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Lockridge Grindal Nauen PUP Federal Relations October 20, 2009 Federal Representation Update, Action Items, and Recommendations Currently the House and Senate remain at odds regarding the movement of the next transportation authorization bill. House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James L. Oberstar (D -MN) continues to push for action this year on a six-year, approximately $500 billion overhaul of the current law. The Senate and the White House want to extend the current authorization for 18 months after it expires September 30. Legislation to enact this extension has already passed out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Chairman Oberstar has reiterated his strong opposition to an 18 -month extension of the current law and instead has put forth a plan to extend the current bill by three months. The three month extension has passed the House while the Senate's extension has not yet seen floor time. It is possible that Chairman Oberstar will bring the House bill to the floor this fall which would provide the City of New Brighton with a glimpse of whether or not the City's transportation authorization projects were included in the list of High Priority Projects by the Committee. With that said, it still remains unclear as to when the transportation bill will be passed. It could be 18 months, 12 months, 6 months, shorter, or possibly longer. However, the City of New Brighton and its transportation projects are currently in a good position as they were requested by Congresswoman McCollum earlier in the process. We will continue to keep you updated on the progress of the transportation bill and the City's High Priority Project requests. We will also provide additional recommended actions as the process moves forward. Timeline: The Budget and Appropriations Process As you may know, the appropriations process usually begins following the release of the President's annual budget request which lays out the Administration's spending priorities and traditionally occurs during the month of February. At that time the Senate and House Budget Committees begin their examination of this budget by holding hearings on the merits of what is being requested. This process allows the Committees to receive input prior to putting together their own budget blueprint. The Congressional Budget is traditionally put together in both Houses and if passed, a Conference report (combined version) is then negotiated and brought to each Chamber for final passage. Although the final version does not carry the weight of law and does not appropriate money to Federal programs or Departments, it sets spending parameters and does act as a blueprint for the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. It is expected that the budget process this year will be finished towards the start of May. The Federal Government must pass all 13 appropriations measures, pass some of the measures with a Continuing Resolution for the rest, or pass a Continuing Resolution for each bill prior to the end of the fiscal year on September 31. If this is not accomplished a government shutdown would ensue as the Treasury Department would not have the statutory authority to release funds. Under regular order around February, the Appropriations Committees in the House and Senate (or Subcommittees in the Senate) will contact Members and indicate whether or not they will be accepting and including Congressionally -Directed spending items ("earmarks") in the upcoming fiscal year appropriations measures. At that point, Members who will be accepting requests from Constituents will set an internal deadline by which requests must be received (usually the middle to end of March). House 3