POLITICAL PLAYBOOK
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Posted April 29, 1996
Environmentalists celebrated another Earth Day last week, but lately they've been watching the political scene in Washington, D.C. as much as wildlife and natural resources. The main cause for the greens' concern: the Republican Congress, which has been fighting to roll back environmental law and to give more consideration to business interests.
Last year Republicans marched into the Capitol with a broad environmental agenda that targeted many federal laws and agencies that protect the environment. GOP leaders said environmental laws were often unnecessary and usually too costly -- or, at the least the cost to businesses was not duly considered when new laws were written. The climate was encapsulated by the remark of House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, a former exterminator, which compared the EPA to the Gestapo.
Over the last several months, however, the Republican agenda as a whole, and its environmental policy in particular, have lost their footing. Opinion polls show the public has been persuaded by Democratic charges that the Republicans are extremists on environmental issues. When Congress and the President failed to agree on a budget to fund the government this winter, Clinton singled out the environment as one area where he would not give ground to Republican budget-cutting. Concerned about how the green card might play in the 1996 elections, Republicans have softened their attacks, and tried to take action to appear more pro-environment than pro-business. For instance, about $200 million was included in the farm bill for protection of the Florida Everglades. House Speaker Newt Gingrich even played zookeeper on the Jay Leno show last week to show off his animal-loving credentials (although one screaming piglet he tried to cuddle didn't seem convinced). Here's a look at how some of the biggest environmental issues currently before Congress have been playing out:
1996 FEDERAL BUDGET DEAL
Nuts and Bolts: Last week President Clinton and Congress came to an agreement on a budget to fund government agencies for the remainder of fiscal year 1996 (which ends September 30). Composed of appropriations bills for several federal agencies, the $163 billion spending package caused disputes between Clinton and Congress that forced government shutdowns when funding ran out for federal agencies. The government had been operating under a series of temporary spending bills. Clinton was able to restore $5 billion of $8 billion in Republican cuts in the final agreement, which included several environmental provisions:
Status: The House approved the spending package April 25, 399 to 25. The Senate passed it the same day, 88-11. Clinton signed the bill the next day.
Inside Scoop: For months Democrats have been decrying that Republicans try to pass environmental policy through "the back door" by attaching little-noticed riders to bigger bills. This was the case with the provisions the President blocked. The Republicans' willingness to give ground on so many enviro issues, including EPA funding, is a clear sign that they recognize the rising danger of alienating voters. However, Sen. Ted Stevens, R-AK, was said to be so incensed that the Tongass logging provision was abandoned that the final deal was briefly delayed.
CLEAN WATER ACT
Nuts and Bolts: The bill would revamp the Safe Drinking Water Act passed by Congress in 1974, which sets national safety standards for tap water and provides funding for public water systems. Its principal goal is to toughen safeguards against contaminants in water systems, which cause an estimated 900,000 illnesses and 900 deaths per year. There is broad agreement over the need to overhaul drinking water laws, but disputes arise over how tough standards should be, and how much they should vary from one water supply to another. The bill would also provide for federal contributions of up to $1 billion per year until 2003 for local water projects.
Status: The Senate passed the bill in November, 99-0. In March the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved a narrow version of the bill, and the House Commerce Committee is set to hold hearings on wider issues.
Inside Scoop: Republican leaders like Speaker Gingrich are said to be eager to see passage of a bill in the coming weeks so that it can be touted as an environmentally friendly achievement, as GOP members campaign for re-election this summer. But divisions are emerging within the party -- principally between Gingrich and Commerce Committee chairman Thomas Bliley Jr., R-VA, over whether corralling the bipartisan support needed for fast approval is worth a bill that is, er ... watered down.
ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
Nuts and Bolts: The House and Senate have both begun work on reconsiderations of the 1973 Act, which grants the federal government broad powers to protect wildlife classified as an endangered species (at the end of 1995 over 1,500 species were on the list). Opponents of the Act decry the fact that species are protected on the basis of scientific data alone, and local social and economic impacts are not considered. They complain that by allowing the government to put special protections on land that might be a habitat for a species on the brink of extinction, the Act devalues private property and stifles economic development. The House and Senate have answered these in different ways. Bills have been introduced in both chambers that would completely revamp the law. The House has also passed legislation as part of its regulatory reform bill that would compensate property owners whose land was devalued by endangered species rulings.
Status: The House Resources Committee approved a version, the most extreme of the bunch, in October. The Senate Environment Subcommittee on Drinking Water, Fisheries and Wildlife approved a much milder version in March of last year. Other versions have been stalled in both bodies. It is not clear whether Republicans will press ahead with this legislation in an election year, and in any case President Clinton would be likely to veto all but the most temperate version.
Inside Scoop: A one-year moratorium on new listings of plants and animals under the act was one of several environmental measures killed by the President when he signed last week's budget agreement with Congress (see above). Rep. Don Young, R-AK, whose office walls are covered with stuffed trophy animal heads, has vowed to forge policy that environmentalists would find unconscionable, and "ram it down their throats." Young , Rep. Richard Pombo, R-CA, and other members from Western states represent the hardest GOP line on the issue, and have had trouble finding common ground with moderate members. Their most interesting complaint: the act actually makes for more hostility toward endangered species -- landowners either try to prevent them from settling on their property or try to kill them off before the government finds them there.