Federal Update for April 2009

APPROPRIATIONS  FY ’09

Tribal efforts were successful in the restoration of the Pacific Salmon Treaty funding for FY09 in its entirety ($1.772m)–a significant accomplishment with a coordinated effort from the NWIFC delegation, Columbia River Inter-tribal Fish Commission and Chairman Ron Allen.  A lot of credit for this success goes to Mary Jane Miller of the BIA Central Office who was able to secure these funds and OMB support, a challenging task. With the restoration of these funds, the FY ’09 BIA Fish and Wildlife Fund is at the FY ’08 level, with the exception of a $500,000 increase for hatchery maintenance.

NOAA’s approved spending plan included an increase to $80 million for the PCSRF in FY09, (the previous amount was $67 million), which will likely result in an increased tribal allocation. The State of Nevada is now being added to the mix to get salmon into the Owyhee watershed.  Bringing Nevada into the picture, which should have little impact on funding in other states, was essentially a result of a deal between Sen. Patty Murray, D-WA and Sen. Harry Reid, D-NV. The original authorizing language has also changed. Previously the language provided funds to support salmon habitat restoration, salmon stock enhancement, salmon research and supplementation activities.  New language is more directed toward providing funds to support ESA, tribal treaty fishing rights and habitat restoration.  This will probably affect Alaska more than other states.

FISH AND WILDLIFE AND THE STIMULUS BILLS The following additions, among others, are currently included: Department of Agriculture: $50 million for watershed rehabilitation programs; NOAA: $400 million for habitat restoration and mitigation activities; Fish and Wildlife Service: Additional $300 million for projects on National Wildlife Refuges, National Fish Hatcheries, etc.; BIA: $500 million for critical deferred maintenance projects: EPA: An additional $8.4 billion for State and Tribal Assistance Grants for Clean Water State Revolving Funds under title VI of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, etc.; Forest Service: Additional $650 million  for reconstruction, capital improvement, decommissioning, and maintenance of forest roads, bridges and trails; alternative energy technologies, removal of fish passage barriers, watershed projects, etc.

OBAMA’S FY ’10 PRIORITIES One of President Obama’s priorities in his FY ’10 budget is, as he says, to “lay the foundation for a secure and lasting prosperity.” To help achieve that, he is proposing major investments in clean energy (as well as education and health care). “We invest in the renewable sources of energy that will lead to new jobs, new businesses, and less dependence on foreign oil,” he said recently. “And that’s what clean energy jobs and businesses will do all across America.” For more information, click on this link to his March 24 news conference:         http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51253&id=15806-5461912-f7ucBJx&t=4

With Congress pushing back against his proposals for energy and other matters, President Obama is taking a bend-but-don’t-break posture. He will compromise on certain details if he must, but not on the heart of his key initiatives. His strategic retreats are a nod to political reality. He is angling to avoid confrontations he probably can’t win, but to sacrifice no more than is absolutely necessary. On energy, for instance, influential Democratic lawmakers have joined Republicans in opposing Obama’s bid to reduce greenhouse gases through a program that would let companies buy and sell a limited number of permits to pollute. “When it comes to cap and trade,” the president said, using the proposal’s nickname, “the broader principle is that we’ve got to move to a new energy era. And that means moving away from polluting energy sources towards cleaner energy sources. I think cap and trade is the best way,” Obama said, but he stopped well short of insisting on it.

OCEANS 21, (H.R.21) Five years after the Pew Environmental Group and the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy issued reports saying the oceans are sick-enough time for significant hypoxia and toxic problems, massive fish kills and runaway acidification to compound, it appears to some that Congress may finally be poised to take some definitive action.–a statement made by Chris Mann, Director of the Campaign for Healthy Oceans for Pew’s Ocean 21 program a year ago. It was then that the U.S. House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans marked up the Ocean Conservation, Education, and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act (OCEANS 21). “To date, this bill represents the most comprehensive package of ocean conservation reforms recommended by two blue-ribbon panels. OCEANS 21 establishes a national policy to protect, maintain and restore the health of our marine ecosystems. It creates a process by which federal, state and local government (did not mention tribal) agencies can better coordinate their activities to achieve goals and milestones for improving ocean health.” He said the bill also gives NOAA, for the first time, a clear, statutory mission to carry out ocean observation, research and conservation.

“For too long, decisions affecting our oceans have been made with little regard for the health and productivity of the broader marine ecosystem. OCEANS 21 will change that,” Mann said that in April, 2008. More recently he said, “Oceans provide us the beaches and waves that Americans flock to all year round. But they also feed the world, regulate our climate, provide jobs and transportation, produce oxygen and shelter half of the world’s species. Most of us never even see below their surface, but our oceans are in a silent state of collapse. We drill them for oil and pollute them with waste. We change their temperature and chemistry through global warming and ocean acidification. We’ve pushed 75 percent of the world’s fisheries to or beyond the limits of sustainability, and 90 percent of large ocean predators have simply disappeared. Marine scientists have called the changes we are seeing in our oceans “the rise of slime”-where jellyfish, algae and bacteria take over ocean areas that no longer contain and can no longer support other forms of life. But although our oceans are in trouble, right now we have no comprehensive, national law to protect and restore them. Instead, they are managed by 140 different laws and 20 different agencies, each with diverging goals and conflicting mandates.  To save our seas, we need a Healthy Oceans Act similar to the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act.” Not long ago, Pew commenced a national campaign to encourage people to get their congressional representatives to sign on as co-sponsors of the bill, and as a result, Oceans 21 currently has 40 co-sponsors. (Although 15 of them are from California and three are from Oregon, none are from Washington.)

Now a word of some caution–Oceans-21-the Oceans Conservation, Education and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act, may be legislation in many ways long past due, but it does have some particular focus on fishing and it does propose a national network of marine protected areas. Tribal participation in the legislation may be advisable and/or needed, to assure protection of tribal fisheries management interests as well as assure tribal participation in research, monitoring and other aspects of both contemporary and traditional science related to the protection and restoration of ocean health.

ENERGY DEVELOPMENT ON THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF The fight to protect marine habitat goes on. The Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources and the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife has held a joint oversight hearing on “Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf and the Future of our Oceans.”  The purpose of the hearing was to examine how offshore energy development can co-exist with healthy, productive oceans.  Witnesses discussed efforts to plan and site future offshore oil and gas and renewable energy installations within the larger context of ocean planning (often referred to as Marine Spatial Planning).  Ironically, the hearing coincided with the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill of March 24, 1989.  Witnesses did discuss the lingering effects of that disaster, as well as other environmental concerns associated with offshore oil and gas production. Visit the Committee’s Web site to access witness testimony.

CHARGES AGAINST TED STEVENS DROPPED

The government has dropped corruption charges against former Sen. Ted Stevens, R-AK, because prosecutors withheld potentially exculpatory evidence from his lawyers. Stevens, who was convicted in late October on charges of failing to report more than $250,000 in gifts and favors on Senate financial disclosure forms, had not yet been sentenced. “I always knew that there would be a day when the cloud that surrounded me would be removed,” Stevens said. “That day has finally come.” Defense lawyer Brendan Sullivan said the case provided “a warning to everyone. Any citizen can be convicted if prosecutors are hell bent on ignoring the Constitution and willing to present false evidence.”

PUBLIC LANDS SERVICE CORPS ACT

Chairman Rep. Nick Rahall, D-WV and National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-AZ, have introduced the “Public Lands Service Corps Act of 2009″ (H.R. 1612), legislation intended to help repair and restore public lands, while employing and training thousands of young Americans and promoting a culture of public service.  The legislation would expand and reinvigorate an existing program, the Public Lands Corps, by modernizing the scope of corps projects to reflect new challenges – such as climate change – adding incentives to attract new participants, and paving the way for increased funding.  Visit Congressman Grijalva’s Web site to view the press release with additional information.

REP. DICKS: JUST PAYING HIS DUES?

Congressman Norm Dicks, D-WA, was in the news recently for getting questionable campaign checks from two supporters in Florida, a golf-club marketer and a wine steward. Details weren’t clear but the Floridians may have posed as lobbyists. Or they may have been conduits for too much campaign cash. The FBI’s on the case. Although it’s doubtful he did anything illegal, accepting funds from contributors so far away might raise a few eyebrows. But, as many know, that’s the way Congress works. It’s a fundraising machine. The heads of influential committees are expected, almost required, to raise as much money as possible from people they scarcely know. He’s literally got to pay his dues. As the chairman of a congressional subcommittee, Dicks is supposed to pay at least $250,000 in biennial dues to the group charged with electing Democrats to the U.S. House, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Last election Dicks paid $300,000-as much as on his own re-election. Higher-ranking leaders, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, owe dues up to $800,000. The fee for backbenchers starts at $125,000. (It ain’t cheap being a Congressman, especially when you start climbing the leadership ladder.)

LUBECHENCO CONFIRMED TO HEAD NOAA Oregon State University professor Jane Lubchenco, one of the nation’s most prominent marine biologists, has been confirmed as the head of NOAA. Lubchenco, a conservationist who has devoted much of her career to encouraging scientists to become more engaged in public policy debates, is also a vocal proponent of curbing greenhouse gases linked to global warming. The appointment marks a shift for NOAA, which oversees marine issues as well as much of government’s climate work. She has criticized the agency in the past for not doing enough to curb overfishing.

DORGAN SEES NO QUICK FIX FOR LAND-TO-TRUST RULING Don’t expect Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-ND to rush through a fix to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar.  Dorgan, the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, plans to hold a hearing on the decision, which restricts the land-into-trust process to tribes that were “under federal jurisdiction” in 1934. But a spokesperson said a solution won’t be coming soon. Tribes want Congress to amend the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 so that all tribes can benefit. But opponents could use a fix to try and limit tribal rights.

NATIVE WOMAN UP FOR TOP POST AT INTERIOR President Obama plans to name a Native woman to serve as the top legal official for the Interior Department, says Secretary Ken Salazar. Speaking to tribal leaders in Washington, D.C., Salazar said the expected nominee is a member of the Navajo Nation. He didn’t mention her name but sources identified her as Hilary Tompkins, a prominent attorney from New Mexico. “We are just now in the process of getting her vetted,” Salazar said at a summit held by the Council of Energy Resource Tribes. Salazar described Tompkins, who was adopted at birth, as someone Indian Country “can be very proud of.” If nominated and confirmed as Solicitor General of the Interior, Tompkins would be making history as the first woman and the first Native American to serve in the post. Tompkins currently serves as an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law, where she is sharing her experience in tribal-state relations. It’s an area she knows well, having served as chief counsel to Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico from 2005 to 2008 and as his deputy counsel from 2003 to 2005.

EPA: TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS WILL HELP SHAPE POLICIES The new EPA head is reassuring tribes that their voices will help shape environmental policies in the Obama Administration as she announced plans for a fall summit that will bring tribal leaders to Washington. Lisa Jackson, new EPA Administrator, has told NCAI that “the EPA is back on the job” and fully aware of the challenges that affect tribal communities. “Right now, hazardous waste sites and open dumps are rampant in tribal lands exposing their residents to dangerous toxins and possible contamination of land and water,” she said. “Many tribal lands, economies and cultures are being threatened by climate change, from the loss of fish habitats in our rivers and streams.” In the face of these needs, less than 5% of tribes actually implement federal environmental programs.” In urging tribal representatives to join federal efforts, Jackson said she is determined to reach out to the Native community as part of an “EPA-Tribal partnership” that will include a Tribal Leaders Summit in the fall to go with additional funding for drinking water and wastewater facilities and more “green jobs” in Indian Country. To start, she may  move the American Indian Environmental Office from the EPA’s Office of Water, where it has historically resided, to a more prominent place in the head office or as an independent program.

THE SUPREMES RULES AGAINST NATIVE HAWAIIANS The U.S. Supreme Court ruled March 31 in State of Hawaii v Office of Hawaiian Affairs that Congress’ apology for overthrowing the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 bears no moral, political or legal weight in stopping the state from selling 1.2 million acres of land seized during the illegal regime change before resolving land claims by Native Hawaiians. The state petitioned the case last year after the Hawaii Supreme Court issued an injunction prohibiting the state from selling “ceded lands” held in trust until Native Hawaiians’ claims to the land have been resolved. The Hawaiian court based its decision on the Apology Resolution, passed by Congress in 1993 on the 100th anniversary of the destruction of the Hawaiian Nation. The apology acknowledged the illegality of U.S. actions in overthrowing Hawaii’s sovereign government, creating a “provisional government” and 5 years later passing the Newlands Resolution, annexing Hawaii as a territory. The apology recognized that the Hawaiian people never directly relinquished their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people or over their national lands to the US.

OCEAN ACIDIFICATION-IT’S A HUGE PROBLEM Ask a scientist what Ocean Acidification is and he might tell you it’s the name given to the ongoing decrease in pH of the Earth’s oceans, caused by their uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Ask a fisherman and he’ll tell you it means dead shellfish and fish. Lots of them, everywhere. It’s a problem that’s been compounding for a long time, and now it’s compounding far more quickly and vastly than anyone ever thought possible-everywhere-from every ocean in the world all the way up to alpine lakes. There are bills in Congress intended to deal with this huge issue (namely HR 14 and S 173-please see the bills list), or at least to form a research and monitoring plan, to develop strategies to deal with it. However, neither of these bills, intended to plan a  plan to deal with a problem already so prevalent, have moved since January.

PRIORITY BILLS

111th CONGRESS, APRIL, 2009

(Bills are “linked”…however, if links fail, you can also find them and related information at http://thomas.loc.gov/.  High priority bills are in red. Bills marked with an * are old or Public Lawand will not be included in future editions of Federal Update unless there is further action. All input on recommended positions, etc. is welcome.  Bills in italics were in transition plan. For more information, contact Steve Robinson at 360 528-4347,  Srobinson@nwifc.org. )

Bill-Lnk/Brief             Sponsor/Status              Description