When it comes to lawmaking, US congressmen often act like college students. They procrastinate, lose concentration easily, and wait until the last minute to get anything done.
Sept. 11 temporarily changed that. Congress quickly responded to the White House's request for money to help rebuild New York City and bolster antiterrorism measures.
A few weeks later, the campus that is Capitol Hill is slowly returning back to a normal rhythm. That means lawmakers are trying to cram in as many pieces of their favorite legislation as they can before the holidays. And with the White House and Congress agreeing generally to ignore budget guidelines for national security reasons, lawmakers are more aggressive than usual this time of year.
Security dividends
Expanding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is an example. For years, Department of Energy security experts wanted to expand the stockpile to 1 billion bbl. But even the SPR's biggest Capitol Hill supporters ignored that request because of the huge costs involved: an estimated $3-6 billion to purchase the oil and at least another $1 billion to add 300 million bbl of new capacity.
Yet an SPR expansion, which could be filled with oil from public lands, is now under serious consideration (OGJ Online, Sept. 27, and Oct. 1, 2001).
The White House may also give its blessing to another previously politically shaky proposal to give inde- pendents $8 billion in new tax incentives.
Bread and butter
Meanwhile, some industry groups are cautioning policymakers to also stay focused on the less glamorous issues that don't steal the headlines in the hometown papers. The Inter- state Natural Gas Association of America Sept. 28 gave the Depart- ment of Transportation and lawmakers 48 items on pipeline safety it wants addressed immediately.
The Senate last winter passed a bill reauthorizing the Pipeline Safety Act through fiscal 2003. Under the bill, DOT's Office of Pipeline Safety would have a stronger enforcement role and could impose tougher penalties, along with bolstered state and local oversight. The House did not act, although the Republican leadership said before Sept. 11 that it wanted to pass a bill. Democrats then had wanted to see mandated federal inspections and more public disclosures of accidents.
Now, pipeline operators are hoping a new pipeline safety bill will pass, either alone or as part of another bill. A revised bill would address existing safety concerns but have a new emphasis on a coordinated effort between industry and government to better deal with security threats.
When Congress will consider pipeline safety, SPR expansion, or tax incentives is not yet clear. Lawmakers say they want to finish spending bills that fund the government by mid-October.
Congressional leaders are still gauging the mood of voters and the White House on how long they should stay beyond that time (see related story, p. 22).
