12.08.14

House poised to pass water, parks bills

E&E News
By Annie Synder
December 8, 2014

The House is slated to vote on a handful of watershed, public lands and propane bills before closing out the session this week.

Among the measures is Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner's "Chesapeake Bay Accountability and Recovery Act," S. 1000, passed unanimously by the Senate last week. The bill is aimed at boosting coordination and communication around efforts in the sprawling watershed, which is currently undertaking a landmark U.S. EPA-led cleanup effort (E&ENews PM, Dec. 2).

The House has already passed versions of a similar measure from Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) and is expected to easily clear the measure on a suspension vote this week. Measures considered under suspension of the rules, a procedure typically reserved for noncontroversial bills, require a two-thirds vote to pass.

The House also is likely to approve Ohio Republican Rep. David Joyce's H.R. 5764, to reauthorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative for five years.

The popular initiative drew increased attention this year after a harmful algal bloom on Lake Erie shut down the water intake to the city of Toledo for a weekend. Joyce's measure would reauthorize the program at $300 million annually -- roughly what it has drawn in appropriations in recent years.

Also up for suspension votes in the lower chamber this week are:

  • H.R. 5086, from Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.), to direct the Interior secretary to conduct a study on whether to incorporate the Chief Standing Bear National Historic Trail into the National Trail System.
  • H.R. 5699, from Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), to expand the John Muir National Historic Site outside of San Francisco.
  • H.R. 5701, from House Natural Resources Committee ranking member Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), to designate additional tribal lands in western Oregon.
  • H.R. 5705, from Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio), to change the way the Commerce Department calculates consumer propane costs and encourage the propane industry to mitigate price spikes.