Laserfiche WebLink
<br />, ...... <br />..... <br /> <br />7A <br />FEDERAL UPDATE from page 15 ...................................... p.age 16 <br /> <br />Yeas (24) <br /> <br />Nays (29) <br /> <br />Saca <br />Bilbray <br />Bono <br />Calvert <br />Campbell <br />Cardoza <br />Costa <br />Doolittle <br />Dreier <br />Filner <br />Gallegly <br />Herger <br />Hunter <br />Issa <br />Lewis <br />Lungren <br />McKeon <br />Gary Miller <br />Nunes <br />Pombo <br />Radanovich <br />Rohrabacher <br />Royce <br />Thomas <br /> <br />Becerra <br />Berman <br />Capps <br />Davis <br />Eshoo <br />Farr <br />Harman <br />Honda <br />Lantos <br />Lee <br />Lofgren <br />Matsui <br />Millender-McDonald <br />George Miller <br />Napolitano <br />Pelosi <br />Roybal-Allard <br />Loretta Sanchez <br />Linda Sanchez <br />Schiff <br />Sherman <br />Solis <br />. Stark <br />Tauscher <br />Thompson <br />Waters <br />Watson <br />Waxman <br />Woolsey <br /> <br />Water Projecis Bill Awaits Action in <br />Post-Election Session <br /> <br />House and Senate conferees failed to reach <br />agreement on the long-awaited re-authorizatlon of <br />the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) <br />prior to adjourning for the October recess. The bill in <br />conference would authorize the Army Corps of <br />Engineers to undertake hundreds of navigation, flood <br />controi, dredging and other water projects. The <br />White House has raised concerns over the cost of <br />the legislation, though it has not threatened to veto <br />the bill. <br /> <br />Conference discussions remain stalled over <br />how projects are reviewed and approved, and what <br />oversight should be imposed on the Corps. Similar <br />disagreements have stalled efforts to pass a water <br />projects authorization bill for several years. None <br />has been enacted since 2000 (PL 106-541). Con- <br />ferees remain hopeful that they will be able to reach <br />agreement on these outstanding issues and present <br />a final conference report for House and Senate floor <br />approval when Members return in November for the <br />brief post-election session. <br /> <br />Senate Approves New Transportation <br />Secretary <br /> <br />On September 30, the Senate confirmed Mary <br />E. Peters as Transportation Secretary. The former <br />head of the Federal Highway Administration. Peters <br />helped negotiate last year's the Safe, Accountable, <br />Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy <br />for Users (SAFETEA-LU; PL 109-59), and will be the <br />second woman ever to lead the Transportation <br />Department. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) was the <br />first female Transportation Secretary, and led the <br />department from 1983 to 1987. <br /> <br />Peters headed the Federal Highway Administra- <br />tion from 2001 through 2005 and the Arizona Depart- <br />ment of Transportation from 1998 through 2001. <br />During her time as highway administrator, she was <br />an outspoken supporter of increasing private invest- <br />ment in public roads, an affinity she recently reiter- <br />ated. Since 2005 she has been the national director <br />for transportation policy and consulting at the archi- <br />tectural, engineering and consulting firm HDR Inc. <br /> <br />Peters, a Republican, will replace Norman <br />Mineta, the nation's longest-serving Transportation <br />Secretary and the lone Democrat in President <br />Bush's cabinet, who stepped down on July 7. <br />Although Peters garnered bipartisan praise at her <br />September 20 nomination hearing, senators did <br />seek assurances that she would support transporta- <br />tion policies important to each of them. Sen.Frank <br />Lautenberg (D-N.J.), urged Peters to ensure that the <br />administration adequately supports all forms of <br />transportation, particularly rail. <br /> <br />PAGE 16. PRIORITY FOCUS <br />October 6. 2006 . Issue #39 <br /> <br />Visit the League's Official Website..www.caclties.org <br />