Program Update: Advocacy – March 2011
Filed under: Action,News & Resources,Policy,Program Updates,Program Updates - Advocacy
U.S. Capital (Photo by: Will Ramos / Ocean Leadership)
Six months into the fiscal year, Republicans and Democrats continue to battle over the FY11 budget. Senate Majority Leaders Harry Reid (D-NV) announced that negotiators had reached a tentative agreement to cut $33 billion in spending from the FY10 levels. However, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has insisted that nothing has been agreed upon until everything has been agreed upon. Boehner has had to contend with Tea Party advocates who held a rally in front of the Capitol Building this week calling for additional cuts and controversial policy riders.
House appropriators originally unveiled an omnibus spending measure, which cut about $30 billion from current funding levels. However, that bill was rejected by conservatives and tea party members who insisted on larger cuts, which eventually passed the House in the order of $60 billion. The House bill also included several controversial policy riders, including preventing funding for EPA (to regulate greenhouse gasses), for Planned Parenthood, healthcare overhaul and implementation of several controversial programs. The Senate has yet to pass a measure, having voted against both the House-passed bill as well as a Senate Democrat bill, which trimmed about $7 billion in spending. If a compromise cannot be reached by April 8, then a government shutdown will occur.
On March 9, 2011, Ocean Leadership held its annual Public Policy Forum at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center. This year’s focus was on the lessons learned and opportunities from the BP Gulf oil spill. The day-long meeting featured addresses from three Congressional members, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Representative Kathy Caster (D-FL) and Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), and the following Executive Branch officials: the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco and U.S. Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt. The forum also included three panels: “Fate, Effects, and Implication of the Oil & chemical Dispersants,” “Implications for Offshore Oil and Gas Production” and “The Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Restoration,” featuring speakers from Congress, federal agencies, academia and industry. A final summary report will be released the week of April 11 and it will be posted here.
