Week disclosed that it had obtained a draft of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that concluded the United States' cybersecurity is "weak." According to the Business Week, the GAO reached many of the same conclusions as the Cybersecurity Commission.

Robert Jamison, the top homeland security official for cybersecurity programs, has previously acknowledged the need to "ramp up" U.S. cybersecurity efforts. DHS spokesman Laura Keehner told reporters the department is in the process of hiring several hundred analysts to help improve its cybersecurity programs.

TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Highway Trust Fund To Receive $8 Billion

On September 15, President Bush signed into law a bill (H.R. 6532) that transfers $8.017 billion from the treasury into the nearly bankrupt Highway Trust Fund. This was a reversal for an administration that opposed such a transfer until Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced that the trust fund would become insolvent by the end of September 2008, not in late fiscal year 2009 as was previously expected.

Numerous efforts to pass similar legislation failed earlier this year due to the objections of Senate Republicans, however, Secretary Peters' announcement prompted Congress to take action. The House passed H.R. 6532 overwhelmingly on July 23, and the Senate passed the bill by voice vote on September 10, after amending the bill to take immediate effect, rather than on September 30. The House subsequently agreed to this amendment a day later by a vote of 376-29.

The legislation amends the Tax Reform Act of 1986 by reinstating the exact amount of funds the Clinton Administration took from the trust fund to help pay down the national debt during stronger economic times in the 1990s. The $8 billion will provide temporary relief for the Highway Trust Fund which faces the prospect of long-term financial instability. Its main source of revenue, the federal tax on gasoline, has proven to be an unreliable funding mechanism as more and more people respond to high fuel costs by decreasing consumption. Highway funding issues will be addressed at length in 2009 when Congress considers the reauthorization of surface transportation programs.

APPROPRIATIONS AND AUTHORIZATIONS

Democrats Push For Second Stimulus Package

House and Senate Democratic leaders used the current financial woes on Wall Street to make the case for a second economic stimulus package on September 15, and said they will attempt to pass a bill that would provide for $50 billion in economic aid within the next two weeks.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has blamed Republican economic policies for the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and other failed financial firms and has stated that Congress must quickly pass an economic stimulus to create jobs and increase public confidence in the economy. Though House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said that Democrats are currently drafting legislation, he provided little detail as to what the package would include. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) stated that he anticipates spending will focus on investment in infrastructure and energy. These issues have become a priority in the waning months of the 110th Congress. A $24 billion stimulus package offered by Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd (D-WV) is already pending and makes billions of dollars available for spending on infrastructure, energy, and hurricane relief projects.

Democrats are hoping that a second stimulus package will receive bipartisan support as the instability of financial markets continues. The continuing resolution, needed in order to keep the federal government funded into the 2009 fiscal year beginning on October 1, is seen as a potential vehicle to pass the stimulus legislation.

NDAA Passes The Senate, Awaits Further Action

Last week, the full Senate approved its version of the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2009 (NDAA), a $612.5 billion measure that authorizes all defense programs at both the Pentagon and the Department of Energy.

Following months of partisan jockeying that threw the bill's prospects into limbo, the Senate's 88-8 approval of the NDAA authorizes several military priorities, including a $70 billion "bridge fund" for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan; a 3.9 percent pay raise for U.S. military personnel; and full funding of the $3.3 billion requested for the Army's next generation of equipment, Future Combat Systems.

However, due to a dispute surrounding the bill's inclusion of earmarks – congressionally- directed spending items that were not requested by the administration – an agreement was not reached on an amendment package that contained over 100 provisions offered by members on both sides of the aisle. Days prior, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) cried foul that the bill's conference report contained over $5 billion in earmarks, along with language to circumvent a Presidential executive order that requires government agencies to disregard earmarks unless they are included in the text of a bill. Nonetheless, Senate aides predicted that a compromise on the amendments package would be reached when the Senate reconciles its version with that of the House (H.R. 5658), which passed on May 22, 2008.

Congress now faces the challenge of not only completing conference negotiations and sending a final version to the president's desk prior to Congress's scheduled adjournment of September 26, but also avoiding the president's current veto threats of both the House and Senate bills. The White House objections are due to a broad-range of provisions, including those that would increase restrictions on private military contractors.

If the NDAA is left incomplete prior to the September adjournment, potential passage looks increasing slim during a lame-duck session – if such a session occurs – following the November elections.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND COMMERCE

Colombia Deal Remains A Remote Possibility

With less than four months remaining before a new President will occupy the White House, the Colombian government, business groups, and trade lobbyists are engaging in a last-ditch offensive to resurrect the contentious Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

Holding large rallies with guest speakers that include U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and several members of Congress, free-trade advocates are now sensing a window of opportunity to move a Colombia trade proposal that has been sidelined in Congress since April.

Although a potential vote is highly unlikely prior to Congress's target adjournment date of September 26, the prospects of taking up a bill following the November elections during a "lame duck" session remains on the table. According to Reuters, when asked by reporters, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Charlie Rangel (D-NY) did not rule out the possibility of votes on Colombia, along with trade agreements with South Korea and Panama following the election.

However, several observers question whether a lame-duck Congressional session will even take place, despite the need to complete several items on the stalled congressional agenda. Remaining legislative priorities include a second-stimulus package, a continuing resolution to fund the government through mid-November or the beginning of 2009, and a comprehensive energy proposal. According to Congressional Quarterly, R. Bruce Josten, executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, did not appear hopeful. "I would love to see them move the Colombia free-trade deal in a lame-duck session of Congress," said Josten. "I just don't know how realistic it is to expect a session after the election."

In April 2007, the President used his fast-track trade negotiating authority to send Congress the Colombia Free Trade Pact (H.R. 5724), forcing lawmakers to bring the implementing legislation to an up-or-down vote within 90 legislative days. However, Democratic leaders requested that any Colombia agreement include both an extension and expansion of a program aimed at providing job retraining, income support, and health care to laid-off workers and struggling homeowners. Soon thereafter, on April 14, House Democrats voted to indefinitely delay consideration of the bill.

Due to the highly political nature of the issue, some observers expect more progress for the Colombia deal to come during a new administration. According to a trade lobbyist quoted by Reuters, "When there is a new president, if his party controls Congress, their natural position is supporting his legislative goals."

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