Government
Legislation
—_^_______^_
Authorizations. (H.R. 6030, S.2248) Set fiscal 1973 Defense RDT&E budget ceiling at about $24.2 billion (H.R. 5890) Sets fiscal 1983 budget ceiling for NASA at about $6.6 billion
Congress works on amidst budget battle It's inevitable that the annual battle of the budget is once again occupying a lot of attention on Capitol Hill. Negotiations between Congress and the White House have been going on for some weeks, but, unlike last year, even Republicans can't reach an agreement with the Administration on how to curb the deficit. Several areas of general agreement have emerged— holding discretionary federal spending, which includes R&D funding, at fiscal 1982 levels for the next three years and a surcharge on the taxes paid by those who earn more than $45,000 per year—only to be rejected by one or another of the negotiating teams. The best bet now is that the negotiators will come up with only a general outline of how budget savings are to be achieved, leaving it up to the normal budget process to decide on specifics. That would put Congress squarely behind the eight ball. Committees already are far behind the budget timetable, having delayed action until the negotiators came up with an agreement, and it will be hard just to make that time up, let alone come to an agreement on large budget cuts and tax increases in an election year. Congress may sidestep the hard decisions by making this the year of the continuing resolution, essentially holding fiscal 1983 funding to fiscal 1982 levels. Unlike last year, however, Congress seems determined to get on with its other work while the budget battle rages on. The House Energy & Commerce Committee and the Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works both are working steadily on amendments to the Clean Air Act but the products that emerge from the two committees are likely to be radically different. The Senate committee is likely to make the act more restrictive or at least as strict as it is now, whereas the House committee is taking the opposite approach. So far it has relaxed current standards for both automobiles and industrial sources, refused to require reductions in emissions of acid rain precursors, and rejected a provision that would have forced the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate 37 suspected carcinogenic air pollutants. In other areas, the Senate Energy Committee has approved legislation that would finance the cleanup of the damaged Three Mile Island nuclear reactor and future reactor accidents through a fee on utilities that produce nuclear power, and a Senate environment subcommittee is looking at some controversial amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act that would, among other things, require EPA to prove "unreasonable risk" to public health before regulating a contaminant. The House, meanwhile, may be voting soon on legislation requiring large federal research agencies to set aside a percentage of their funds for small business innovation research programs. But the bill doesn't look much like the one approved by the Senate. Most of the committees that looked at the bill exempted the agencies under their jurisdiction from its coverage and the Science & Technology Committee made the amount to be set aside subject to yearly Congressional decision. Janice Long, Washington 26
C&ENMay3, 1982
(H.R. 5991, S. 2349) Set fiscal 1983 budget ceiling for NSF at about $1 billion
(H.R. 5726, S. 2271) Set fiscal 1983 budget ceiling for NBS at about $96 million
Energy. (H.R. 4320, S. 1844) Allow coal slurry pipeline companies to exercise federal eminent domain to cross private land
Environment. (H.R. 5252, S. 2266) Amend Clean Air Act to provide regulatory flexibility, define scientific bases for setting air quality standards; postpone deadlines; control acid rain precursors
Food safety. (H.R. 4014, S. 1442) Amend food additive laws to allow use decisions to be based on actual human risk from exposure to a substance
Nuclear. (H.R. 3809, 5106, S. 1662) Provide for federal program leading to long-term storage of nuclear waste
(H.R. 2330, S. 1207) Allow Nuclear Regulatory Commission to speed up licensing of nuclear power plants
Patents. (H.R. 1937, S. 255) Extend term of a patent by the number of years, up to seven, needed to obtain government premarket regulatory clearance
(H.R. 4482) Creates new federal Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit with jurisdiction over patent cases (H.R. 4564, S. 1657) Allow all contractors, subject to certain conditions, to retain title to inventions made using federal funds
(H.R. 5602, S. 2211) Set patent fees so as to recover 100% of the cost of processing a patent application
Regulation. (H.R. 746, S. 1080) Require cost-benefit analysis of new rules, eliminate courts' presumption that an agency correctly interpreted its mission Research. (H.R. 4326, S. 881) Require federal agencies to set aside a certain percentage of R&D funds for small businesses
Trade. (H.R. 1799, S. 734) Facilitate formation and operation of export trading companies and associations
House committee
House floor
Senate committee
Senate floor
Outlook
Armed Services. Reported, amended 4/13/82
Armed Services. Reported, amended 4/13/82
Enactment certain
Science & Technology. Markup scheduled 4/27/82
Commerce, Science & Transportation. Subcommittee on Science, Technology & Space concluded hearings 4/1/82
Enactment certain
Science & Technology. Reported, amended 4/26/82
Commerce, Science & Transportation. Subcommittee on Science, Technology & Space concluded hearings 4/19/82. Labor & Human Resources. Markup scheduled 4/27/82
Enactment probable
Science & Technology. Ordered reported, amended 4/1/82
Commerce, Science & Transportation. Reported 4/21/82
Enactment
Interior & Insular Affairs. Reported, amended 1/29/82. Public Works & Transportation. Subcommittee on Surface Transportation approved, amended for full committee action 3/30/82
Energy & Natural Resources. Scheduled to begin hearings 5/10/82
Enactment possible
Energy & Commerce. Began markup 3/30/82
Environment & Public Works. Continuing markup through May
Enactment probable
Agriculture, Energy & Commerce. Plan hearings
Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry. Labor & Human Resources. Plan hearings
Enactment possible
Interior & Insular Affairs. Reported, amended 4/27/82. Science & Technology. Reported, amended 12/15/81
Armed Services. Reported, amended 3/25/82. Energy & Natural Resources, Environment & Public Works. Reported, amended 11/30/81
Pending
Enactment possible
Environment & Public Works. Reported 5/18/81
Amended, passed 3/30/82
Enactment probable
Judiciary. Reported 6/16/81
Amended, passed 7/9/81
Enactment possible
Passed 12/8/81
Signed 4/2/82 P.L. 97-14
Energy & Commerce. Reported, amended 6/12/81. Interior & Insular Affairs. Reported 4/10/81
Judiciary. Subcommittee on Courts, Civil Liberties & the Administration of Justice approved, amended for bill committee action 3/25/82 Judiciary. Reported, amended 11/4/81
Passed 11/5/81
Passed Judiciary. Reported, amended 11/18/81 11/18/81
Science & Technology. Reported, amended 12/10/81. Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Civil Liberties & Administration of Justice began hearings 3/2/82
Commerce, Science & Transportation. Ordered reported, amended 3/10/82
Enactment probable
Judiciary. Subcommittee on Courts, Civil Liberties & Administration of Justice scheduled to begin markup 4/27/82
Judiciary. Hearings not yet scheduled
Enactment possible
Judiciary. Ordered reported, amended 12/8/81
Judiciary. Governmental Affairs. Reported, amended 12/16/81
Amended, passed 3/24/82
Enactment possible
Small Business. Reported, amended 11/20/81. Energy & Commerce. Reported, amended 3/10/82. Armed Services. Science & Technology. Veterans Affairs. Reported, amended 3/16/82
Small Business. Reported, amended 10/25/81
Passed 12/8/81
Enactment possible
Foreign Affairs. Markup scheduled 4/28/82
Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs. Reported 3/18/81
Amended, passed 4/18/81
Enactment probable
May 3, 1982 C&EN
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