Trade
Africa Free Trade/Caribbean Basin Initiative
Beginning this month, senior lawmakers from both chambers are scheduled to meet on the Africa Free Trade and Caribbean Basin Initiative bill. The informal meetings are intended to try to bridge the significant differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. Negotiations are expected to be difficult, but leaders from both chambers,
including Senate Finance Chairman William Roth (R-DE) and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Phil Crane (R-IL), seem intent on getting it passed. House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX) has stated his desire to complete the legislation before April.
China Normal Trade Relations (NTR)
Now with Congress back in session, the strategizing has begun to get the bill for permanent Normal Trade Relations (NTR) with China approved and to the president for signature. NTR status is a requisite to China joining the WTO.
It is generally agreed that the more time that passes, the more time opponents have to organize, and therefore defeat the bill. If the vote were taken today, it is expected that it would pass. The key showdown will be in the House. For congressional Republicans, it presents a political windfall - a new legislative issue to divide Democrats on the eve of an election
in which political control in Washington is up for grabs. But it is not that simple. Although most Republicans are avid free traders, they have their own divisions on the issue, despite the popularity of free trade among business leaders. Some GOP lawmakers are reluctant to support China's entry into the WTO, because it would be seen as a victory for Clinton.
Notwithstanding, House Republican leaders recently identified trade as one of their top three legislative priorities for 2000, especially NTR for China. Supporters are creating some political cover for the tough vote. For instance, Douglas Bereuter (R-NE) plans to introduce legislation that would allow for an annual review of China's human rights policy. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) has already done so in the Senate (S 2115). Additionally, the Administration is seeking a resolution in the UN Human Rights Commission criticizing China's human rights record.
However, Republicans insist they need help from the White House. As a result, President Clinton has appointed Commerce Secretary William Daley and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Steve Ricchetti as Administration team leaders to get the measure passed this year. Weekly meetings comprised of Ricchetti, Daley, US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky, National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, and Agriculture
Secretary Dan Glickman have also begun to plan strategies.
Several steps remain before Congressional leaders will schedule a vote, including working out bilateral agreements with the European Union, Brazil and other WTO countries. Completing these accords is just the first part of the accession process, which also includes drafting the accession protocol.
On the positive side, both the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees have conducted preliminary hearings on China's accession to the WTO, taking testimony from high-level Administration officials. During one hearing, Ms. Barshefsky was hammered about the failings of President Clinton's leadership on world trade issues. Senator
Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) stated, "The Administration is trying to have it both ways, arguing that it supported a more open trading system while pursuing efforts to impose trade barriers against countries with deficient labor and environmental rules."
Supporters are working against the clock due to the extremely short Congressional session this year. Given a long summer break for the Presidential nominating conventions and a fall recess for House and Senate members to conduct their own campaigns, less than 50 days remain in the year. Further complicating matters is a June 3 deadline for Clinton
to renew China's annual waiver from the Jackson-Vanik Amendment. That means the Administration may have to pursue liberalization on two tracks simultaneously - one annual, the other permanent. Despite these problems, House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-CA) is predicting a vote in June or July.
US Membership in WTO
The USTR and President Clinton submitted to Congress a report on the first five years of US membership in the WTO. Ninety days after the release of this report, any Member is allowed to introduce a resolution on continued membership in the organization. Therefore, Ron Paul (R-TX) introduced a resolution to withdraw the US from the WTO. Although this resolution will likely reach the floor for a vote, it is not expected to pass. AWPA has signed onto a coalition letter, which will be distributed to all legislators, indicating support for continued WTO membership.
Trade Bills
Both Senate Finance Committee Chairman William Roth (R-DE) and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Phil Crane (R-IL) have requested that all Members who plan to introduce tariff legislation or corrections to the trade laws do so by March 1, 2000. After collecting and reviewing all of these bills, both committees will issue a press release identifying the bills
introduced and will request public and Administration comment on them. Then they will be merged into a single comprehensive package for passage as a miscellaneous trade bill.
Angela Ellard, the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Staff Director and Trade Counsel, predicted June and July could be key months for passing trade legislation. These trade votes could very well dominate the Congressional calendar before the August recess.
Environmental/Regulatory
Ergonomics
Responding to a letter from Senator Christopher Bond (R-MO), which was signed by 62 members of the House and Senate, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has granted an extension to the comment period for the proposed ergonomics regulation. The comment period originally was set to expire on February 1. The agency has extended it for an additional 30 days, and is expecting at least 100,000 pages of comments.
Mr. Bond has stated one of his legislative priorities for this Congressional session is ensuring that federal ergonomics regulations are based on scientific evidence. One way to do this is the Chairman's decision not to hold hearings on the rule. Another vehicle being investigated by opponents is to specify that no agency money could be used to oversee
the program's implementation.
House Chief Deputy Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) stated at a recent National Association of Manufacturers meeting that the ergonomics program should not be promulgated until at least the end of next year. Even top officials at the Commerce Department, including Secretary Daley, are signaling that they think the proposed rule is too broad and needs
more refinement. Daley may even lobby against the rule with the White House.
Proposal to Lower the Lead TRI Reporting Threshold
AWPA's Director of Government Affairs met with staff members on Senator Bond's Small Business Committee to discuss the EPA proposal to lower the TRI reporting threshold for lead from 25,000 lbs to 10 lbs to which AWPA and many member companies submitted comments. EPA received over 8,000 individual comments, and it will take them longer than anticipated to review them all. The agency is planning to issue a revised proposal by the end of March; although it is not known what form this revision will take.
The agency must issue a final rule by the fall of this year in order to have it in place for TRI reports due in July 2001. If not completed by that time, the requirements will not be valid until July 2002. One of the main decisions the agency has to make is whether its certification that the proposed rule would have no impact on small businesses was valid. If it is determined that the certification must be withdrawn, then a Small Business Regulatory Enforcement and Fairness Act (SBREFA) panel will need to be set up, further pushing back promulgation of this rule.
PM 2.5
The Department of Justice, acting on EPA's behalf, asked the US Supreme Court to review a 1999 federal appeals court decision ordering the agency to rewrite its controversial new national ambient air quality standards for ozone and fine particulate matter, saying the lower court's ruling raises issues of extraordinary concern. In its petition, the Justice
Department stated that the US Court of Appeals' decision that the Clean Air Act, on which EPA relied, reflects an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power "represents a radical departure from settled law" regarding the authority given to
federal agencies by Congress to interpret the laws it enacts. This has a potentially significant impact on other agencies with broad legislative mandates, such as OSHA.
The petition added that the appeals court order would "unjustifiably expand the role of the courts" and that the court prematurely asserted its jurisdiction over EPA's authority to implement new air quality standards. The high court is expected to make a decision on hearing the case this spring.
The regulations are expected to cost industry between $47 and $150 million a year if they are enacted as currently written.
TRI and Phosphoric Acid
EPA has issued a proposed rule to delete phosphoric acid from the Emergency Planning Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), section 313 toxic chemical list. This is in response to a petition filed by the Fertilizer Institute (TFI) that was denied by EPA. TFI challenged the agency's denial in the US District Court for DC, and won, thereby reversing the denial. The
comment period ended on February 7, 2000.
Other Legislation
Electricity Deregulation
At the end of last year, House Commerce Committee Chairman Tom Bliley (R-VA) sought written comments from a variety of players in the electricity deregulation debate on the bill passed by the Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX). However, Mr. Bliley is refusing at this point to scale back the legislation to increase its chances of approval this year.
Even those who favor federal electricity deregulation see an uphill struggle to make something happen this year. Several say the key is getting the support of ranking member John Dingell (D-MI), who has not been supportive of moving the bill forward. He contends that electricity deregulation is a tough issue that cannot be easily resolved. "Several questions need to be answered before deregulating the electric power industry," he recently stated. "Stranded costs, reliability and the role of public power in a competitive market must be addressed, along with what to do with states that have already
deregulated and whether or not to let utilities in closed states compete in open states," he added.
However, Mr. Barton predicted that the bill will pass Congress this year. He said that Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX) and Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-TX) are both committed to moving it forward. On the Senate side, Energy Committee Chairman Frank Murkowski (R-AS) introduced his electricity deregulation bill. He is expected to begin hearings on it
in March, and may try to move the bill forward soon after that.
Patients' Bill of Rights
House Majority Leader Dick Armey predicted that Congress will pass a patients' bill of rights this spring and send it to President Clinton by April 23. He added that by addressing it as soon as possible, "Republicans can seize the political high ground on a hot campaign issue" while at the same time pass a version more in tune with traditional Republican beliefs. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) hopes to have a bill to Clinton by Easter.
The Senate and House conference committee set up to draft a bill, agreeable to both sides, has begun its preliminary work. These members will be concentrating on three areas of contention: hundreds of new mandates (Opponents argue the bill will impose 400 new federal mandates and employee health plans and other private health entities.); increased authority for the Labor Department; and medical errors.
It is estimated that the House-passed version could cause up to 1.4 million people to lose their health insurance in one year, according to analysis released by the Employment Policy Foundation. It could also cost employers annually up to $58.5 billion, and households covered by managed care up to $16.8 billion in increased premium costs.
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