Congressional Digest: Members act on highway bill, react to Clean Line report

Lawmakers appear to be on the road to approving a highway bill while discussion over a proposed energy project in the state received a lot of discussion this week.

The following is a breakdown of the week that was in the nation’s capital.

HOUSE SAYS YES TO HIGHWAY BILL, HEADING TO CONFERENCE
The House voted 371-54 Thursday to approve HR 22, sending the highway bill to conference with the Senate. U.S. Reps. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, French Hill, R-Little Rock, Steve Womack, R-Rogers and Bruce Westerman, R-Hot Springs voted yes on the bill.

The bill is expected to have at least $380 billion in highway funding over the next six years. But, there has been some question as to whether or not the full six years will be funded. Members of the state’s congressional delegation said this week that the bill will provide a long-term approach to solving several pressing problems.

“Stop-gap, temporary highway bills are never a good solution. The American people deserve certainty from their elected officials that we can provide long-term authorization for planning our crucial infrastructure needs. Up-to-date roads, highways, and bridges are needed for economic development, and today we cleared a major hurdle in delivering that certainty. As this process moves on, I will work to pass a bill that supports needed infrastructure improvements with minimal burden on the hardworking American taxpayers,” Hill said.

Womack said the bill will provide a new look at the highway issue.

“I am proud to support the passage of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act. This multi-year, paid-for surface transportation reauthorization – which makes meaningful reforms to process, safety, and innovation – provides the long-term certainty that is essential for our nation’s transportation infrastructure,” Womack said.

An amendment to the bill was also approved in the House this week. The amendment – involving the future I-555 in Northeast Arkansas – would allow for the exemption of agricultural vehicles on the highway. Crawford, who will serve as a conferee on the conference committee, said the issue has been key for Northeast Arkansas residents for many years.

CLEAN LINE PROJECT
An 88-page environmental impact statement for a proposed transmission project was released Wednesday as lawmakers questioned the timing of the statement’s release.

The project involves the proposed Plains and Eastern Clean Line transmission project. The $2 billion electric transmission line would send up to 3,500 megawatts of wind power from Oklahoma to Arkansas and Tennessee. Supporters have said the proposal will support clean energy while opponents have stressed a federal overreach into an issue that has been handled on the state level.

In the report, the DOE said it looked at the environmental impact of the project.

“In some instances, variations were either not feasible or the variations were potentially feasible, but provided no added benefit or reduction in potential environmental impacts. In these instances, no variation was adopted,” DOE said in its summary. “In several instances, based on the new information, a route variation that could avoid potential conflicts and lessen the potential environmental impact of the Applicant Proposed Route was developed. In these instances, route variations were proposed.”

However, the state’s congressional delegation have said procedure was not followed on the project.

In a joint letter sent Wednesday, the delegation – U.S. Sens. John Boozman, R-Ark. and Tom Cotton, R-Ark.; and U.S. Reps. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, French Hill, R-Little Rock, Steve Womack, R-Rogers and Bruce Westerman, R-Hot Springs, responded.

“The Department should not have issued the FEIS before responding to our September 14 letter, which specifically urged that ‘in your initial response to this letter, please provide an anticipated timeline for a comprehensive response and production of requested information. If the Department can more quickly produce a complete response through a series of partial productions and responses, please provide an anticipated timeline for such productions and responses. This request, to date, has also been disregarded,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.

However, Clean Line officials said Wednesday the department’s final analysis of the 700-mile project marks a key milestone for the multistate transmission project, marking the end of the environmental analysis and a step towards the construction of the wind-powered development.

Both sides are awaiting a final decision as to whether or not the federal agency will participate in the multistate development.

2016 HOUSE/SENATE CALENDARS RELEASED
The calendar may still say 2015, but members of the state’s Congressional delegation received a copy of the 2016 legislative calendar this week. The House begins its 2016 session on Jan. 5, while the Senate begins on Jan. 11.

The House and Senate have weeks throughout the year set aside for district work periods. However, the 2016 calendar also sets aside time for the 2016 election cycle. Both chambers will go out of session in mid-July and do not return until early September.

Two of the weeks are set aside for the party conventions (July 18-21 for the Republican National Convention in Cleveland and July 25-28 for the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia).

The calendars can be viewed at this link and at this link.