Guest Sources From BNA, Inc.

7/26/2002

From: Karen James Cody of BNA, 202-452-4169, presscontact@bna.com http://www.bna.com

News Advisory:

The following BNA staffers are available today for TV and radio interviews:

-- Chemical Plant Security Meredith Preston reports on industry readiness. Senate Panel Approves Legislation on Safety Measures at Chemical Plants

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee July 25 unanimously approved a bill (S. 1602) that would require certain chemical plants to assess their vulnerability to terrorist attacks and to submit plans to the Environmental Protection Agency on how they will address that vulnerability.

The bill clearly outlines what specific regulations must be developed by EPA, including a time frame for compliance with those regulations by industry, according to a member of Corzine's staff.

The substitute measure also struck a provision from the original bill that held a facility liable for an accidental or criminal release of a hazardous substance if an investigation identified a problem at the facility.

-- Homeland Security BNA's Nancy Ognanovich at the White House. Administration Threatens to Veto Senate Homeland Security Legislation

As the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee completed its work on legislation (S. 2452) to create a new Department of Homeland Security July 25, the White House said that President Bush will veto the bill because it does not allow the department's secretary the ability to waive civil service protections.

The Senate bill was passed by the committee on a 12 to 5 vote and drew immediate criticism from the White House. The bill is expected to come to the Senate floor July 29.

Government Affairs Chairman Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) told BNA he was surprised by the veto threat and said the bill gives the president "90 percent" of everything he requested.

"I can't believe he would veto it because of personnel differences," Lieberman said. "I would hope there wouldn't be a veto over marginal matters."

Although the measure is a top Bush priority, "the president will receive a recommendation from his advisors to veto" it, if the Senate does not give the administration the flexibility it seeks in managing the agency's workforce and does not make other changes to the bill, said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

Besides the lack of flexibility in handling the agency's workforce, the White House is opposed to provisions added by the committee that would subject the secretary of the new office to Senate confirmation, he said. The committee passed that provision by a 9 to 8 party line vote.

-- Energy Policy Stephanie Ingersoll covers the complex Energy Bill Energy Bill Conference Hits Snag

The energy bill conference in the House announced June 27 at the first public session of the energy bill (H.R. 4) conference that the issues slated for discussion have been grouped into tier one and tier two issues -- based on whether or not they are considered contentious. Tier one issues, or those considered "more contentious" include: drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and oil development; climate change; corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards; electricity restructuring; ethanol mandate; pipeline safety; renewable portfolio standards; and tax incentives.

Tier two issues include Indian energy; Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP); the Price Anderson Act; clean coal technologies; nuclear issues; and efficiency measures (other than CAFE). Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.) is working with Senate Democratic lawmakers and the administration to successfully navigate a bipartisan bill through conference that can be approved by both the House and Senate. July 10 conference committee meeting called to over minor disagreements threatening to stall the bill's progress.

-- Money Laundering Richard Cowden from BNA's Banking Report 2002 Anti-Money Laundering Strategy To Target Bogus Charities, Cash Smugglers

On July 25, just 10 months after attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center, the Treasury Department released a new anti-money laundering plan that officials called a comprehensive national strategy to combat terrorist financing networks.

Under the 2002 National Money Laundering Strategy federal law enforcement agencies and financial regulators indicate they will shift the emphasis away from nabbing traffickers in contraband and will focus more on dismantling the sources of money that funds terrorism.

The strategy will target charities that are misused for terror financing purposes and "alternative remittance systems" such as hawalas and bulk-cash smuggling operations, Treasury Undersecretary Jimmy Gurule at a briefing on the new strategy. Hawalas, which are informal lending services through which participants have transmitted unregulated sums internationally, have emerged as a source of concern following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Justice Department and Treasury officials also will assemble "targeting teams" under the strategy to "help focus our efforts and resources against the most significant money laundering organizations and systems," Gurule said.

-- Transportation BNA's Heather Rothman reporting from the Capitol Building Senate Panel Votes 29-0 For Hike In Amtrak, Aviation, Other Transit Spending

The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 29-0 July 25 to support a $64.66 billion federal transportation investment for fiscal year 2003, including $31.8 billion for highways, $1.2 billion for Amtrak, $13.6 billion for aviation, and $7.3 billion for transit.

The committee recommended $33.2 billion for the Federal Highway Administration, with $31.8 billion for the core federal highway program. That amount is $896 million more than fiscal 2002 and about $8.6 billion more than President Bush's request.

The as-yet-unnumbered bill would provide $7.326 billion for the Federal Transit Administration, which is $455 million above the fiscal 2002 level and $100 million above Bush's request.

The bill contains language that would allow 52 communities in urban areas that for the first time exceeded 200,000 people, according to the 2000 Census, to retain flexibility in the use of federal transit formula grants for fiscal year 2003.

The American Public Transportation Association gave the bill a thumbs up, for its funding levels and for the language to assist these communities.

The annual spending bill also would provide $13.59 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration, which is about $370 million above the fiscal 2002 level and about $4 million above Bush's request, when taking into consideration the loss of aviation security funding for programs now under TSA.

The bill recommends about $1.4 billion for the Federal Railroad Administration, which is about $711 million more than the president's request and $689 million more than fiscal 2002.

The total figures include $111 million for safety and operations, $29 million for research in the development of high-speed rail and $30 million in general fund appropriations for the High-Speed Ground Transportation Program.

The bill also includes a $1.2 billion allocation to keep Amtrak afloat during fiscal 2003. It is $678.5 million greater than the administration's request and the original fiscal 2002 appropriation, but equal to the amount Amtrak's directors have said is needed to maintain existing train service.

-- Nuclear Waste: Yucca Mountain David Safford follows the plan for Yucca Mountain. NRC Advisory Panel Suggests Changes To Draft Yucca Mountain Review Plan

This month the Senate swept aside the objections of its Democratic leadership and votes to approve the Bush administration's recommendation to develop a high-level nuclear waste repository at Nevada's Yucca Mountain. The vote completes the congressional process of overriding the Nevada governor's veto of the centralized storage facility for spent fuel from more than 100 reactors at commercial nuclear power plants across the nation and for defense-related radioactive waste.

President Bush signed a joint resolution (H.J. Res. 87) July 23 authorizing the Energy Department to develop a high-level radioactive waste repository at Nevada's Yucca Mountain, located about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The repository would be designed to hold up to 77,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel and defense-related radioactive waste.

This week the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste complained about the length and repetitiveness of the review plan, which is designed to guide the commission in the evaluation of a license application for a permanent geological repository for high-level radioactive waste. Under federal law, DOE must apply for a license from the NRC before it may begin to build the repository or accept radioactive waste shipments there.

Because such a repository has never been designed or built before, both DOE and NRC are working to determine what will constitute a successful license application. DOE officials have said they expect to have a license application prepared by the end of 2004, with a target opening date of 2010 for the repository.

-- Campaign Finance Reform Kenneth P. Doyle tracks Money & Politics. Completion of BCRA Rule on Issue Ads Expected in September Under New Plan

The Federal Election Commission has again revised its schedule for completing rulemakings required by the new campaign finance law, this time speeding up the plan to consider a rule regarding the controversial "electioneering communication" provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act.

At its July 25 open meeting the FEC voted to approve a schedule calling for the electioneering communications rule to be completed by Sept. 26.

The electioneering communications provisions of the law affect so-called issue ads, which campaign reformers say have been widely used to influence elections. The law restricts how such ads may be paid for in the period before a primary or general election. Critics of the provision say it restricts free speech and is unconstitutional.