Government Affairs Update - October 2002
Congress leaves town for the election break.
Congress recessed until November 12 without passing any
appropriations bills and without passing the Department of Homeland Security
bill. Congress did, however, pass a continuing resolution before they left
which keeps the federal government funded until November 22.
Coalition for Outsourcing and Privatization
Recently, Laurence Socci attended a meeting of the Coalition
for Outsourcing and Privatization (COP) to discuss issues important to the
coalition. At the meeting, the coalition discussed the Treasury/Postal
appropriations which contain a TRAC like amendment sponsored by Representative
James Moran (D-VA) and Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND). The coalition also
discussed Circular A-76 revisions. The revisions will follow closely the
recommendations released this year by the Commercial Activities panel to move
to a process based more on the Federal Acquisition Regulation. FAR covers the
process used to buy commercial products and services from the private sector.
The coalition is preparing some post-election activities and will be writing
White Papers on TRAC, A-76 and outsourcing for the incoming 108th Congress.
Department of Interior “First Friday” Meetings
Laurence Socci has been attending regular meetings at the
Department of Interior and participating in the Department’s First Friday
programs. These programs are designed by the Department to allow organizations
that have an interest in the business of the Department (like ACSM) to meet
some of the key people in the Department on a variety of levels. Last month,
Jeff Jarret, the director of surface mining was the speaker. Next month, the
speaker will be John Keys, Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation.
These meetings give us the opportunity to improve our
relationship with the Department.
FEMA Flood Map Modernization Coalition
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on VA-HUD marked up
their appropriations bill on October 7. The Subcommittee provided $200 million
for flood map modernization. It breaks the funds down further saying that $75
million should be used for “basin-wide” analysis and $45 million should be
dedicated for use with State and local communities to build on local knowledge
capabilities through Cooperating Technical Partnership Agreements.
Additionally, $2 million is earmarked for the NY Department of Environmental
Conservation for the NY Flood Plain Mapping and $2 million is earmarked to
continue the Louisana pilot project for two foot contour mapping. $250,000 is
to made available for the Canaan Valley Institute to develop flood plane maps
of West Virginia for unmapped areas or to update existing maps. The Committee
urged FEMA to partner with the Alabama Department of Revenue to further develop
the Alabama state-wide GIS initiative.
Department of Homeland Security
Laurence Socci recently attended a luncheon with Mark
Holman, Deputy Assistant to the President for Homeland Security. In addition to
being one of the principal advisor to Director Tom Ridge, Holman oversees the
external affairs team which includes intergovernmental affairs, public liaison,
congressional affairs and communications. During the luncheon, Holman discussed
the need for remote sensing and geospatial activities in the new Department of Homeland
Security. He talked about how combining geospatial digital information tools,
including remote sensing and satellite imagery technology, can assist efforts
to model threat prevention and response scenarios and build baselines of normal
activities and detect deviations from the norm. Holman suggested that we meet
with the Office of Management and Budget, in addition to his staff to further
discuss how we and our members can play a role in the development of the
Department.
Department of Homeland Security, Part II --- the Allard
Amendment
As you may know from other updates, Senator Wayne Allard
introduced an amendment to the Department of Homeland Security Bill, HR 5005,
which gives certain duties to the Chief Information Officer relating to GIS
matters. The Senate will not be getting back to the Homeland Security debate
until late November, Senator Allard will introduce the amendment formally at
that time. In the meantime, we need to show Congress that we support the
Senator’s amendment. You will receive an e-mail soon with instructions on how
we can help push the amendment through. Thanks in advance for your help.
Pipeline Infrastructure Protection to Enhance Security and
Safety Act
A bill recently passed the House and was referred to the
Senate, called the Pipeline Infrastructure Protection to Enhance Security and
Safety Act. The bill amends federal transportation law to require participation
by government operators as well as government and contract excavators for a
State one-call notification program to qualify for a federal grant. The bill
requires State one-call programs to document benefits of one-call notification
programs, costs of implementing them, and certain specified risks of
implementing such programs. The bill also directs the Secretary of
Transportation to encourage States, operators of one-call programs, excavators,
and underground facility operators to abide by the practices outlined in the
“Common Ground” best practices report.
The bill has several sections that are relevant to ACSM.
Section 3 permits states to enforce a requirement of a one-call program if the
program meets specified requirements under federal law. The bill adds
government employees and contractors among persons required to contact an
operator of a pipeline facility prior to engaging in any activity that the
Secretary has determined may cause damage to the pipeline. It modifies language
to hold individuals responsible for certain damages even if the damage was not
caused “knowingly and willfully”.
Section 13 requires operators of pipeline facilities to
provide to the Secretary certain specified information, including geospatial
data appropriate for use in the National Pipeline Mapping System or data that
can readily be converted to such data. Requires operators to provide to the
Secretary periodic updates of the specified information to reflect changes and
other information as required by the Secretary. Permits the Secretary to
provide technical assistance to State and local officials to improve local
response capabilities for pipeline emergencies by using information in the
National Pipeline Mapping System.
ACSM Sends Comments to HUD Regarding RESPA
In response to a Federal Register posting dealing with the
Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), ACSM has sent comments to HUD
focusing on the consumer’s need to be educated during the settlement process.
The Federal Register posting, entitled “Simplifying and
Improving the Process of Obtaining Mortgages to Reduce Settlement Costs to
Consumers”, discusses a number options for accomplishing that goal. Among those
options is the packaging of a variety of products and services within a Good
Faith Estimate (GFE) of total settlement costs.
ACSM’s comments state that any efforts to make the
settlement process easier and more understandable for the consumer should
include full disclosure to the consumer regarding owner’s title insurance and
the benefits of a survey. The ACSM comments point out that these two are
linked, and that consumers are often confused about what they actually are
receiving for their money. Specifically, that the consumer often believes that
a survey has been provided when in fact a copy of a previous survey is used, or
some other document is used to satisfy the lender’s needs, but that may not be relied
upon for the consumer’s needs.
ACSM suggests that HUD utilize a form regarding surveys,
similar to the one currently included in settlement packages for home
inspections. The form would inform the consumer of the benefits provided by a
survey, not only for settlement purposes, but also for other purposes after the
closing.
Laurence Socci is in the process of seeking a meeting with
HUD to discuss, and assist with the development, of the proposed form.
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS LINKS AND INFORMATION
Federal Government Resources on the Web:
United States Senate - http://www.senate.gov
U.S. House of Representatives (House Web Server) - http://www.house.gov
Status of Legislation (Library of Congress) - http://thomas.loc.gov
Who is my Representative in Congress? - http://www.vote-smart.org
Email Your Member of Congress Today! http://www.MrSmith.com
Official U.S. Executive Branch Web Sites: http://lcweb.loc.gov/global/executive/fed.html
The White House - http://www.whitehouse.gov