This monthly review goes out to members of the AGI Government Affairs Program (GAP) Advisory Committee, the leadership of AGI's member societies, and other interested geoscientists as part of a continuing effort to improve communications between GAP and the geoscience community that it serves.
Crunch Time for FY2001 Appropriations
More National Monuments Under Consideration
Both VP Candidates Familiar With Value of Geosciences
President Establishes National Oceans Commission
Revival of Regulatory Interest in Asbestos Continues
Unabated
Verardo To Provide GSA With Washington Presence
Schedule of Upcoming GAP Activities
New Material on Web Site
********************
Crunch Time for FY 2001 Appropriations
Congress will return from the August recess next week to pick up where
they left off in July - preparing the remaining eleven appropriation bills.
This year's end game is likely to be spirited, especially since the White
House Office of Management and Budget has issued a veto threat on nearly
all the remaining appropriation bills. The Agriculture, Interior and Related
Agencies, and the Labor/HHS appropriation bills are awaiting Conference
Committee action. Most likely, these bills will be among the first
up for consideration. The Senate still needs to vote on the Commerce
and the Energy & Water appropriations bills before the two chambers
can begin conference committee consideration.
The VA/HUD Appropriations bill, which includes funding for the NSF, NASA, and EPA, still awaits consideration by the Senate Appropriations Committee. Senators Kit Bond (R-MO) and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) -- the Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Senate VA/HUD Appropriations Subcommittee -- have signed up twenty senators so far in their effort to generate support for doubling the NSF budget over the next five years.
If science programs are to be successful in receiving allocations even close to the record budget requests, scientists need to contact their senators and representatives in the coming weeks about the value of federal investments in science. AGI encourages the members of its member societies to contact their congressional delegation and make the case. More on appropriations at http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis106/appropsfy2001.html.
More National Monuments Under Consideration
On August 11th, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt recommended the creation
of a new national monument in Arizona and the expansion of an existing
monument in Idaho. The Vermilion Cliffs National Monument on the Colorado
Plateau in northern Arizona covers nearly 300,000 acres near the Grand
Canyon. Cited as a geologic treasure, the area also contains a number of
ancestral human sites. The second proposed site would increase Craters
of the Moon National Monument to nearly 12 times its original size. Created
by President Coolidge in 1924, Craters of the Moon preserves a portion
of the largest young basaltic lava field in the conterminous United States.
The additional lava flows, like the current monument, would be managed
by the National Park Service. Vermilion Cliffs would be managed by the
Bureau of Land Management. The Department of the Interior website at http://www.doi.gov/news/monument811.htm
provides a full description and maps of the proposed monuments. According
to EENews, Clinton has used his presidential powers under the 1906 Antiquities
Act to expand one national monument and designate ten others. More at http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis106/natmon.html.
Both VP Candidates Familiar With Value of Geosciences
The major political news in August flowed from the conventions and
the selection of vice presidential candidates. Both Texas Governor George
W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore picked running mates who have considerable
knowledge of the role played by the geosciences in society. Bush's choice,
Richard Cheney, comes out of the oil patch, having headed up Halliburton,
one of the largest oil-service companies, for the past six years. In recent
years, he has been a vocal proponent of normalizing relations with Iran,
a move that would have major implications for the future of Caspian Sea
oil pipelines. Senator Joe Lieberman has been a vocal proponent of scientific
research, leading the bipartisan charge for doubling federal investment
in research. Lieberman is a founding member of the Senate Science and Technology
Caucus. Lieberman's interest in science extends to his staff, where he
has been one of the most prolific users of congressional science fellows,
often taking two a year. Three of the past six Geological Society of America
fellows have worked for Lieberman, and he currently has AAAS fellow Christy
Johnson, also a geoscientist, on staff.
President Establishes National Oceans Commission
President Clinton signed the Oceans Acts of 2000 (S. 2327) into law
on August 7th with Martha Vineyard as the backdrop. The law establishes
the Commission on Ocean Policy, which will review current federal ocean
policies and activities in order to prepare a report on recommendations
for a "coordinated and comprehensive national ocean policy." The
16-member commission -- appointed by congressional leadership and the president
-- will consist of representatives of state and local government, academia,
ocean-related industries, and the conservation and scientific communities.
Recommendations for a national ocean policy are to promote: coastal hazards
mitigation, coastal resources stewardship, protection against coastal pollution,
expansion of our understanding of the oceans, incorporation of marine-related
commerce and the private sector in sustainable use of ocean resources,
investments in ocean technologies, coordination of federal and private
activities, and help for the U.S. to maintain its leadership in ocean and
coastal activities. An American Geophysical Union ASLA on the new
law is at http://www.agu.org/cgi-bin/asla/asla-list?read=2000-19.msg.
More on S. 2327 and other oceans legislation at http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis106/oceans.html.
Revival of Regulatory Interest in Asbestos Continues
Unabated
The recent revelations about Libby, Montana -- where vermiculite mining
has been linked to nearly 200 asbestos-related fatalities -- have produced
a renaissance of interest in asbestos toxicity. Following the Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) lead, two agencies in the Department of Labor
have launched investigations into why the federal government, which knew
about the dangerous levels of asbestos in the vermiculite ore since the
1980's, did nothing to warn the mine workers or Libby residents about the
health risks. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
and Mining Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), as well as EPA, performed
several inspections at that time, but only the owner of the mine, W.R.
Grace Co. was informed.
In related news, asbestos made headlines in California in late July. The state's Air Resources Board unanimously decided to ban the use of asbestos-containing rock for walking or driving surfaces. Because asbestos has been found in serpentine deposits, the board also ruled that all ultramafic rocks must be tested for asbestos fibers. Local mining and construction industries protested the move, and a spokesman for the Construction Materials Association of California noted that there is no evidence that all ultramafic rocks have asbestos fibers in them. More at http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis106/asbestos.html.
On another front, MSHA has announced that it expects to propose a standard this coming February on respirable crystalline silica. Some experts predict that increased regulation of crystalline silica could make the asbestos litigation caseload pale in comparison. The MSHA rulemaking comes as several state and federal agencies are giving heightened scrutiny to silica as a carcinogen. The original announcement can be found at http://www.msha.gov/regs/unified/1219%2Dab12.htm.
Verardo To Provide GSA With Washington Presence
On August 18th, GSA Chief Science Officer Cathleen May announced that
David Verardo will be working with GSA Headquarters "to implement a program
in public service and policy that is consistent with the historical roots,
traditions, and values of GSA." In addition to serving as a policy advisor
to GSA, Verardo will provide a local contact for the GSA/USGS fellow and
will represent GSA at science and policy meetings in the Washington D.C.
area. Verardo was the 1997-1998 GSA/USGS Congressional Science Fellow,
working in the office of Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR). Thanks to Verardo's efforts,
Sen. Wyden issued a statement endorsing the inaugural Earth Science Week.
Prior to coming to Washington, Verardo was on the faculty at the University
of Virginia and served for several years as the Association of Engineering
Geologists' representative to AGI's Government Affairs Advisory Committee.
Since his fellowship, Verardo has worked for the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change, overseeing development of a scientific and technical
assessment of the role of land use, land-use changes, and forestry in climate
change mitigation.
Schedule of Upcoming GAP Activities
| Sept. 13 | NASULGC Mineral/Energy Mtg. | Washington DC |
| Oct. 10-14 | AIPG National Meeting | Milwaukee WI |
| Nov. 11-16 | GSA Annual Meeting | Reno NV |
New Material on Web Site
The following updates and reports were added to the Government Affairs
portion of AGI's web site http://www.agiweb.org
since the last monthly update:
Sources: American Geophysical Union, Coalition for National Science Funding, Energy and Environment News, Federal Register, Geological Society of America, Library of Congress, Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Please send any comments or requests for information to AGI Government Affairs Program at govt@agiweb.org.
Posted August 31, 2000
<?include("../agifooter.html")?>