Washington Watch, 02/15/08
FY 2009 President's Budget Released
House Subcommittee marks up Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection Act
Alexander Hamilton Boyhood Home Study Act of 2007 Moves Forward
Grants Awarded for Coastal Wetlands Conservation in 11 States and One U.S. Territory
FY 2009 President's Budget Released
On Monday, February 4, President Bush released his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2009 and to no one's surprise it includes significant reductions in conservation and other domestic discretionary programs. Many in Congress have already declared it "REALLY dead on arrival" but at this early stage of the annual process, it is unclear exactly what the end result will be.
As you may recall, the last Congressional session ended in late December with passage of a final budget that came closer to meeting President Bush's demands for reduced spending than had been proposed by Congress earlier this year. (See Washington Watch, 12/27/2007 for previous update) Congress, however, still had the final say on priority setting, leading to a repudiation of many of the President's proposed cuts including land conservation programs, which in the end received almost level funding from the previous year despite the President's proposal to decimate them. It is in this tug-of-war context - as well as the externalities of defense spending and concerns about the economy - that the FY09 budget was released. Congressional hearings are just underway, and there are already strong signs that Congress will attempt to imprint the final budget blueprint with its own priority programs and spending levels as the process unfolds.
Here are some details of the FY2009 President's budget proposal for some land conservation programs:
Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF): $42.5 Million (compared with $130 M enacted in FY08)
BLM: $4.475 M (compared with $9M enacted in FY08)
USFWS: $10.171 M (compared with $35.144 M enacted in FY08)
NPS: $21.832 M (compared with $44.3 M enacted in FY08)
USFS: $5 M (compared with $41.8 M enacted in FY08)
State grants through LWCF: $0 (compared with $25 M enacted in FY08)
Forest Legacy Program: $12.5 M (compared with $52.3 M enacted in FY08)
North American Wetlands Conservation Act: $42.647 M (same as FY08 enacted)
Cooperative Endangered Species Fund (Sec. 6): $80 M (increase of $5M over FY08 enacted)
Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program: $15 M (increase of $7 M over FY08 enacted)
Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program: $97 M (same as FY08 enacted)
Department of Defense buffer program (Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative): $40 million (compared with $46 million enacted in FY08)
Brownfields: $93.558 M (same as FY08 enacted)
Clean Water State Revolving Fund: $555 M (compared with $689 M enacted in FY08)
Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund: $842 M (increase of $13 M over FY 08 enacted)
At the time of this posting, the reauthorization of the federal Farm Bill, which includes funding for key conservation programs, is in a muddled state, with a deadline of March 15 looming, closed-door negotiations among the House, Senate and White House, and no final legislative vehicle ready for consideration by Congress and enactment into law. Still, leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees seem determined to move to final action in the near future in time to meet the March timeline.
When we last reported in December 2007, the Senate had (finally) passed its version of the Farm Bill, S. 2302, the Food and Energy Security Act of 2007. There are major differences between this bill and the bill approved by the House of Representatives last July, HR 2419, the Farm, Nutrition and Bioenergy Act of 2007, as well as with the White House, both on policy and funding levels. Since Congress convened the second session of the 110th Congress in early January, negotiations between all parties have proceeded slowly and quietly and only recently heated up. Potential compromises have been floated but there is not yet consensus over a final bill. In the midst of all this, with rumors of cuts to various programs abounding, TPL joined numerous other conservation organizations in urging both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to maintain increases in conservation spending of $5 billion over the five-year life of the bill. Attached at the bottom of the page is the group funding letter. At the time of this writing, proposals were being floated by various parties to the negotiation to reduce conservation spending, so our efforts continue to secure a small but justified spending increase on key programs such as Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program, Grassland Reserve Program, Wetland Reserve Program and others. The Senate version of the bill also includes a permanent extension of the improved tax incentive for donating conservation easements, and this too is part of the House-Senate negotiations. See the following tax update for more information.
As a final Farm Bill emerges from this legislative swirl, we will continue to post updates.
The effort to extend the improved tax incentive for donations of conservation easements is intertwined with the fate of the Farm Bill. (See article above.) The Senate-passed version of the Farm Bill includes a permanent extension of this benefit, which expired at the end of 2007. The House bill did not include this provision, but it is a subject of ongoing negotiation between the House and Senate.
In 2006, Congress passed a provision that increased the charitable deduction limit from 30% to 50% of adjusted gross income (AGI) for donations or bargain sales of qualified conservation easements, increased the charitable deduction limit to 100% of AGI for eligible farmers and ranchers, and allowed taxpayers to carry forward the deduction for 15 years (rather than five years). This provision has already provided benefits to conservation, but the expiration at the end of last year has led to uncertainty for landowners considering donations.
Should the Farm Bill negotiations collapse or fail to include the incentive in the final bill, a broad coalition of conservation organizations will continue to push for enactment of an extension of this important conservation provision this year.
House Subcommittee marks up Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection Act
On February 13, 2008, the House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans marked up several bills. Included in the markup is H.R. 1907, the Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection Act, sponsored by Representatives Jim Saxton of New Jersey and Lois Capps of California.
The bill would reauthorize the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP), within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Funds from CELCP are allocated to coastal states and communities to protect coastal "lands that have significant conservation, recreation, ecological, historical, aesthetic, or watershed protection values."
At a hearing held by the subcommittee on the bill on October 24, 2007, TPL Senior Vice President Alan Front testified in support of the legislation. The Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans Subcommittee is chaired by Delegate Madeleine Bordallo of Guam and Representative Henry Brown of South Carolina is ranking member.
This is the first time that House committee has ever taken up CELCP authorization legislation. HR 1907 is now ready for a vote before the full Natural Resources Committee. Companion Senate legislation, S. 1142, passed the Senate Commerce Committee on June 5, 2007 and is awaiting a floor vote.
Neither bill substantially changes the program as it is run today.
Alexander Hamilton Boyhood Home Study Act of 2007 Moves Forward
On January 30, 2008, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a meeting to report more than 40 bills under consideration. Included in the markup was S. 1969, the Alexander Hamilton Boyhood Home Study Act, sponsored by Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah. The committee reported an amended bill favorably to the full Senate. Once approved by the Senate, the bill will be considered by the House of Representatives.
The bill instructs the National Park Service to conduct a special resource study of Estate Grange, the boyhood home of Alexander Hamilton, to determine the suitability and feasibility of designating the site as a unit of the National Park System. The 115-acre site is located on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Hamilton lived in the Virgin Islands from 1765, when he was 10 years old, until 1772, when he left for New York City.
One of our nation's Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton served as George Washington's aide in the Continental Army, attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, co-wrote the Federalist Papers with James Madison, and served as the first Secretary of the Treasury from 1789 to 1795.
The Trust for Public Land is a partner in the effort to bring the Estate Grange property into National Park Service ownership.
Grants Awarded for Coastal Wetlands Conservation in 11 States and One U.S. Territory
On January 9th, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced more than $20 million in grants through the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grants Program to support the acquisition, enhancement, and restoration of over 10,000 acres of coastal wetlands in 11 states and one U.S. territory. Administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), these FY 2008 grants will fund 29 conservation projects and will be matched by nearly $46 million in partner contributions from state and local governments, private landowners, and conservation organizations.
Four TPL projects on which TPL partnered were funded through these FY 2008 grants:
California: East Sweet Springs: 5 acres (San Luis Obispo County)
Puerto Rico: San Miguel Natural Reserve Phase II: 174 acres (Towns of Luquillo and Fajardo)
Washington: Glen Cove Shoreline: 89 acres (Jefferson County)
Washington: Pilot Point: 34.5 acres (Kitsap County)
Other states where these grants will be used to acquire, restore, or enhance coastal wetlands and provide long-term conservation benefits to fish and wildlife include Hawaii, Oregon, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Maine, Maryland, and Massachusetts.
To date, the Service has awarded more than $200 million in grants to 25 states and one U.S. territory through the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program. Over 244,000 acres of coastal wetlands have been protected or restored since this grant program was started in 1992.
For more information on the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program and the projects funded in FY 2008, please visit the USFWS press release.
The House Interior Appropriations subcommittee has announced a date for Public Witness Day, which provides the public an opportunity to speak before or to submit testimony to the subcommittee in support of conservation programs and projects under its jurisdiction. The House Public Witness Day is scheduled for Thursday, March 13, 2008. Submissions of written testimony for the record is due to the subcommittee on the date. Several Land and Water Conservation Fund projects that TPL is working on will be featured before the subcommittees. Instructions on how to submit written testimony to the House and Senate Subcommittees is attached at the bottom of this page.
The Senate Interior Appropriations subcommittee will be accepting written public testimony as well. A deadline has not be finalized, but it is expected to be in April.
Washington Watch will post the testimony when it is finalized.
This testimony in support of federal funding for land conservation programs and projects will come at a critical time. It is an opportunity to put onto the record public support of individual projects and programs when the Appropriations Subcommittees are preparing to write their Fiscal Year 2009 appropriations legislation for the Interior Department, the U.S. Forest Service, and other agencies. Testimony in support of conservation programs, like the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Forest Legacy Program, is incredibly important. TPL is grateful that its partners are taking the time to provide testimony to Congressional decision makers.
For more information about the federal programs, visit TPL's Federal Program page.
FILE ATTACHMENTS:
 Farm Bill Conservation Funding Letter |  Testimony Instructions |
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