Geoscience Policy Monthly Review
december 2017

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congress

Senate Commerce Committee votes to advance earthquake and drought bills and NOAA nominee

December 13, 2017

At an executive session on December 13, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation approved the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) Reauthorization Act of 2018 (S.2200) and the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) Reauthorization Act of 2017 (S.1768) by voice vote.

Chairman John Thune (R-SD) and Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL) introduced S.2200 on December 6 to reauthorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) NIDIS program through FY 2023; it is currently due to expire after fiscal year (FY) 2018. The bill aims to improve the program by directing the National Weather Service (NWS) to develop a strategy for a national coordinated soil moisture monitoring network, and to partner with the private sector, academia, and citizen scientists for improved drought monitoring, forecasting, and communication. The bill also reauthorizes 15 U.S.C. 8521, enacted law for weather and climate information in agriculture, through FY 2023 for the NWS to provide and improve foundational forecasts of subseasonal and seasonal temperature and precipitation to the public.

While Senator Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) NEHRP reauthorization bill omitted details on appropriations, the committee-approved legislation included an amendment in the nature of a substitute, proposed by Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO), to authorize funding for the program through FY 2022, rising from $8.67 million in FY 2018 to $9.39 million in FY 2022.

During the session, the committee also voted on partisan lines (14-13) to advance the nomination of Barry Myers as Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to the Senate calendar.

Sources: Library of Congress, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

Congress ends session by passing tax reform and continuing federal funding into January, but delays disaster aid

December 22, 2017

President Donald Trump signed H.R.1, a bill to provide for tax reform, into law on December 22. Passed under budget reconciliation procedures, Public Law No: 115-97 includes Senator Lisa Murkowski’s (R-AK) provision directing the Secretary of the Interior to implement an oil and gas leasing program for the coastal plain (1002 Area) of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska. The final bill did not contain the proposed, widely-unpopular provision repealing tax exemptions for graduate student tuition waivers, which House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-TX-32) and 30 Republican members of Congress strongly opposed in a letter to congressional leadership. The President also signed H.R.1370 into law to continue funding the federal government under fiscal year (FY) 2017 levels through January 19. By this date, Congress is due to pass appropriations legislation for FY 2018 and reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Lawmakers from various states impacted by hurricanes and wildfires this year were seeking billions more in disaster aid funding, but Congress stopped short of sending an $81 billion relief package (H.R.4667) – the largest single outlay for disaster relief in U.S. history – to the President before the end of the year. On December 21, the House passed H.R.4667, which provides nearly double the $44 billion request from the White House to fund programs that provide relief and recovery efforts to all of the communities affected, including those in California, Florida, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Texas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. However, the Senate delayed voting on H.R.4667 until January 2018. Highlights of the bill include appropriating $27.6 billion to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster response and recovery efforts, $26.1 billion to the Community Development Block Grants-Disaster Recovery for housing, business, infrastructures, and mitigation needs for communities devastated by disasters in 2017 and prior years, and $12.1 billion to the Army Corps of Engineers for repairs needed due to natural disasters and to expedite studies and ongoing projects to reduce damages in future disasters in areas affected by recent hurricanes.

Sources: Congressman Pete Sessions, Library of Congress, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, White House Office of Management and Budget