Congressional Briefs: Lee Blasts Bush for Blocking California's Car Emissions Rule

Dec. 24, 2007, 10:40 a.m. - Shocked by the White House and the EPA denying California's waiver to more aggressively curb car emissions, U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (Democrat, Oakland California) issued the following statement:

"This is irresponsible energy and environmental policy and shows where the Bush administration's priorities are not. How can President Bush stand so boldly with special interests, while cowardly blocking proactive efforts to protect our environment and leave behind a cleaner world for our children and grandchildren?

"The Clean Air Act gives California the authority to set stronger standards. The California plan has more aggressive timelines to reverse nearly seven years of environmental neglect and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in cars. That is the right approach."

Norton's Subcommittee Sets Ambitious Requirements for Federal and Commercial Sectors in Energy Legislation Signed into Law

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (Democrat, DC), who is leading federal sector energy conservation and renewable efforts, called the energy bill signed by the President this week "only the first payment on our efforts to 'green' the federal government that could reverberate throughout the country in local communities." Norton's Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management contributed sections in the bill on federal and commercial buildings that have "tandem effects," Norton said, "because the federal government has the largest footprint in the private leasing market in the United States. In as much as the federal sector dominates the leasing market in the District in particular, Norton will announce a greening D.C. initiative next year to invigorate the federal leadership role in energy conservation and renewable technologies and in the use of other greening strategies, such as green roofs, tree planting and requiring nationally recognized "LEED" standards (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) in all new construction and when major replacements and repairs are done.

The energy bill requires a 30 per cent energy reduction in federal buildings by 2015. The bill also requires designated managers in every federal building to analyze energy and water consumption and to retrofit buildings to expand energy technologies that the manager recommends within two years of analysis. Norton said she believes the commercial sector can meet these standards as well because private owners and leasers are driven by higher energy costs that are cutting severely into profits and increasing the cost of doing business. Moreover, Norton will introduce legislation next year that will require energy standards in competition for federal leases, which many developers desire. She also will press for more specific guidance for the private sector through two offices authorized for the Energy Department in the legislation – an Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and an Office of High Performance Green Buildings.

Beginning at home, the bill signed into law this week includes a number of mandates to the Architect of the Capitol to green the Capitol complex. Norton has had many allies in her efforts to replace the coal burning Capitol power plant, but "this major contributor to carbon emissions in this city remains in use because of a few Senators from coal producing states," she said. However, to reduce the harmful emissions, the bill requires the installation of technologies to capture and then either store or use the carbon dioxide.

The Architect of the Capitol must use energy efficient policies and other environmental measures throughout the Capitol complex. The bill authorizes a study to install a photovoltaic roof on the Rayburn House Office Building like the one that was authorized and funded for the Department of Energy buildings here, the subcommittee's first energy conservation provision passed under Norton earlier this year.

Cummings Invites Brian Roberts to Join Steroid Education Campaign

Following the admission of steroid use by Baltimore Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts, U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (Maryland /Democrat), co-founder and Chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Drug Policy, sent a letter requesting that Roberts partner with him in Powered by ME!, an awareness campaign aimed at teaching youth about the dangers of anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing substances (text of the letter below).

"While we are all guilty of making mistakes, what distinguishes a hero is the acknowledgment of those mistakes and the commitment to learn from them," said Cummings, a senior member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. "The courage and integrity demonstrated by Brian Roberts in his admission to his past steroid use speaks volumes about his character, and I am hopeful that he will use the lesson from this mistake to prevent his young fans from making a similar error that could put their health at serious risk."

According to a national survey sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 16 high school students reported ever using illegal steroids in 2003, a nearly three-fold increase from 1 in 45 who reported steroid use in 1993. Experts have estimated that more than 500,000 high school students in the U.S. have used steroids.

Anabolic steroids pose special medical risks to youth—by interrupting normal hormone levels, the drugs can send a signal to the bones to stop growing, stunting growth and leading to serious psychiatric disorders. Steroid use among teenagers also is associated with a range of potentially dangerous behaviors, including risky sexual activities, carrying a weapon, and driving under the influence of alcohol.

"The ripple effect caused by steroid abuse in professional sports extends far beyond the individual user and questions of fairness in the game," Cummings said. "When the issue of steroid abuse is kept quiet, it is our young people—trying to emulate these professional athletes—who suffer. Brian Roberts has a great opportunity to put an end to the perpetuation of the myth in baseball that steroids are not only acceptable, but also safe, and it is my hope that he will join me in this effort."

Powered by ME! is a unique campaign in the Baltimore area developed by St. Joseph Medical Center in conjunction with Cummings along with a number of partners and volunteer experts—including athletes, coaches, and medical professionals—focused on educating middle and high school students, parents, coaches, and teachers about the serious side effects, dangers, and alternatives to anabolic steroids and supplements.

"This is a very good plan, taking many of the common sense steps that are necessary to protect new families from falling prey to abusive lending practices and helping to prevent the mess within the subprime industry from continuing to drag down our economy," Cummings said. "However, we must be sure to approach this beast from all necessary angles—which means not turning our backs on the nightmare being faced by the millions of hardworking families already in danger of losing their homes as the result of past predatory lending."

The Fed's proposal will use its authority under the Home Ownership Equity Protection Act of 1994 (HOEPA) to enact several safeguards to protect the riskiest borrowers. These safeguards include the following measures recommended by Cummings in a letter sent to the Federal Reserve Chairman on May 15:

Additionally, the plan includes a provision from a resolution introduced by Cummings that was passed in the House this summer, prohibiting payments to brokers without certain disclosures being provided to borrowers in a timely fashion (H.Res.526).

"The effects of the subprime mortgage crisis are rippling throughout our entire economy—most recently visible in the release of figures showing the construction of new homes to be at its lowest level in 16 years," Cummings said. "People are losing not only their jobs and their homes, but their hopes and dreams as well. We must continue working together at all levels of government to save American families and as well as our economy."

However, in what Norton believes will be a temporary set back, the appropriators removed funding for many provisions in the President's budget, including funding for the headquarters of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), although work to ready the site has begun on the West Campus of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. President Bush refused to bargain concerning an extra $11 billion Democrats put in the appropriations bills this year, and appropriators responded by removing many provisions funded in his budget, including DHS headquarters. However, Norton has found a way to move forward with the headquarters site, which has strong bipartisan support in the House and Senate, and the strong support of four committees – the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the House Committee on Homeland Security, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Because the approach Norton contemplates would save the government millions of dollars as construction proceeds on the site, she believes the project could still be funded and move without significant delay. She has begun discussions concerning this possibility.

The omnibus bill also contains language recognizing the urgent need to move faster to reduce the District's high AIDS rate. The House and Senate appropriations committees called on the President to "allocate money to help solve D.C.'s high rates of HIV and AIDS in his 2009 budget." Norton had been successful in getting the House to attach a rider for a substantial raise voted by the D.C. Council for the Chief Financial Officer, but the provision was eliminated in the final omnibus following the emergence of the tax and revenue office scandal. No other provisions were removed, but like virtually everything else in this year's omnibus, most other items were cut somewhat, but not substantially.