Government Executive - Authors - Michael Steel

House panel OKs compromise on arming pilots

Michael Steel — Thu, 20 Jun 2002 00:00:00 -0400

"I strongly believe that under these circumstances, arming trained and highly qualified flight crew members is a necessary step to ensure the safety and security of the flying public," said Aviation Subcommittee Chairman John Mica, R-Fla.

The legislation (H.R. 4635), which passed on a voice vote, would give the Transportation Security Administration up to four months to develop standards and regulations. Volunteer pilots, preferably those with military or law enforcement backgrounds, would then be trained and deputized to carry firearms.

The two-year trial period would begin as soon as 250 pilots are deputized, and the number of pilots carrying weapons would be capped at only 2 percent of all commercial passenger pilots, which would total about 1,400 pilots.

Transportation Ranking Member James Oberstar, D-Minn., who initially opposed the idea of arming pilots, supported the compromise. "Aircraft security, like aircraft safety, depends on an interlocking, interconnected web of redundancy," said Oberstar. "This would not be necessary if the rest of the system were ready." He added that it was important that the bill allows lawmakers to "stop and take stock" before implementing a full-fledged program.

The agreement between Oberstar and Mica was included in a substitute amendment, which passed on a voice vote.

The full Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is expected to consider the legislation next week. A few amendments that will likely be debated in the full committee were discussed at the subcommittee meeting.

One, offered by Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, and Vern Ehlers, R-Mich., would give the airlines a voice in whether their pilots should be armed. Since most, if not all, airlines are opposed to the idea, the amendment could effectively gut the program. Johnson also wants to ensure that training new air marshals takes precedence over firearms training for pilots.

Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Texas, will ask for a study on how federal law officers, like FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration agents, who fly for other purposes can help improve security on aircraft.

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Postal reform bill flops in House committee

Michael Steel — Thu, 20 Jun 2002 00:00:00 -0400

A compromise plan for reforming the struggling Postal Service failed in the House Government Reform Committee Thursday after Republican leaders failed to assure Democrats that the measure (H.R. 4970) would get time on the House floor.

Many Democrats on the panel support the bill, which is sponsored by Republican John McHugh of New York. But ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said he would not back it without a guarantee of a vote by the full House.

"I don't want to vote against this bill. We've worked too hard on it," Waxman said. "But ... I don't think it's fair to the committee's members to bring up this important issue without any hope for floor action, and I don't see how it serves the cause of postal reform."

Waxman voted "present," and other Democrats followed his lead by, voting either "present" or casting votes against the measure. The bill was defeated 6 ayes to 20 nays [Vote 1], with nine members voting "present."

The legislation is designed to allow the Postal Service to function in a more business-like fashion, while maintaining universal service. The measure was carefully negotiated to appeal to moderate Republicans and Democrats, because conservative Republicans tend to favor privatizing the Postal Service, rather than reforming it. But with the limited Republican support, there was no chance of passing the bill after Waxman said he wouldn't support it.

The Postal Service, beleaguered by the rising use of e-mail and more efficient private competitors, is in poor financial condition. First-class postage rates will rise at the end of June for the third time in 18 months, and the service still expects to end the fiscal year more than $1 billion in the red--the third consecutive year of $1 billion-plus losses. The service is also approaching its $15 billion statutory borrowing limit.

"With no limits on rates, it is reasonable to assume that a 75-cent stamp is around the corner," the committee chairman, Dan Burton, R-Ind., predicted.

The bill would force the Postal Service to pay income taxes on services that compete with private companies, limit its investments to postal activities and block side businesses such as phone cards, and require that it abide by local zoning and planning laws.

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House panel backs bill to give federal building guards law officer status

Michael Steel — Tue, 21 May 2002 00:00:00 -0400

The bill (H.R. 4770) provides Federal Protective Service officers, who guard buildings owned and leased by the General Services Administration, the same pay and benefits as other federal law-enforcement officers.

The service has lost officers at an alarming rate in recent months as guards have moved to higher paying security jobs created by other federal agencies in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said the bill's cosponsor, Rep. Steve LaTourette, R-Ohio. There are only 290 officers left in the service, far below the 750 that the legislation says is needed.

Citing the need to raise pay for service guards, LaTourette noted that the starting pay for a Capitol Police officer is as much as $10,000 higher than the starting salary paid by the FPS.

The bill is named "The Ronald C. Sheffield Federal Property Protection Act" for an FPS officer shot and killed by a deranged man last Sept. 21 at a federal building in Detroit.

In addition to providing new authority for uniformed members of the FPS, the legislation would mandate new minimum standards for civilian contract security guards at federal buildings. It would also set new qualification requirements for the FPS commissioner.

Transportation Chairman Don Young, R-Alaska, ranking member James Oberstar, D-Minn., LaTourette and Rep. Jerry Costell, D-Ill., are sponsoring the measure, which passed on a voice vote with no amendments.

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Veterans to get cost of living benefits increase

Michael Steel — Thu, 02 May 2002 00:00:00 -0400

The Benefits Subcommittee added an amendment to the bill (H.R. 4085) by voice vote to include provisions from four other bills. The other provisions in the bill, which were offered by Veterans Affairs Chairman Chris Smith, R-N.J., would:

Allow a surviving spouse of veteran over age 65 to keep receiving benefits even if she remarries (H.R. 1108).
Provide that the home loan fees paid by reservists will be the same as active duty military personnel through 2006.
Increase coverage under Veterans Mortgage Life Insurance from $90,000 to $150,000 and allow veterans over the age of 70 to continue receiving coverage.
Increase funding for state approving agencies, which check the qualifications of schools to receive Montgomery GI Bill payments, to $18 million per year.

The increase in veterans' benefits is passed annually. It links the rise in payments to increases in Social Security payments, which are based on the Consumer Price Index.

A spokesman for the Veterans Affairs Committee indicated that the full committee would probably mark up the bill on May 9. Smith hopes to bring it to the full House before Memorial Day.

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Electric scooter can be used on federal walkways, Senate panel says

Michael Steel — Fri, 26 Apr 2002 00:00:00 -0400

Segway scooter would not be banned from federally funded walkways and footpaths under a bill passed Thursday by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Sen. Bob Smith, R-N.H., the sponsor of the legislation, stressed that local governments would still decide whether to allow the 12-mile-per-hour personal transports to mix with pedestrians. His bill would simply ensure there is no federal law against it.

The legislation (S. 2024) passed on a voice vote, during a brief meeting held in the President's Room in the Capitol. Smith offered a single amendment, to clear up the definition of a "electric personal assistive mobility device" which also passed by a verbal tally.

The company that builds the Segway, which was developed by legendary inventor Dean Kamen, is located in New Hampshire.

Safety advocates have questioned whether the large, heavy motorized vehicles are really appropriate for sidewalks.

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House panel votes to hike pay at SEC

Michael Steel — Fri, 12 Apr 2002 00:00:00 -0400

The legislation (H.R. 3764) includes an extra $76 million to increase SEC employees' pay to equal compensation for officials at the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and other finance-related agencies.

The "pay parity" provision, which passed the committee in a separate bill last year, was added in an amendment sponsored by Committee Chairman Michael Oxley, R-Ohio.

The bill also specifies that at least $134 million go to the SEC's Division of Corporate Finance and $326 million or more to should go to the Division of Enforcement.

Rep. Brad Sherman, R-Calif., offered an amendment that would require the SEC to read all financial statements filed by the 500 largest corporations in the country, and authorized an additional $42 million for the task.

"In the past Congress has authorized it, now we should insist on it," said Sherman.

But Republicans led by Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia denounced the amendment as "redundant and duplicative," since the SEC already has the authority to examine the financial statements. They defeated Sherman's amendment.

Sherman then offered another proposal to add that it is the "sense of Congress" that the financial statements should be examined. That amendment passed on a voice vote.

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Senate committee approves effort to streamline appointments

Michael Steel — Fri, 22 Mar 2002 00:00:00 -0500

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., said the changes would inject "a little common sense" in the appointments process.

"The presidential appointments process is unnecessarily long, burdensome, and complex," Thompson explained last December, when he introduced the bill. "And although President Bush has sent a notable number of nominees to Congress at this point in his first year, major gaps remain in critical positions throughout government. We are faced with responding to the events of September 11 with a 25-percent vacancy rate in positions considered important to Homeland Security."

Thompson said that bill (S. 1811), which passed on a voice vote, would make changes in the 1978 Ethics in Government Act like those that have been recommended by the Brookings Institution's Presidential Appointee Initiative, the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research's Transition to Governing Project, and the American Bar Association. It would reduce financial reporting requirements, cut down on redundant requests for information, and ask each agency for a list of presidential appointees, with an eye to cutting the number of positions that require Senate approval.

Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, told the committee he had recently spoken with a cabinet official who had been forced to spend more than $500,000 on accountants and attorneys' fees as part of the appointment process, more than he would make in four years on the job.

The committee also passed, on a voice vote, an amendment--sponsored by Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio,--making technical changes in the bill.

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Commission to study Sept. 11 attacks wins Senate panel backing

Michael Steel — Fri, 22 Mar 2002 00:00:00 -0500

Similar commissions examined the surprise attack on U.S. naval forces at Pearl Harbor at the outbreak of World War II, and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Under the bill (S. 1867), which passed on a voice vote, the commission would examine the facts and causes of the September 11 terrorist attacks. After examining the information, the commission would report to the president and Congress, its findings, conclusions, and recommendations for preventing future acts of terrorism.

"Certain events stand out in our history for having left an indelible mark of pain and sorrow on America," Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., said when he introduced the bill last December. "On this past September 11, the United States suffered assaults on its territory unparalleled in their cruelty, destruction and loss of life.

"Americans were stunned both by the magnitude of the loss and the maliciously simple plan that had caused the carnage," Lieberman said, adding that Americans have also been wondering why the plan was successful, whether it could have been stopped and what can be done to prevent future attacks.

An amendment, which was added to the bill by voice vote, incorporated language from similar legislation sponsored by Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., the ranking Republican on the committee, said he thought the investigation should be even broader, but he agreed to support the bill.

The commission would have 14 members, divided evenly by party. Four members would be appointed by the president, the rest by the chairmen of House and Senate committees dealing with intelligence and military affairs.

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Transportation panel clears port security bill

Michael Steel — Thu, 21 Mar 2002 00:00:00 -0500

The measure (H.R. 3983), sponsored by the committee chairman, Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, ranking Democrat James Oberstar of Minnesota, Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., and Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla., passed on a voice vote with no amendments.

"Protecting our ports and maritime transportation system is of critical importance to our nation as the maritime industry contributes $742 billion to the gross domestic product each year and the ripple effects from an attack on one or more of our ports would be felt throughout the economy of the nation," said Coast Guard Subcommittee Chairman LoBiondo.

Ninety-five percent of the goods that enter the country arrive at seaports, Oberstar said. The bill would give the government the "authority and flexibility" to protect Americans, he said.

Under the bill, $75 million per year will be allocated in grants after the Coast Guard conducts a comprehensive assessment of port vulnerabilities. The Coast Guard will also assess some foreign ports.

The bill would also require a new federal security card be used to enter secure areas of ships and port facilities. An amendment added at the Coast Guard subcommittee markup, which immediately preceded the full committee meeting, made it clear that truck drivers already cleared by the Department of Transportation to carry hazardous materials would qualify for the new card.

A port security bill (S. 1214) sponsored by Sen. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., passed the Senate on December 20, 2001. House committee staff indicated that there are some key differences in the House and Senate bills, but a conference is expected to go smoothly once the House approves its legislation.

No amendments were offered at the markup, but a few members suggested they would work with Young to add provisions before the bill reaches the House floor. Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., for example, would like report language on the Lawrence Livermore National Lab's contributions to weapons detection. And Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Texas, wants to include a role for six state maritime academies.

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Senate panel passes anti-discrimination bill

Michael Steel — Thu, 21 Mar 2002 00:00:00 -0500

Under the legislation (H.R. 169), the "Notification and Federal Employee Anti-Discrimination and Retaliation Act of 2001" (No FEAR), legal settlements with federal employees in discrimination cases would be paid from the budget of the agency that employed them.

The current system requires payments to come from a government-wide settlement fund. Committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., said the current system "discourages accountability."

The No FEAR bill also requires that all federal employees be informed in writing about anti-discrimination policies and that federal agencies make annual reports to Congress on the status of any discrimination complaints, and post similar information on their Web sites.

The bill is in response to an August, 2000 discrimination case in which the Environmental Protection Agency was forced to pay a senior scientist $600,000, and similar class action suits against at least five other agencies. The House passed the measure on Oct. 2, 2001.

The Senate panel passed one amendment on a voice vote. The amendment would require the General Accounting Office to study the cost of the Department of Justice defending federal whistleblower cases, tighten the reporting requirements in the bill and make other technical changes.

Ranking Republican Fred Thompson of Tennessee said he had questions about the bill's effect on the settlement fund. He said he would work with Lieberman on additional GAO report language, but he was willing to support the legislation.

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Pressure builds on Interior to fix Indian trust fund system

Michael Steel — Fri, 22 Feb 2002 00:00:00 -0500

After six years, a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the federal government on behalf of hundreds of thousands of American Indians may be nearing its end. The suit, filed by Elouise Cobell, a Blackfeet Indian, seeks to recover the funds from undeniably mismanaged Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts that the Bureau of Indian Affairs has administered for more than a century.

The individual Indian accounts date from the allotment acts of the 1880s, when--in a purported effort to "civilize" Native Americans--the government divided 11 million acres of tribal lands into 80- and 160-acre plots and assigned them to individual Indians. Because the assigned parcels were rarely occupied by their new owners, those lands were held in trust by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a division of the Interior Department.

Money that the government earned by allowing grazing, logging, mining, or other activities on that property was supposed to go to the Indian owners. But shoddy management, corruption, and indifference have made the program a shambles almost from its beginning. After more than a century of mismanagement, it seems nearly impossible to determine how much the government owes. No one even agrees on how many Indians should receive money. The Interior Department says 300,000, but the plaintiffs put the number above 500,000.

In 1996, Cobell, who is a Montana banker, sued the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Interior Department. Two years ago, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled that the BIA had violated its trust responsibilities and that the Indians are owed a valid accounting of the trust funds, as well as a thorough overhaul of the trust management system. The judge said he had never seen more-egregious conduct by the federal government.

Then-Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and then-Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt were held in contempt of court when it turned out that many of the documents they had promised to produce had been lost or destroyed. Now, Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton faces five counts of contempt, most of them stemming from alleged Clinton-era malfeasance. She was forced to testify in Lamberth's court on February 13.

"We're motivated to get this problem solved," Norton told the judge. "We're dedicated to doing this. I'd really like to see significant change take place during my tenure as secretary. I'd like the chance to do it."

But she might not get that chance. Cobell and her legal team are pushing hard for a conviction on the contempt charges and for a court-appointed receiver to take control of the Indian accounts.

Already-high tensions increased when a court-ordered computer shutdown at Interior kept 40,000 Indians from receiving their trust fund checks over the Christmas holidays.

Lamberth had been worried about computer security at the department for more than a year. After a hacker demonstrated how easy it was to create or manipulate trust accounts, the judge ordered every Interior computer with Internet access disconnected. A few systems were back up and running again within days, but the trust account computers are still only partially reactivated.

Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., who represents thousands of Navajos, called the shutdown devastating. "These people were subject to losing their car or their home," he told National Journal. "I'm outraged by it. If this happened to Social Security checks, Congress would be in an uproar."

At a House Resources Committee hearing on February 6, Udall pressed Norton about whether Interior Department lawyers had warned the judge of the effect his order would have. After consulting with her staff, Norton was unable to answer. "I assume if there was an answer that was positive, it would have been given," Udall said.

Cobell says she thinks that the department intentionally gave low priority to the trust fund computers. "I think they put it at the bottom of their priorities, and they continued to withhold [IIM] checks as retaliation against the lawsuit," she said. "Out in the agency offices, when people would call and say, `Where's my check?' the employees would reply, `You go ask Elouise Cobell," or `You ask the judge.' "

Bureau of Indian Affairs Director Neal McCaleb says that his agency was working on the computer problems before the shutdown. The trust fund computers, he added, are going back online as soon as possible.

Cobell disagrees. "They say the IIM system was a priority. But you heard in court, the first system they brought up was the USGS [U.S. Geological Survey]. They weren't working on getting the IIM system up," she said. "They said they needed USGS in case there was a fire or a flood, but the Indians were starving because they had no checks."

McCaleb says that USGS went back up first because its computers were not connected to the systems worrying the court.

Norton, who says that Indian trust issues have consumed as much as 60 percent of her time during her first year in office, has announced a new plan to revamp the trust system. She wants to combine management of the individual trust accounts with tribal trusts in a new Bureau of Indian Trust Assets Management that would be within the Interior Department, but outside the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Norton has said she chose this approach "because it consolidates trust asset management, establishes a clearly focused organization, provides additional senior management attention to this high-priority program, and retains the program within the department to facilitate coordination with the Native American community."

The plan, which was formulated without tribal input, has sparked a firestorm of criticism.

Ivan Makil, president of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, blasted the proposal at the February 6 hearing. "For many years, tribal leaders have specifically requested that the department focus on the core problems of trust asset management and stop making politically motivated cosmetic changes that only exacerbate the issue," he said. "Moving organizational boxes around will not solve the problem."

Indian leaders are especially skeptical because this is not the first trust-reform initiative since Cobell filed her lawsuit. Two years ago, Secretary Babbitt and then-BIA Director Kevin Gover touted a Trust Asset and Accounting Management System computer program that was supposed to improve IIM management. After hundreds of millions of dollars were spent, the computer program has turned out to be nearly useless.

Cobell and her allies contend that Babbitt and Gover "ran out the clock" by pushing a phony reform effort to stall the courts until they were out of office. The Indian activists are determined to force the Bush Administration to face the issue. "It was crystal clear to me what [the Clinton officials] were doing," Cobell said. "They were stalling, stalling, stalling."

The plaintiffs in the Cobell case are urging Lamberth to hold Norton in contempt, which they think would strengthen their chances of having the trust responsibilities given to a court-appointed receiver. "Babbit and Norton have both made decisions based on short-term political goals or litigation strategy," said Keith Harper, a lawyer with the Native American Rights Fund. "We need an institution with the sole responsibility for reorganizing the system. The contempt finding helps create a record of bad faith and violation of court orders."

Some members of Congress are losing patience with Interior's efforts to revamp the trust system. The senior Democrat on the Resources Committee, Rep. Nick J. Rahall II, D-W.Va., said at the February 6 hearing that under both political parties, the Interior Department has been the "Enron of federal agencies" when it comes to managing Indian trust assets.

"The Secretary, having finally admitted to both the House Resources Committee and the court that she is unable to provide a historical accounting of the trust funds, should now immediately settle this case and move to fix the system," Rahall told National Journal. "This department's proposal to shift all Indian trust funds from one agency to a new one with no new protections in place is a waste of time and taxpayer money, which threatens the loss of even more important data. Merely rearranging the deck chairs will not save this sinking Titanic."

Settling valid Indian claims would be extremely expensive. Norton estimates that it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars; Cobell says that paying anything less than $10 billion would be an insult. Regardless of the amount, Congress would have to ratify any settlement agreement before it could take effect.

After more than 100 years of broken promises, the government is clearly under mounting pressure to resolve this complicated dispute during the Bush Administration's watch.

Michael Steel is a correspondent for National Journal News Service. ]]>

House panel votes to expand veterans' benefits

Michael Steel — Mon, 16 Jul 2001 00:00:00 -0400

But Democrats on the panel, especially Rep. Vic Snyder, D-Ark., expressed concern that the Bush tax cut would make it difficult to pay for the additional benefits. Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, sympathized with the Democrats' concerns, but noted that the Bush Administration had requested a 12 percent increase in veterans' funding for 2002.

A Congressional Budget Office cost estimate for the bill was unavailable, but a committee aide indicated it would be "in the tens of millions per year."

The draft measure, cleared by the Benefits subcommittee on a voice vote, combines elements of seven separate pieces of legislation. The full Veterans Affairs Committee could mark up the legislation as early as next week, according to a committee aide.

The bill's first part would add diabetes mellitus (Type 2 diabetes) to the list of diseases that Vietnam veterans exposed to herbicides like Agent Orange could have contracted. This provision was originally H.R. 862.

The draft bill also expands the definition of undiagnosed illnesses for Persian Gulf veterans to include fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and chronic multisymptom illness. This is similar to H.R. 1406.

The panel's ranking Democrat, Rep. Silvestre Reyes of Texas, said 2,000 veterans have been denied assistance because chronic fatigue syndrome was not covered.

The legislation also authorizes the secretary of veterans affairs to protect the grant of service connection of a Gulf War veteran who participates in VA sponsored medical research.

The measure's second part provides a cost-of-living increase for payments to disabled veterans, and their dependents and survivors. The increase, which would be linked to the rise in Social Security payments, was contained in H.R. 2361.

The draft also makes adjustments in procedures at the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. The changes were apparently at the request of the Bush Administration, and were originally in H.R. 2359.

The final part of the measure allows the VA to pay unclaimed National Service Life Insurance and U.S. Government Life Insurance to alternative beneficiaries if the first beneficiary cannot be located in three years (also in H.R. 2359). It would also extend until 2005, a VA loan program on Native American trust lands, make technical changes in the language on loan assumption in loan documents, eliminate one requirement for Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims appeals, and establish a two-year pilot program for a national VA toll-free 1-800 number.

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Small Business Administration

Michael Steel — Fri, 29 Jun 2001 00:00:00 -0400

Established: 1953
Address: 409 3rd St. SW, Washington, DC 20416
Phone: 202-205-6740
2001 Budget: $899.5 million
Employment: 4,218
Web Site: www.sba.gov
Function: The SBA provides financial, technical, and management assistance to small businesses. It also provides aid in securing government contracts, disaster relief, training and advocacy. Hector V. Barreto Jr.
Administrator (designate)
202-205-6605
Hector Barreto first appeared on the national stage touting George W. Bush's vision for small businesses in a speech at the 2000 Republican National Convention. Now he will have a chance to implement that vision as head of the Small Business Administration. "George W. Bush is the best hope for America's 24 million small businesses," Barreto told the convention delegates. "He will break the iron grip of litigation, taxation, and regulation to help mom-and-pop stores, manufacturers, high-tech start-ups, and family farms." He said that Bush, whom he referred to as his "amigo," turned Texas into an "entrepreneurial heaven" during his governorship. Barreto, 39, first learned about the needs of small businesses from his father, an immigrant from Mexico who founded the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and who advised Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. The younger Barreto grew up in Kansas City, Mo. After attending Rockhurst University there, he worked for Miller Brewing Co. in South Texas before starting Barreto Insurance and Financial Services in Los Angeles. As SBA administrator, Barreto will oversee an agency with 3,100 employees, nearly 70 offices around the country, and a budget of $899.5 million. The SBA, which was founded in 1953, tries to help entrepreneurs form successful small businesses by offering counseling, technical support, and loan guarantees. In addition to speaking at the GOP convention, Barreto was the co-chair of the Bush campaign in California. He is on the board of directors of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and was recognized by Hispanic Business magazine as one of the "100 Most Influential U.S. Hispanics" in 1999.

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House committee votes to raise SEC pay

Michael Steel — Mon, 02 Apr 2001 00:00:00 -0400

Panel backs national 'Medal of Valor' for public safety officers

Michael Steel — Tue, 13 Mar 2001 00:00:00 -0500

Senate panel votes to raise SEC pay

Michael Steel — Mon, 05 Mar 2001 00:00:00 -0500

The bill (S. 143), which passed on a voice vote Thursday, would raise the pay scale at the SEC to levels comparable to the Federal Reserve and other financial regulatory agencies.

"We want the best people we can get at the SEC," said Banking Committee Chairman Phil Gramm, R-Texas at a recent news conference. "There's massive competition for people with these skills. You make a sacrifice to be in government service even at these new higher grades, but it doesn't make sense to pay people at the comptroller of the currency a premium to hold on to them and not do the same thing at the SEC." The investor fees were originally levied to pay for the SEC's operations, but the volume of trading has increased to the point that the fees bring in five or six times more money than the agency needs.

Gramm said SEC has a budget just over $400 million, but is expected to take in over $2 billion in fees this year. He also said that an average working person in a retirement program would pay $1,300 in excessive fees in the course of his or her working life. "The first thing we want to do is roll these fees back to the amount needed by the SEC and then set up a structure to guarantee that whenever they're excessive, we lower them; whenever they're inadequate we raise them, and we always have enough funds to fund the Securities and Exchange Commission," Gramm said.

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Panel backs greater role for small business watchdog office

Michael Steel — Mon, 05 Mar 2001 00:00:00 -0500

The bill (S. 395) was sponsored by Committee Chairman Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., and passed on a voice vote Wednesday. An identical piece of legislation passed the Senate by unanimous consent on Nov. 5, 1999, but failed to pass the House before the end of the 106th Congress.

"In 1976, Congress established the Office of Advocacy in the SBA to be the eyes, ears and voice for small business within the Federal government," Bond said during the floor debate in 1999. "Over time, it has been assumed that the Office of Advocacy is the 'independent' voice for small business. While I strongly believe that the Office of Advocacy and the chief counsel should be independent and free to advocate or support positions that might be contrary to the Administration's policies, I have come to find that the office is not as independent as necessary to do the job for small business."

According to Bond, the reform bill would give the Office of Advocacy more control over its budget and staffing practices, and build a "firewall" to keep political interference out of its operations.

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Bill would place defibrillators in federal buildings

Michael Steel — Thu, 11 May 2000 00:00:00 -0400

Most Americans are familiar with defibrillators-machines that use an electrical charge to restart a stopped heart-from television shows like "ER" or "Chicago Hope." Now across the country, automatic external defibrillators are being put in public places so someone with only a few hours training, or none at all, can save a heart attack victim's life.

The House Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Health and Environment passed a measure Tuesday (H.R. 2498) that directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop guidelines for placing these new devices, known as AEDs, in federal government buildings as soon as it is feasible. The bill would also provide a nationwide standard of liability protection for "Good Samaritans" who might use AEDs improperly while trying to help.

A quarter of a million people die in America every year from sudden cardiac arrest. A heart attack victim's chance of survival decreases by 10 percent every minute until he or she receives treatment.

At the hearing that preceded Tuesday's markup, the subcommittee heard from Robert Adams of a New York, an attorney and NCAA referee. Adams suffered a heart attack two years ago in the main concourse of Grand Central Station. He broke down in tears as he told the panel how his life was saved by an AED that had been installed in the train station only one day before his heart attack.

"Voting against this bill is like voting against fire extinguishers a hundred years ago," said Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., the bill's sponsor.

There are several brands of AEDs, but they are all about the size of a laptop computer and cost around $3,000 apiece. To use the machines, you just attach two adhesive pads to a patient's chest, and connect the wires from them to the AED. The machine analyzes the patient's heart beat, and automatically decides whether a jolt is necessary and how much of a charge should be used. If the first shock fails to restore the patient's heartbeat, the machine will repeat the procedure until it is successful.

In the interest of encouraging people to use the AEDs to help heart attack victims, "Good Samaritan" laws, which protect someone who tries to use an AED from legal liability, have been enacted in 46 states. But members of Congress have been concerned that some of the state laws are not strong enough, so H.R. 2498 sets a nationwide minimum standard for liability protection.

Stearns offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute to the bill, which passed on a voice vote. The amendment sought to clarify congressional intent, close loopholes in the "Good Samaritan" section of the bill, make the language more consistent with the Volunteers Protection Act, and make it clear that the liability protection is only a "gap-filler" for state laws that are inadequate.

At least one agency, the U.S. Geological Survey, has already installed defibrillators in its headquarters.

The measure, as amended, passed on a unanimous voice vote.

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Panel wants arbitrator to decide Park Service dispute

Michael Steel — Mon, 17 Apr 2000 00:00:00 -0400

A House Resources subcommittee voted for a measure (H.R. 3241) Thursday that would allow Ft. Sumter Tours, Inc., to use a binding arbitration process to settle a long-running dispute with the National Park Service.

The Park Service runs the Ft. Sumter National Monument, which is located on an island near Charleston, South Carolina. Ft. Sumter Tours is a private company that operates boats that ferry tourists to the island. In 1986, the company and the Park Service signed a 15-year contract calling for the company to pay the Park Service four percent of its annual profits in exchange for the concession to take tourists to the National Monument.

The contract was subject to review after five years, and, in 1991, the Park Service increased the fee to 12 percent of Ft. Sumter Tours' profits. The company protested, and litigation ensued.

The bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., allows Ft. Sumter Tours to take advantage of the binding arbitration process established by Congress in 1998 to settle similar disputes. The company has been unable to use binding arbitration previously because its relationship with the Park Service pre-dates the 1998 law.

The subcommittee on national parks and public lands approved the bill.

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Security measures at DOE get thumbs-up

Michael Steel — Fri, 14 Apr 2000 00:00:00 -0400

The House Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power voted Wednesday to add congressional backing to a number of new security initiatives Energy Secretary Bill Richardson has already instituted.

Richardson has created an Office of Independent Security Oversight at the Department of Energy, which will be responsible for inspecting security arrangements at all DOE facilities, and have special responsibility for protecting the agency from the emerging threat posed by computer hackers.

Subcommittee Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas, introduced the bill (H.R. 3906) to make these changes permanent. He also offered an amendment making it clear that the director of the Office of Independent Security Oversight reports to the energy secretary and not directly to Congress.

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Committee honors Federal Executive Institute teacher

Michael Steel — Wed, 12 Apr 2000 00:00:00 -0400

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure voted Tuesday for a measure (H.R. 1729) that would name a new annex at the Federal Executive Institute after an FEI employee who died in 1998.

The bill designates the federal facility at 1301 Emmet St. in Charlottesville, Va. as Pamela B. Gwin Hall.

Gwin, who had a Ph.D. from Duke University, came to FEI as a public policy instructor in 1983. She became assistant director of academic programs in 1987.

A letter from the director of the Office of Personnel Management described her as "a most remarkable federal civil servant." It also said that "she gave of herself willingly and her mark has been left not only in her accomplishments and in the lives she touched but in the physical sense of place and space that she achieved at FEI."

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Virgil Goode, I-Va., passed by a unanimous voice vote.

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Southeast Federal Center gets House panel's backing

Michael Steel — Thu, 23 Mar 2000 00:00:00 -0500

The House Transportation panel's subcommittee on public buildings and economic development passed a measure (H.R. 3069) Wednesday to improve the Southeast Federal Center in Washington, D.C.

The act would authorize the General Services Administration enter a variety of agreements, including leases, contracts, partnerships, joint venture trusts, and limited liability agreements with private companies to enhance the value of the Federal Center.

The center is a 55-acre parcel of land which extends from Isaac Hull Avenue to 1st Street and from M Street to the Anacostia River in the Southeast quadrant of the city.

The measure, which was sponsored by Rep. Bob Franks, R-N.J., passed on a unanimous voice vote.

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Panel calls for separate Federal Protective Service

Michael Steel — Tue, 21 Mar 2000 00:00:00 -0500

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted Thursday to reorganize the agency responsible for protecting federal buildings.

The bill (H.R. 809) is a response to the tragic bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995. It would make the Federal Protective Service an independent operation under the General Services Administration rather than part of that agency's Public Building Service. The FPS is responsible for security at many of the 8,300 federal buildings across the country.

The bill would also clarify the responsibilities of FPS officers, and increase the number of full time officers to 730. The bill would give those officers equivalent pay and benefits to Secret Service agents.

A manager's amendment, which passed on a voice vote, made technical corrections in the bill to ensure FPS officers were subject to federal law enforcement rules, and that the roles of the Secret Service and Marshals Service will be respected.

The bill, which was sponsored by Rep. James Traficant, D-Ohio, passed on a voice vote as well.

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Panel wants FEMA to focus on prevention

Michael Steel — Fri, 11 Feb 2000 00:00:00 -0500

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, meeting for the first time under its new chairman, Sen. Bob Smith R-N.H., approved a bill Wednesday to reauthorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the next five years.

The Disaster Mitigation Act (S. 1691), introduced by Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., passed on a voice vote. It would put new emphasis on preventive efforts to reduce the damage caused by natural disasters. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," Graham said.

Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., saying he felt like "a skunk at a party," raised questions about the costs of preventive measures. He said that FEMA operations cost $30 billion over the past ten years, and under the provisions of the reauthorization, the costs would have been $32 billion.

Inhofe and Graham offered a substitute amendment to the bill with technical corrections, which passed on a voice vote.

Sen. John Warner, R-Va. offered an amendment, which clarified that hospitals, cannot use FEMA emergency funds for non-medical expenses such as parking or administration. Sen. Michael Crapo, R-Idaho, offered an amendment for himself and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., that adds private non-profit irrigation systems to FEMA coverage. Both amendments passed on voice votes.

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