Washington Watch
March 2008
Washington Fly-In Offers Opportunities for Direct Contact With Delegation
Join the State Chamber/AIA for the 49th Annual Washington Fly-In and Congressional Dinner and learn firsthand about the issues facing Congress.
This time-honored governmental affairs activity features ample opportunities for productive contact with members of our congressional delegation and their staffs.
Special events will be highlighted by a 6 p.m. reception followed by dinner at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 28, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Va.
We will also meet and greet our senators and representatives and their staffs at their offices and at district dinners, luncheons and breakfasts April 27-29, and the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce Executives will host the Hospitality Suite on Saturday, Sunday and Monday evenings.
The Crystal Gateway is serving as our headquarters, and for your convenience the State Chamber/AIA has booked rooms at the hotel April 26-29. Click here for our Web site calendar and to access hotel and contact information for the event. The registration form is also on our Web site.
No Opponents File to Face Arkansas’s Congressional Delegates
The deadline for those wishing to run for elected office in Arkansas ended at noon Monday, March 10. Congressmen Marion Berry, Vic Snyder, John Boozman and Mike Ross all filed for reelection as did Senator Mark Pryor. None of the state’s delegation drew an opponent through the regular filing period although Rebekah Kennedy, a Green party candidate, is expected to seek a spot on the ballot opposing Senator Pryor.
Consumer Product Safety Commission Bill Passes Senate
By a vote of 79-13, the U.S. Senate last week passed H.R. 4040, which is the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) legislation substituting in the place of S. 2663. The bill would significantly increase the CPSC’s annual budget and staff, mandate toy safety standards, increase penalties for selling faulty goods and outlaw lead in children’s products, with the exception of certain components such as batteries that are inaccessible to children.
Industry groups opposed to the Senate legislation cite concerns over the authorization of state attorneys general to enforce regulations by making their own interpretive decisions before the CPSC acts, providing whistleblower protections for employees and the creation of a publically available complaint database. The White House has conveyed similar concerns and Nancy Nord, acting chair of the CPSC has expressed opposition to the database provision.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of H.R. 4040 on Dec. 19. Similar to the Senate bill, the House bill would increase the CPSC’s funding, reduce the levels of lead allowed in children’s products, mandate additional testing of toys by third-party laboratories and increase the maximum penalties the CPSC could impose. However, unlike the Senate version, the House bill authorizes state attorneys general to enforce product safety legislation only after the CPSC has issued a decision. The White House and many industry groups have expressed support for the House bill, which was rejected by the Senate on a 57-39 vote March 4.
Members of the House and Senate must now prepare for a conference committee to reconcile differences between the two bills. There is hope that a compromise can be reached within a couple of months and a final piece of legislation could reach the White House by July.
Farm Bill Update
In votes separated by just hours, the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, March 12, voted to extend the current farm law for another month to April 18. Without action, the current law, signed by President Bush in 2002, would have expired on March 15. Members are headed home for a two-week recess at the end of this week.
The House passed its farm bill (H.R. 2419) last July, followed by the Senate’s version (S. 2303) in December. Both versions include changes to the commodity support and risk-management policies and programs, as well as provisions affecting conservation, bio-energy, rural development, forestry, agricultural research, competition, trade and food aid, agriculture credit, and domestic food programs and nutrition. The House and Senate bills also contain provisions that would make certain changes to tax laws, which are intended to offset new spending initiatives in the bill.
House and Senate conferees have been engaged in dialogue to iron out differences in the two pieces of legislation. Progress had been made, but the extension became necessary after talks over how the bill will be financed stalled. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said in a statement, “Although a new bill is within reach, Congress needs more time to reach agreement and obtain the necessary cooperation from the White House. There is still a considerable amount of work ahead before we can pass a bill.” The Bush Administration has threatened to veto both versions of the bill.
Mental Health Parity Legislation Passes House
On March 5, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 268-148 in favor of H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act. The legislation would require most group health plans to provide additional coverage for mental illness. Health plans sponsored by an employer with 50 or fewer employees and coverage in the individual insurance market are excluded from the mandate. Additionally, the bill requires an insurer choosing to provide mental health coverage to include benefits for any condition listed in the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association. Opponents of H.R. 1424 fear the legislation will drive up costs, forcing providers to choose to not offer any mental health services.
Many opponents of the House bill support the U.S. Senate-passed Mental Health Parity bill, S. 558. Like the House bill, the Senate bill would require parity for the coverage of mental and physical ailments. Both bills would prohibit setting higher co-payments or stricter limits on treatment for mental health services than for other medical care. But the Senate version, which is the result of a compromise between business, the insurance industry and mental health advocates, would provide insurers with more flexibility on the types of mental disorders that would have to be covered. S. 558 passed the Senate unanimously on September 18. The House and Senate must now negotiate in an attempt to reconcile the differences between the two bills and form a compromise measure.
President Bush has endorsed the principle of mental health parity, but the White House has stated its opposition to the House bill, “or any legislation that expands benefits and remedies beyond what is included in the Senate-passed S. 558.”
Environmental Protection Agency Toughens Ozone Rules
EPA Administrator Steve Johnson issued a more stringent ozone standard Wednesday, March 12, lowering the current standard of 84 parts per billion (ppb) to a more stringent standard of 75 ppb. The National Association of Manufacturers and other industry groups, including the State Chamber/AIA, advocated for the current standard, whereas most environmental groups lobbied for a standard between 70 and 60 ppb.
Furthermore, the Washington Post reported, Johnson "said he would push Congress to rewrite the nearly 37-year-old Clean Air Act to allow regulators to take into consideration the cost and feasibility of controlling pollution when making decisions about air quality, something that is currently prohibited by the law."
NAM President John Engler said, "The costs are too high and the benefits too unclear to impose this new burden on America's manufacturers and employees. Anyone interested in preserving high-paying U.S. jobs in manufacturing and keeping a lid on energy prices should be disappointed in today's ruling."
In a Forbes article, NAM said that "there's nothing wrong with the current standard," and noted that the "number of counties that are not in compliance with the government's new rules could increase nearly four-fold.” That could affect a number of counties in Arkansas, including Crittenden and several in Central Arkansas.
On its front page, USA Today explains that the new rules place more than 300 counties over the smog limit. "Under the old standard, set in 1997, 85 counties have air quality considered too poor to breathe." In 2010, the "EPA will decide... which counties violate the new standard. By then, some of the 345 counties that now exceed the new limit may be in compliance."
The New York Times notes, "Reaching the standard will cost $8.8 billion a year, according to the agency, but the figure does not take account of health benefits." If counties do not "meet the standard," they could "face the threat of limits on new highways and industries."
The Wall Street Journal points out that the decision has "big business implications." The EPA said "tightening the standards could result in billions of dollars in new costs in new technologies factories would have to buy to reduce emissions, while preventing between 1,400 and 2,300 nonfatal heart attacks in 2020."
