UPDATED: 01/20/12 at 5:30pm
As the second session of the 112th Congress commences several ASCE priority issues remain unresolved. Thus far the 112th Congress has seen little legislative action on issues related to the civil engineering profession, however House and Senate leaders have indicated that infrastructure legislation could be a top priority in 2012. In the immediate future Congress must address FAA programs, which have been running on fumes since the last authorization expired in September 2007. With the most recent FAA extension expiring on January 31st Congress will have take action when they return to keep FAA programs operating, while leadership also indicates that surface transportation legislation will be a top priority for the returning Congress. Additionally, both the House and Senate have indicated that a new surface transportation reauthorization will be a top priority once legislative work is underway this year.

So how did Congress leave ASCE priority issues in December and what can we expect to see action on in the upcoming months?
FAA Reauthorization – The 22nd, and current, extension for FAA programs will expire on January 31st. However, on Friday, January 20th, it was reported that House and Senate leaders have reached agreement on the long-awaited bill to reauthorize FAA programs. Reportedly, Republicans have backed down on a controversial labor provision that had drawn a veto threat from the White House and has allowed for the continued stalemate between House and Senate versions of the bill. The deal paves the way for finalization of an FAA bill in the upcoming days. The last FAA authorization expired in September 2007.
Surface Transportation Authorization – When Congress left in December, a two-year surface transportation authorization (MAP-21) had been passed by the Environment and Public Works Committee and the Commerce Committee. However, the Finance and Banking Committees still had not taken action. MAP-21 would authorize the program for two years at current levels of investment, plus inflation. In the House, Speaker John Boehner stated that he would like to move an infrastructure-energy bill within weeks of Congress returning in January. Details on the bill are still scarce, however Speaker Boehner has indicated that the legislation will be multi-year and at or near current investment levels. In the meantime, surface transportation programs continue to run off of the latest extension, which will expire on March 31st.
While the surface transportation bill is being characterized as a major jobs bill in both chambers, the two approaches are very different, meaning another extension could be necessary. Both Senate and House leadership are stating that the surface transportation bill will be a top priority in the upcoming months, however how to fund the program will be difficult to resolve.
ASCE supports a robust, multi-year, surface transportation bill and is working with various transportation stakeholders to ensure that transportation will be priority number one for the returning Congress.
Clean Water Act Reauthorization – Funding for the State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF) program has not been authorized by Congress since 1987, the year the program was created. With the presumed completion of a surface transportation bill early in the year, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee are likely to begin work on an SRF reauthorization bill in 2012.
Although ASCE continues to push aggressively for public investments in wastewater and drinking-water infrastructure, Congress has been slow to act on legislation to finance the reconstruction of America’s aging water infrastructure. It is difficult for lawmakers, much like the general public, to prioritize water infrastructure when the deterioration remains hidden from the public eye.
Dam Safety Act Reauthorization – The National Dam Safety Program expired at the end of September 2011 without a reauthorization bill introduced. ASCE is working with House and Senate dam safety champions to have new legislation introduced in the upcoming weeks. Legislation would be for 5 years and provide approximately $10 million annually to state dam safety programs.
Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) – The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee expect to take up the latest version of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) in 2012. The infrastructure portions of the bill will arguably be smaller in scope than in previous years. In the more than four years since the last bill was enacted, there have been only about 10 project reports that had been signed by the Chief of Engineers, the last step before congressional approval in a WRDA bill. There were 62 project reports submitted to Congress and eligible for authorization in WRDA 2007.
Policy issues are expected to dominate the debate. ASCE has been pressing Congress for several years to enact a national levee safety program, and congressional staff say such a program has a good chance of being included in the next WRDA.
Natural Hazards Risk Reduction Act – legislation that would reauthorize the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) and the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program is slowly moving through Congress. In the Senate, S. 645 was approved by the Commerce Committee on May 5, 2011. The Senate bill would reauthorize both programs for five years, with NEHRP at $905 million and the Wind Program at $135.5 million. The House Science Committee approved H.R. 3479 on December 1, 2011, which would authorize both programs for 3 years, with NEHRP at $365.7 million and the Wind Program at $64 million. The House bill must also pass through the Natural Resources and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees before floor consideration.
While ASCE supports the larger authorizations contained in the Senate bill, we remain concerned that partisan disagreements over authorization levels may derail reauthorization, placing both programs in jeopardy for losing all funding. Authorization for both programs expired in September of 2009, with NEHRP receiving roughly flat appropriations each year since then.
K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) Education – ASCE, as a founding member of the STEM Education Coalition, is following the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education (ESEA) Act – the last version of which was known as the “No Child Left Behind Act”.
While ASCE and the Coalition have taken no position on the more controversial accountability provisions of the current law, we are working to ensure that whatever legislation comes forth includes strong math and science components. One component of ESEA is addressed through S. 1675, on which the Coalition worked with Sen. Jeff Merkley to develop. The legislation, the Preparing Students for Success in the Global Economy Act, would reauthorize the existing Math and Science Partnerships program at the Department of Education, modernizing the program and expanding its range of activities and partnerships. While there is a surprising amount of agreement in Congress, outlook for ESEA reauthorization is unsure.