All eyes on the prize

With Congress working on an extremely tight schedule to pass 10 spending bills before the end of the month, local government officials are closely watching several pieces of legislation that could significantly affect their constituencies. For example, Congress will be considering 2007 funding for the Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), a program the Bush administration has proposed cutting by $1 billion. Efforts to reduce funding for those programs last year were successfully overturned by local governments and other CDBG proponents.

Both the Senate and House versions have “an increase over last year,” says Donald Borut, executive director of the Washington-based National League of Cities (NLC). The House-approved bill sets the CDBG 2007 funding at $4.2 billion, with $3.9 billion available for formula grants. A Senate committee's version places CDBG funding at $4.2 billion, with $4.1 billion for formula grants. The support from Congress for the program “shows the importance of CDBG for infrastructure in our communities,” says Blue Earth County, Minn., Commissioner Colleen Landkamer. “We're fortunate that the House and Senate both feel it's an important program,” says Landkamer, who also serves as president of the Washington-based National Association of Counties (NACo).

Borut says NLC lobbyists and city officials will be tracking the legislation to make sure those increases remain in the version that is passed by both houses. “We expect because of the short session and because of the election, [some of these bills] will get put off, so they may be included in an omnibus spending bill” that would be considered in the lame-duck session, he says. That scenario could become a problem if Congress does not address each bill but votes on a percentage cut for every program, Borut adds.

Funding for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program for non-taxable, federally owned land also is in jeopardy, according to Ed Rosado, NACo's legislative director. The Bush administration proposed cutting $35 million for the program, which was funded at $233 million in fiscal year 2006. The House has passed a bill funding the 2007 program at $244 million, while a Senate committee approved $235 million.

Congressional reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act also is important, Rosado says, because it compensates counties with federal land for royalties lost after regulations caused reductions in logging. “With funding so tight, they may just do a one-year extension,” he says.

Local governments are extremely concerned about several revisions to the Telecommunications Act of 1996. In June, the House passed a telecom overhaul bill, and Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, is pushing for a floor vote on a version he developed. “The House version creates very serious problems for local governments,” such as not requiring commercial providers to provide service to all parts of a city, Borut says. “We are hoping for an amendment that would require [the build-out requirement].”

Landkamer adds that the impacts of the rewrite are huge. “I don't think anybody realizes the far reaching impacts that bill would have,” she says.

The author is the Washington correspondent for American City & County.