President Obama today nominated retired Army Major General Robert Harding to head the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

Senate Democratic leaders had been considering moving to legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but the FAA bill is now on hold again until the Senate finishes with Jobs legislation.  The Senate could take up a $17.5 billion jobs package as soon as next week once they finish work on the $150 billion jobs and tax package.  HAI will continue to monitor both pieces of legislation and provide updates as events unfold in Washington.

Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) has introduced legislation to keep the EPA from issuing any new rules on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and other major stationary sources for two years to allow Congress to pass comprehensive legislation on energy and climate change.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved H. R. 4714 this week to reauthorize the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for fiscal years 2011 through 2014.  The Committee has approved greater investigative powers and more funding as well as an additional 66 personnel for the NTSB in 2011.

Despite President Obama’s call for Congress to bring a healthcare overhaul bill to his desk by way of reconciliation in the next few weeks, the road ahead will be bumpy with many angry liberals fueling the House distrust of the Senate, coupled with the fact any forthcoming piece of legislation must have a score from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

President Obama spoke from the White House today, Wednesday March 3, saying his healthcare overhaul deserves the same treatment as other significant legislation that has passed Congress with nothing more than a simple majority and he called for the bill to be on his desk within the next few weeks.

President Obama will deliver a speech from the White House on Wednesday, March 3, outlining the path forward for healthcare legislation that will include what the White House terms four Republican ideas.  Obama sent a letter today to Congressional leaders outlining his revised healthcare proposal, and his announcement is expected to include both procedural and policy elements.

It appears that House Democrats do not have the votes needed to take up the Senate’s $15 billion jobs bill and negotiations continue on Capitol Hill to garner those votes.  Blue Dog Democrats are pushing to offset the bill’s costs and the Congressional Black Caucus is calling for a larger jobs package.

Next up on the Senate’s agenda will be a second Jobs Bill focusing on the dozens of individual and business tax breaks that expired on December 31, including the research and development tax credit, biofuels incentives, and the ability to deduct state sales taxes.

H.R. 1299 cleared the Senate last week to authorize $10 million in fiscal 2010.  The legislation would match as much as $100 million a year in corporate contributions in later years for a nonprofit entity designed to promote the United States as a destination for foreign tourists.

Healthcare reform, financial regulation, the jobs bill, the long-term budget deficit, energy and climate change and even the FAA Reauthorization Bill – at every turn, Washington has reached a political stalemate.

President Obama invited GOP leaders last week to participate in a televised healthcare reform meeting planned for February 25 in an effort to break the healthcare reform logjam.

Washington’s snowiest winter in more than a century has resulted in a virtual 4 plus day shutdown this week, and February is quickly becoming a nearly lost month in the halls of Congress.

According to an article in the Friday February 12, 2010 Buffalo (New York) News, "Key aviation safety reforms will come to the floor of the U.S. Senate in March, after Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) persuaded Senate leadership to move ahead with legislation that had been bottled up for six months."

AT HELI-EXPO 2010 in Houston, Texas, the Civil Aeronautical Medical Institute - the medical certification, research, and education wing of the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Aerospace Medicine - will offer demo rides on its HELO GAT Simulator. 
    
 

Under President Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget plan, Congress could be looking at approving $500 billion in tax increases and spending cuts, including expiration of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for upper income earners and proposed business tax increases.

Tomorrow, Thursday, February  4, the House will take up legislation passed by the Senate last week to increase the federal government’s debt limit.

With no publicly released clear path forward on healthcare overhaul, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) continue to work behind the scenes to map out a way to complete a healthcare overhaul in coming months.  It is widely believed in Washington that the way forward will be to end the antitrust exemption for health insurers, create a limited health exchange, and create small business purchasing pools.

On Monday, February 1, President Obama unveiled a $3.8 trillion blueprint for the 2011 budget year that begins October 1 with an all time record budget deficit of $1.6 trillion.  The plan ran into immediate trouble in Congress among lawmakers who said it tried to do too much while cutting the deficit too little.  The overall price tag and the projected deficit are both being reported as the largest in U.S. history.

The Senate has quickly followed the House in approving legislation to allow donations made by March 1 to the Haiti earthquake relief effort to be itemized as deductions on 2009 income tax returns. President Obama is expected to sign the bill today.

There appears to be a general consensus in the House Democratic Caucus that comprehensive healthcare legislation is dead and the only option is to pass a series of piecemeal measures, with the latest USA Today poll showing a 55% majority of Americans say President Obama and Congressional Democrats should suspend work on the healthcare bill and consider alternatives that would draw more Republican support.

This week, Senate Democrats proposed allowing the federal government to borrow an additional $1.9 Trillion to pay its bills. This is a record increase that would permit the national debt to reach $14.3 Trillion and which is needed to allow the federal government to issue bonds to fund programs and prevent a first-time default on obligations.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-California) said this morning, Thursday, January 21, she does not have enough votes to pass the Senate version of the health-care bill, leaving President Obama's most important domestic agenda item in grave jeopardy.

Hearings in Washington today, Wednesday, January 20, focused on the government’s terrorist watch list system, with lawmakers calling for an overhaul of the system to make it easier to target people for secondary screening at airports or to prevent them from boarding a plane.

President Obama issued an executive order today, January 20, that bars companies that don’t pay taxes from receiving more government contracts.  Obama said he would also include a provision in his fiscal year 2011 budget request due out February 1, similar to last year’s budget, that would enable the IRS to recoup unpaid taxes before a federal contract is issued.

Democratic leaders in Congress are promising to get a healthcare bill done no matter what, though the strategy remains uncertain in the wake of Republicans gaining former Senator Ted Kenney’s (D) U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts.
A compromise plan could move through both chambers before Massachusetts Senator-elect Scott Brown (R) is seated, though some in Washington are calling for healthcare votes to be suspended until Brown is sworn in.  Brown’s win is, however, widely seen as a vote against President Obama’s agenda from one of the most reliably Democratic states.

The U.S. Forest Service has published in the Federal Register a notice of intent to revise the Land and Resource Management Plan for Prescott National Forest. An environmental impact statement will also be prepared.

The Senate is expected to move on energy and environmental issues in 2010, but cap and trade legislation is not likely to be a part of any energy bill.

Senate Democrats return to Washington tomorrow, Wednesday January 20, and they are all too aware of the difficult election year they face and a strong need to turn their attention away from healthcare to the economy.

The FAA has been made aware of an issue with an update to a navigation database that became effective on 14 January 2010.

To date, the known affected models are Honeywell Bendix/King KLN 35, KLN 88, KLN 89, KLN 89B, KLN 90, KLN 90B, KLN 94, KLX 100, KLX 135, KLX 135A, KLN 900.
 
 

President Obama signaled to House Democratic leaders earlier this week that they will have to drop their opposition to taxing high-end health insurance plans. Obama has expressed his preference for the insurance tax contained in the Senate’s healthcare bill, which is largely opposed by House Democrats and organized labor.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar is set to introduce tougher regulations for oil and gas firms seeking permission to drill on land owned by the federal government.

As they worry about the 2010 elections that lie ahead, moderate Senate Democrats are urging the White House to give up now on any effort to pass a cap and trade bill this year.

On Christmas Eve, the Senate approved a healthcare reform bill on a 60-39 party-line vote. As Congress returns to work this month, Democrats are under pressure to reconcile the House and Senate healthcare bills before President Obama’s first State of the Union speech.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in the Federal Register on December 31, 2009 the intent to prepare an environmental impact statement for the Klamath National Forest.

The U.S. Forest Service Interagency Aviation Safety Office has released a "Lessons Learned" with regard to foreign objects in plastic sphere dispensers (PSDs).

The time table for a final vote on the Senate healthcare bill so they can get home for the holiday has been moved up to 8:00 a.m. Thursday (Christmas Eve). Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) appears to have the 60 votes needed to pass the bill.

The Senate will hold a series of votes this week on the legislation, with final passage set for Christmas Eve. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) now has the 60 votes, and he got that 60th vote Friday night when he reached a compromise with Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) on language regarding funding of abortion.

According to the Washington Post, world leaders have reached an agreement that provides for a means to monitor and verify emission cuts by developing countries, but has less ambitious climate targets than the U.S. and European governments had initially sought. 

Delegates are blaming “both the U.S. and China for the lack of a political agreement” at the Copenhagen Climate Talks. The conference has been in stalemate for days.

The Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, is giving notice of its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement to analyze and disclose potential environmental statement to analyze and disclose potential environmental consequences associated with a National Forest System land management planning rule.

Democrats in the House Wednesday pushed through a year-end plan to create jobs, mixing about $50 billion for public works projects with another almost $50 billion for cash-strapped state and local governments.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) unveiled a plan to add almost $50 billion in spending on highways, housing, and school repair as part of a year-end plan to create jobs. Pelosi believes President Obama could sign the jobs package before his State of the Union Address in January.

Senate Democrats are close to abandoning a plan to expand Medicare, which had been added last week to their healthcare reform bill. It is unlikely the plan will include a new government-run insurance plan or the Medicare expansion to allow people ages 55 to 64 to buy into Medicare healthcare coverage.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) faces a difficult task in cobbling together a 60-vote majority to advance healthcare legislation. The newest challenge is over the compromise Medicare buy-in provision, broached by a group of 10 Senate Democrats that would replace a government-run insurance option with an expansion of Medicare to individuals age 55 to 64.

Democrat Maria Cantwell of Washington and Republican Susan Collins of Maine unveiled a climate change measure last Friday as an alternative to cap-and-trade legislation.

Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Randy Babbitt told lawmakers last week the administration would rather see training rules changed to test for proficiency in specific challenging situations, such as flying in icy conditions, rather than require a set number of hours.

On Tuesday, members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus are expected to introduce legislation that would overhaul the nation’s immigration laws and give an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country a path to legal status.

The Federal Aviation Administration has published a notice determining that the minimum random drug and alcohol testing percentage rates for the period January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2010, will remain at 25 percent of safety-sensitive employees for random drug testing and 10 percent of safety-sensitive employees for random alcohol testing.

The Forest Service, with the Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service as cooperating agencies, has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Tropic to Hatch 138 kV Transmission Line Project and a Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and by this notice is announcing the opening of the comment period.

House Democratic leaders plan to finish work on the remaining seven FY10 appropriations bills before the continuing resolution expires December 18.  Action on the omnibus could possibly come this week as the House Appropriations committee is preparing legislation to go to the floor.

The Department of the Interior's (DOI) National Business Center has publicly announced proposed contract language for the inclusion of Safety Management Systems (SMS) requirements in 2010 BLM contracts.

Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) will join President Obama in Denmark at the UN Climate Change Conference Dec 7-18. No concrete legislation is expected to come out of the Senate before Copenhagen.

Several states are not in compliance with the Real ID federal driver’s license law. Real ID set strict standards for driver’s licenses and identification cards. Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Oklahoma and South Carolina, along with three U.S. territories, have not asked for a waiver.

The Congressional Budget Office has released a report showing nongroup market premiums will be higher under the Senate healthcare bill than current law without taking federal subsidies into account.

In his Thanksgiving holiday message, President Obama said his administration has acted by cutting taxes for nearly all working men and women and for small businesses and by extending unemployment benefits and health coverage for millions out of work.

The House is scheduled to vote this week on a bill to “freeze” permanently the estate tax exemption and top estate tax margin rate at 2009 levels. H.R. 4154 sets the top rate at 45 percent and the individual exemption at $3.5 million.

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announced a rule proposed in last week’s Federal Register and as reported in RotorNews that would “make permanent an international trusted traveler program that used biometrics to verify identities, named Global Entry.”

Three full legislative weeks remain on the calendar and limited time remains for the U.S. Senate to address such issues as the fate of the estate tax, FAA Reauthorization and final action on FY10 spending bills.  The backlog of bills coincides with a healthcare overhaul debate that will occupy the Senate for much of December.

The Senate voted 60-39 Saturday Night to formally start debate on the healthcare measure, which will begin after Thanksgiving and consume the Senate for the remainder of the year.  The vote cleared the way for a full-scale debate beginning after Thanksgiving.

The Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut) sought consideration this week of his legislation to freeze interest rates until a credit card reform law takes effect next year. Republicans acted to prevent the bill from coming to an immediate vote.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that the White House has made a solid first step towards transparency in stimulus spending, however, the number of jobs saved and created have significant problems. More than 58,000 of the jobs the White House claims were created or retained by the stimulus come from projects where no money has been spent or nearly 1 out of every 10 jobs claimed on the Administration’s website.

A procedural vote to move forward to debate the Senate healthcare bill unveiled last night is most likely to occur on Saturday November 21. Senators would have the Thanksgiving Congressional Recess to review the bill.

The Senate's healthcare overhaul bill, compiled by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada), would cost $849 billion over 10 years and cut the deficit by $127 billion in its first decade, according to a preliminary CBO analysis.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is proposing to issue regulations to improve the security of domestic and foreign aircraft repair stations as required by the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act.

Senate leaders now say a climate change bill will reach the floor no earlier than next spring. The announcement now means the Democrat-controlled Congress will not meet at least one of its goals by the end of this year - enacting two of President Obama’s legislative priorities — health care and a cap on carbon emissions.

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Maryland) said this week that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, (D-California) has asked committee chairmen to submit ideas for a bill that could pass the House by its target adjournment date of December 18.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) establishes the standards for Federal workplace drug testing programs under authority of Section 503 of Public Law 100-71, 5 U.S.C. Section 7301 and Executive Order No. 12564. This notice provides proposed changes to the current Federal CCF.

Over the weekend in Singapore, President Obama was forced to acknowledge that a comprehensive climate deal was beyond reach this year. Obama administration officials have said they are reluctant to identify a near-term goal until Congress passes climate legislation.

Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada) continues to wait for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to score aspects of the Senate healthcare legislation since October 26. A score now is not likely until early next week.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said today she hopes Congress will begin moving in “the first part” of next year legislation that would overhaul the nation’s immigration laws and give an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country a pathway to legal status.

HAI has learned the House could take up an extension on the 2009 estate tax next week. There is a window of opportunity while the House awaits Senate action on healthcare legislation. Moderates are pushing for a permanent extension at the 2009 rate of 45 percent, with an exemption for up to $3.5 million in assets per spouse, as proposed in President Obama’s budget.

White House Budget Director Peter Orszag said this week he expects legislation to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system to be completed this year.

President Obama is calling for a summit meeting of experts to find ways to jump-start job creation, those participating will include economists, corporate executives, small-business owners, non-profit leaders and labor-union officials.

The Senate is unlikely to take additional action on climate change legislation before the end of the year, according to Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana), Chairman of the Finance Committee.

The National Aerial Firefighting Academy (NAFA) is a training course for personnel directly involved in the aerial suppression/retardant delivery on wildland fires.

The HAI Government Contracting Committee will meet in Boise, Idaho November 18, 19, and 20 at the Hilton Garden Inn Boise Spectrum. The 2nd Annual HAI Firefighting Safety Forum will be held November 19 in conjunction with the meeting and will include presentations from the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior's Office of Aircraft Services.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) has said a public insurance option that allows states to opt-out is the only healthcare overhaul provision that will be in the bill he brings to the Senate floor.

The House on Thursday passed a bill that extends and expands the housing tax credit due to expire at the end of this month. President Obama will sign it tomorrow. The program will run through April. First-time buyers will continue getting credits of up to $8,000.

The House has now passed a $24 billion extension of unemployment insurance benefits and tax breaks for homebuyers and money-losing businesses on a 403-12 vote. President Obama is expected to sign it in the coming days.

House Democratic Leaders have set the vote for their healthcare bill for Saturday evening, but media coverage notes they have yet to secure the 218 votes needed for passage of the measure.

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said this week that pilots have an “extreme need to refocus on professionalism” after cases such as the Northwest Airlines plane that overshot Minneapolis.

The Senate has now moved closer to passing legislation to extend unemployment benefits and expand a popular tax credit for homebuyers.

House Republicans have drafted an alternative healthcare bill that would reward states for reducing the number of uninsured, limit damages in medical malpractice lawsuits and allow small businesses to band together and buy insurance exempt from most state regulation.

House Democrats released a 42-page package of amendments to their comprehensive health bill late last night, winning over undecided Democrats. This action kicks off a 72-hour review period, with House leaders saying they intend to bring the health bill (HR 3962) to a vote. Floor action could come as soon as the evening of Nov. 6.

House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-California) introduced legislation this week that would guarantee five paid sick days for workers sent home by their employers with a contagious illness in order to help rein in the spread of the H1N1 flu.

Officials in Washington this week warned that a number of issues, such as providing operators incentives to equip their aircraft, must be addressed before progress can be made on implementation of the next generation air traffic management system.

Three Republican lawmakers from Kansas unveiled a resolution to change the state’s constitution to exempt state residents from having to follow many of the regulations that are part of the Democratic healthcare reform legislation.

This week Congress is expected to pass a bill to extend the current temporary extension of unemployment benefits. Some unemployed will get an additional 14 weeks of benefits. Only individuals in states with an unemployment rate above 8.5 percent will be eligible for the additional benefits.

Democrats say the cost of their bill is under the $900 billion target set by Obama; however, the actual cost of over $1 trillion is considerably higher.

A report issued Thursday afternoon, October 29 by Congressional Quarterly warned the main revenue source for the House health care bill is not indexed for inflation, meaning that more and more people each year will face a tax that is being sold as a levy on millionaires.

According to a recent AP news article, North Dakota has surpassed Louisiana as the fourth-largest oil-producing state in the nation," producing "6.38 million barrels of crude in May, edging out Louisiana, which had 6.34 million barrels for the month.

HAI reports House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) plans to release the House Democrats’ healthcare reform legislation Thursday morning. Sources in Washington say it likely will contain a less-sweeping public insurance option tied to negotiated rates rather than a more-robust alternative favored by liberals.

Does the US Constitution allow the government to require uninsured Americans to buy medical insurance or impose a tax penalty if they refuse? Congress has never before required citizens to purchase any good or service, but that is what both House and Senate health bills would mandate.

October 28, 2009 (Aero-News.Net) - One of the worst chapters in aero-educational history is about see a partial resolution in favor of those victimized by the Silver State Helicopter scam. Officials from California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah and Washington have reached a legal resolution that will relieve a number of some $113 million in loan debt accrued for training at one of the dozens of Silver State helicopter training facilities that dotted the country.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-New York) said this afternoon, Tuesday October 27 that a vote on the estate tax will not occur until "after health care."

Senate Democrats appear to have abandoned the prospects of getting a climate bill passed this year. They retain hope that they can show some progress on the issue, such as clearing a bill out of a major committee, in advance of international climate negotiations in Denmark in December.

Estate tax legislation is expected on the House floor in the next few weeks that would permanently extend current estate tax law, blocking an increase in the tax set for 2011.

Maine’s Senate president is attempting to revive a bid to require employers in the state to provide paid sick days to employees. Similar legislation failed in the House last year, but the new push comes amid concern over the H1N1 flu.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold three days of hearings this week on a revised draft of climate change legislation.

Businesses would not be required to provide health insurance under legislation being readied for Senate debate, but large firms would owe significant penalties if any worker needed government subsidies to buy coverage on their own, according to Democratic officials familiar with talks on the bill. For firms with more than 50 employees, the fee could be as high as $750 multiplied by the total size of the workforce if only a few workers needed federal aid.

As reported earlier this week on HAI RotorNews, Senate Democratic leaders are gravitating toward including a national public option in healthcare overhaul legislation that would allow states to opt out if they choose, further modifying it to include a trigger clause and a nonprofit.

More than 200,000 square miles in Alaska and off its coast are being designated as “critical habitat” for polar bears, possibly adding restrictions to future drilling for oil and gas.

The House Financial Services Committee approved legislation Thursday, October 22 that would move up the effective date of new restrictions on credit-card issuers. The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act effective date would move from February 22 to December 1. Many in Congress are angry over reports that institutions are jacking up rates and fees prior to the restrictions taking effect.

Current versions of healthcare legislation would force large companies to pay a penalty if they choose not to provide health insurance for employees who work more than 30 hours a week. However, the current definition of “full-time” does not specify how many weeks these employees would have to work to qualify for insurance coverage.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) has now said she has more than 218 votes for a public option tethered to Medicare. She made clear this week that part of her strategy was to strengthen her hand by taking a strong public option bill into the House-Senate conference.

Congress voted Tuesday to approve $137 million for an extension of the E-Verify program over three years as part of a $43 billion spending bill for the Homeland Security Department. The system lets employers check whether newly hired workers are in the country legally.

Many benefits will remain unchanged or change only slightly for 2010. There are some provisions affecting 2010 returns, filed by most taxpayers in early 2011.

The Interior Department has awarded Shell approval to drill oil exploration wells in two leaseholds in the Beaufort Sea, which could lead to the first drilling in more than a decade in this area off the north coast of Alaska. The two leaseholds, which were obtained by Shell in 2005 and 2007, are not affected by a recent court decision that sent the current leasing program back to the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service for additional analysis.

The Senate Finance Committee healthcare bill pushed by Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana) includes an excise tax on what Senators have termed “Cadillac” or “high-premium insurance plans”. The tax would fall on plans with premiums greater than $8,000 a year for individuals or $21,000 for families. Insurers would pay 40 percent of premiums above those levels to the government.

The central choice in the Senate healthcare bill is between cost or coverage.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has acknowledged that medical malpractice reforms COULD reduce the cost of health care. The CBO found that by adopting tort reform measures, federal spending would be reduced by $41 billion over ten years and the federal deficit would decline by $54 billion.

Legislation is expected to be introduced by Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-Illinois) near the end of November that would overhaul the nation’s immigration laws and give an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country a path to legalization.

The US House of Representatives voted 409 to 11 last week to approve legislation (HR 3371) to toughen regulations on pilot training, qualifications and work schedules, in response to a fatal crash in upstate New York in February and other accidents involving regional airlines.

Portland OR (October 19, 2009) - Amid a record breaking fire season in Southern California, Erickson Air-Crane has leased an Aircrane firefighting helicopter to San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) for 60 days with an option to lease the helicopter for another 30 days if fire conditions warrant. 

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Obama administration has dropped plans to impose a $200 billion tax hike on profits earned by American firms overseas prior to being repatriated.

Legislation that would make it easier to organize does not have the support of California Senator Dianne Feinstein (D) yet. President Barack Obama and a majority of Democratic senators are behind the Employee Free Choice Act.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service issued a notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS). The Helena National Forest is going to prepare an EIS for vegetation management actions in the Warm Springs area of the Elkhorn Mountains.

To prevent the Obama administration from taking renewed steps to push new aviation user fees through Congress, HAI has learned senior members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Aviation Subcommittee are expected to sign a letter to President Obama on the issue according to published reports in Congressional Quarterly.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) said Thursday, October 8 that she is considering  options for stimulating an economy dogged by high unemployment and a slowly easing recession.

President Obama issued Proclamation 8432 on October 2, 2009, naming the week of October 4 through October 10 as Fire Prevention Week. This week’s theme, “Stay Fire Smart! Don’t Get Burned,” focuses on increasing burn awareness and prevention.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final rule, effective November 6, 2009, rescinding the amendments promulgated on August 15, 2007, and October 28, 2008, relating to procedures that employers may take to acquire a safe harbor from receipt of No-Match letters.

The Associated Press reported the Supreme Court has left in place a court ruling that the Obama administration says will cost taxpayers at least $19 billion in royalties on energy leases in the Gulf of Mexico.  The Court declined to hear the government's appeal of a ruling in favor of the Anadarko Petroleum Corp. involving eight deepwater leases the company holds in the gulf.

The Washington Post reports that in an interview to be aired Sunday, October 4 on C-SPAN, Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-California) said that Senate Democrats "will initially devote 70 percent of the pollution allowances in their new climate measure to making it easier for people to pay their energy bills." The legislation "would force any facility emitting at least 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year to obtain pollution permits," although it "does not indicate how these pollution allowances would be allocated," but Boxer indicated that "Democrats are prepared to give away allowances to make carbon-intensive commodities such as electricity more affordable."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) has thus far avoided any commitment to a public option component to the Senate’s final healthcare bill as well as to any deadline for the bill’s passage. Reid has cancelled the Senate’s Columbus Day recess so that lawmakers can focus on passing healthcare reform legislation during the week of October 12.

A one-year extension of existing estate tax law at a reduced rate could lessen the planning burdens on businesses that are already facing difficult economic times. The tax expires at the end of this year and  would be repealed next year, but come back in 2011 at a higher rate – unless Congress acts.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson is expected to issue an announcement this week concerning carbon dioxide limits for U.S. power plants, oil refineries and factories. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said “the EPA is using regulation of stationary sources as a thinly veiled threat to pressure lawmakers into supporting cap and trade legislation.” 

The Senate Finance Committee rejected two amendments for a government-run public health insurance option this afternoon, Tuesday September 29.

Exelon Corporation announced this week it will not renew its membership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce because the company and trade association disagree over pushing Congress to enact major climate change legislation. “Inaction on climate is not an option,” Exelon Chairman and CEO John Rowe said in a news release. “If Congress does not act, the EPA will, and the result will be more arbitrary, more expensive, and more uncertain for investors and the industry than a reasonable, market-based legislative solution.”

It is becoming increasingly unlikely that climate change, immigration, union organizing and financial reform legislation will reach the Senate floor before 2010. Democrats may be unwilling or able to move the legislation in 2010 in what is shaping up to be a tough election year with the mid-term Congressional elections coming in November of 2010.

The Senate this week confirmed Jonathan Jarvis as director of the National Park Service (NPS). Jarvis has been with the NPS for 30 years, most recently as regional director in the Pacific West. Meanwhile, an independent panel urged Congress this week to increase spending on national parks by at least $700 million over the next seven years in time for the 100th anniversary of the NPS in 2016.

Legislation to extend the FAA’s authority for the seventh time to collect and spend the taxes that fuel the aviation system through the end of the year is headed to President Obama’s desk for his signature allowing more time for the Senate  finish its full reauthorization bill (S. 1451).

Lawmakers have until next Wednesday night to pass a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government running when FY10 starts next Thursday.

The USDA Forest Service has released a corrected notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement for the Flea Project (renamed Concow Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project). 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) said today, Tuesday, September 22, that he might be "forced" to use reconciliation to pass healthcare and could cancel the Senate's week-long Columbus Day recess if the legislation cannot be worked out in the committee structure of the Senate. 

The U.S. Senate is debating the fiscal 2010 Interior-Environment appropriations bill (H.R.2996) this week, and HAI has learned that Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico) will propose an amendment to create a new budget account to fight wildfires as part of the spending bill.

Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued a “Chairman’s Mark” last week. This bill represents the third version of an employer mandate. On the subject of “shared” employer responsibility, the Chairman’s mark starts out with this sentence: “Under the Chairman‘s Mark as under current law, an employer would not be required to offer health insurance coverage.” The proposal outlines what those employers that choose NOT to provide coverage have to do instead.

As the current short-term extension for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) expires in approximately one week (September 30), the House and Senate have begun the task of preparing yet another extension to last through the end of the year. The agency has been operating under a series of extensions now for over a year.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report today that says the government will spend $6.5 billion over the next 20 years to maintain a fence along the border with Mexico. To date, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has built nearly 660 miles of pedestrian and vehicle fencing. While GAO has acknowledged that apprehensions have dropped significantly in some border areas which indicate the fencing is serving as a deterrent, they state there is no way to determine whether the fence has helped control illegal immigration.

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus released his mark for an $856 billion healthcare overhaul. The mark is similar to a current proposal Baucus released over the Labor Day weekend that creates a co-op system of health insurance to compete with private insurers.

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus said definitively Monday he will release his chairman’s makr of the healthcare overhaul legislation Wednesday, backing off his claim earlier in the day that today was the most probable day for the long-awaited unveiling.

As the heat intensifies in Washington ahead of the Senate’s release of a climate change bill, supporters have now found that touting President Obama’s climate plan as a vehicle for creating millions of clean-energy jobs, isn’t cutting it. Now they are pushing another strategy – the benefits the bill has for national security.

Top House Democrats appear unwilling to concede that a public-plan option for the uninsured to purchase healthcare coverage will be dropped from the healthcare legislation, while two key Senate negotiators have said the public option lacks sufficient support to pass the Senate.

The FAA announced the availability of proposed TSO-C154c for Universal Access Transceiver (UAT) Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) equipment operating on Frequency of 978 MHz. It can be found at http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/draft_docs/

The Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee this week that his agency should be in control of any greenhouse gas credit market created under pending climate change legislation. The CFTC argued the agency should have regulatory oversight of carbon allowance markets. However, Members of Congress have already expressed concern over the possibility of the CFTC being in control of this emerging market due to their lax oversight of energy markets to date.