K Street in Brief

A flood of requests 

Climate change is likely to have a big impact on water resources, and water utility companies want to make sure a global warming bill doesn’t overlook their needs.

Changing precipitation patterns caused by global warming “may result in more severe drought or floods, changing snowpack amount and elevation, varying stream flow patterns, and rising sea levels along the coasts,” according to eight water groups.

{mosads}The groups want some of the money generated under the sale of emissions allowances to help drinking water, storm water, flood management and wastewater utilities to adapt to the changing climate.

“For example, we anticipate that potential public health risks could result from higher water temperatures breeding higher concentrations of certain organisms,” the letter states.

Dan Hartnett of the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies said warming temperatures could also increase precipitation levels in certain parts of the country, stressing the ability of local governments or private water utilities to handle the resulting storm water runoff.

Water resource issues aren’t adequately addressed in the climate bill co-authored by Sens. John Warner (R-Va.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Hartnett said. That bill is expected to be on the Senate floor once lawmakers return from the Memorial Day recess.

The groups also want Congress to spend more to study how global warming will affect water resources and also how much water will be used by other efforts to mitigate climate change — i.e., producing more biofuels and sequestering carbon dioxide from coal and natural-gas utilities.

The Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, Water Utility Climate Alliance, Water Environment Federation, American Water Works Association, National Association of Water Companies, Western Urban Water Coalition, National Association of Clean Water Agencies, and the National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies signed the letter.

Jim Snyder

Oink, oink 

A budget watchdog group found plenty of pork in the House defense authorization bill. Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS), a nonpartisan organization, uncovered 546 earmarks worth $9.9 billion in the bill, which is slated for a floor vote this week.

The number of earmarks has increased slightly from last year’s 502 projects worth $8.4 billion, according to TCS.

The bulk of the earmarked money, or $7.4 billion, goes to big-ticket defense projects such as Boeing’s C-17 cargo aircraft, Northrop Grumman’s LPD-17 ship, Lockheed Martin’s F-22 Raptor fighter jet and the Virginia class submarines, a project split between Northrop and General Dynamics.

Pouring money into these projects is a boon to congressional districts. But lawmakers also contend that more money for fighter jets, cargo airplanes and submarines are vital for national security.

For example, the Air Force has included the C-17s in its unfunded priorities list, which it submits to Congress every year. The Air Force has also pushed for more F-22s, over the objections of Pentagon leaders.

The Senate disclosed 435 earmarks worth $5.2 billion in its 2009 version of the defense authorization bill. It is unclear when the Senate will vote on the bill. Last year, the Senate disclosed 309 earmarks worth $5.6 billion, but TCS found an additional 90 earmarks, bringing the Senate’s total to $13 billion.

Roxana Tiron

Survey says? Energy costs a concern 

DLA Piper, a large legal and lobbying firm, surveyed its extensive client base recently to get a sense of how business executives feel about the economy.

The answer? Not great.

“Over half of respondents (53 percent) demonstrated a negative outlook for the U.S. economy in the second half of 2008,” according to DLA.

Oil prices were cited as having the greatest negative impact on the business climate.

The survey was conducted by DLA’s government affairs practice. Its co-chairman, Jim Blanchard, the former Democratic governor of Michigan, said he was surprised oil prices outweighed other factors like the credit crisis, foreign competition or the devaluation of the dollar.

The survey asked what was the major issue the next Congress should focus on. Given the concerns about oil prices, the item on the top of the wish list isn’t surprising: 54 percent of respondents said energy policy was the No. 1 issue Congress should tackle next year.

DLA’s lobbying clients include Comcast, eBay, Lockheed Martin, Merrill Lynch and Verizon.

 J.S.
 

Christian groups call for immigration reform

A coalition of Christian groups is calling on lawmakers to reform immigration laws in light of a raid by federal authorities on an Iowa meatpacking plant.

Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform said children and other relatives of immigrants arrested in the raid were left abandoned. About 400 workers at the Agriprocessor plant in Postville, Iowa, were arrested last week.

The coalition has released a video of interviews of Postville residents on the website www.sojo.net/immigration . In the video, immigrants relate their stories on how they have been affected by the raid.

The Senate took up comprehensive immigration reform last year, but the effort failed to win sufficient votes to move forward. A variety of smaller bills relating to temporary workers are being pushed by a number of business lobbies.

But the broader effort to provide a path to legal status for illegal immigrants now in the country is unlikely to be brought up again before the election.

Kevin Bogardus