Committee Programs
Preliminary Master Agenda

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Committee Programs

The nine standing committees of the Assembly on Federal Issues will conduct programs on the hot topics before Congress and the administration. They will also consider policy resolutions that determine NCSL's position on key state-federal matters. The following are some of the topics the committees will cover at the spring meeting of the Assembly on Federal Issues.

• Natural Resource Conservation
• Rural Development
• Competition, Research and Development
• Export Finance and Trade

• The Federal Budget Surplus: Impact on the States
• Earned Income Tax Credit

• Internet Privacy
• Digital Graveyard: Can Those Old "Apples" Grow Trees?
• Internet Banking
• Spectrum Battle: Safety Networks vs. the Broadcast Networks
• Speed to Market: Are State Regulations Impeding New Insurance Products?

• Medical Records Privacy
• Patients' Bill of Rights
• Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit

• The Federal Role in Education in the 21^st Century
• Standards, Assessments and Data Gathering in K-12
• Immigrants, Sweatshops and Economic Development

• Welfare Reform and Family Well-Being
• Faith-Based Organizations as Government Partners
• Supporting Services and Caregivers for the Elderly
• Child Welfare: Can Federal Proposals Increase Flexibility?

• Environmental Streamlining
• Clean Coal Technology
• Amtrak
• National Energy

• Election Reform Legislation
• The Mentally Ill in the Criminal Justice System
• Section 527: Federal Preemption of State Campaign Finance Disclosure Laws

• Environmental Streamlining
• Clean Coal Technology
• The "Cap and Trade" Approach to Regulation Utility Emissions
• The Impact of the U.S. Supreme Court's Decision on the Migratory Bird Rule
• New Investments in Water Infrastructure

Preliminary Master Agenda

Wednesday, May 9

1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Transportation Technology and Policy Symposium

1:00 p.m.-1:15 p.m.

Opening Remarks

1:15 p.m.-1:45 p.m.

Roundtable Introductions

1:45 p.m.-2:45 p.m.

Opening Session: Ground Transportation for the 21^st Century

Speaker: Dena Sue Potestio, Coordinator, Center for Technical Information at NCSL

2:45 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

Break

3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

Issue Track One: Fueling Resources

Transportation Energy Data in the United States
U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Domestic and Foreign Fuels Outlook
American Petroleum Institute

4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Open Discussion

Thursday, May 10

11:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

Registration

7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Transportation Technology and Policy Symposium

7:30 a.m.-8:00 a.m.

Continental Breakfast

8:00 a.m.-8:15 a.m.

Review of Day One Proceedings

8:15 a.m.-10:15 a.m.

Issue Track Two: Advanced Vehicle Technologies

Comparative Overview of the Technologies

Speaker: Frank Kreith, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fellow to NCSL and General Motors Corporation

Conventional, Advanced Vehicle Technologies

Advanced Transportation Technologies in California: CARB's Policy Approach

California Air Resources Board

10:15 a.m.-10:30 a.m.

Break

10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

Issue Track Three: Infrastructure to Support the New Technologies

Argonne National Lab Infrastructure Study

Marianne M. Mintz, U.S. Department of Energy

Infrastructure Requirements for Methanol, Ethanol, and Natural Gas

11:30 a.m.-12:00 noon

Open Discussion

12:00 noon-1:00 p.m.

Luncheon

1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

Issue Track Four: Transportation Policy Innovations

Sprawl and Transportation

Speakers: Senator Steve Thompson, Georgia State Legislature
John Wilson, Southern Coalition for Advanced Transportation

Air Quality and Transportation Planning

Telecommuting

Intelligent Transportation Systems

Speaker: Christine Johnson, Program Manager, Operations/Director of Joint Programs Office on ITS: Transportation Operations and Intelligent Transportation Systems, U.S. Department of Transportation

  2:45-3:00 p.m.

Break

Public Transit

New Paradigms for Transit

Speaker: Bob Stanley, Transportation Research Board

4:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

Open Disucussion

4:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Symposium Summary and Next Steps

12:00 noon-5:00 p.m.

AFI Commerce and Communications Committee

12:00 noon-1:30 p.m.

Opening Luncheon-Issue Briefing

2:00 p.m.-2:45 p.m.

Capitol Hill Rally

2:45 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Capitol Hill Visits

State legislators visit members of Congress to discuss state sales tax issues and electronic commerce.

12:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

AFI Human Services Committee

12:30 p.m.-1:00 p.m.

Convene/Transit to HHS/Clear Through Security for Possible Meeting with Secretary Tommy Thompson

Legislators and Legislative Staff Only

1:00 p.m.-2:15 p.m.

Possible Meeting with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson

Legislators and Legislative Staff Only

2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

Perspectives on Human Services Legislation in the 107^th Congress with Invited Member of Congress

Speaker: The Honorable Wally Herger, (R-CA), Chairman, Subcommittee on Human Resources, U.S. House of Representatives

1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

Agriculture and International Trade Committee

1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.

Navigating International Trade Waters-Forward, Back, Left of Right?

Speaker: Christina Sevilla, Acting Assistant U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)

2:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

Committee Business Meeting

3:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

Animal Health Threats: Coming Soon to a Theater Near You?

Speaker: Tom Gomez, Emergency Programs, Centers for Disease Control

1:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

AFI Education Labor and Workforce Development Committee

Executive Session at the U.S. Department of Education: The Administration's Education Reform Proposal

Request has been made to Secretary of Education Rod Paige and Deputy Secretary Eugene Hickok. Please notify Committee Staff by May 1 if you plan to attend.

1:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

AFI Health Committee

1:30 p.m.-2:00 p.m.

Briefing on the Office of Victims of Crime at the U.S. Department of Justice

Speaker: Dennis Greenhouse, Director's Office, Office of Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.

2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

How States Pay for Childhood Immunizations: An Overview

3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

TBA

1:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

AFI Law and Justice Committee

1:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

Supreme Court Update

Speaker: Richard Ruda, Director, Academy for State and Local Government (ASLG)

3:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

Campaign Finance Reform

Speakers: Robert Lenhard, Associate General Counsel, AFSCME
Robert Schiff, Legislative Assistant, Office of the Honorable Russell Feingold, U.S. Senate

4:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Committee Business Session

5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

Assembly on Federal Issues Steering Committee

6:15 p.m.-7:45 p.m.

Opening Reception at the Hyatt Regency Hotel

Friday, May 11

7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Registration

8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

Opening Plenary Breakfast

9:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

AFI Agriculture and International Trade Committee

9:30 a.m.

Buses depart for the U.S. Department of Agriculture from the front entrance of the hotel.

9:45 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

A Blank Slate for Rural Policy: A Special Program to Launch NCSL's Lobbying in the 2002 Farm Bill

Speaker: The Honorable Ann Veneman, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

11:00 a.m.

Buses depart for return to the Hyatt.

11:15 a.m.-1:15 p.m.

Working Lunch: Agricultural Competition in the 21^st Century: Where to Next for the Traditional Family Farm?

Speaker: Randy Woodson, Associate Dean and Director, Office of Agricultural Research Programs, Purdue University

1:15 p.m.-2:45 p.m.

Building a Comprehensive State-Federal Rural Policy

Speakers: Matt Chase, Deputy Executive Director, National Association of Development Organizations
Eric Ciliberti, Associate Legislative Director, National Association of Counties

2:45 p.m.-4:15 p.m.

Reforming the Alphabet Soup of Natural Resource Conservation Programs

Speaker: Charlie Ingram, Manager, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture

4:15 p.m.-4:45 p.m.

Agriculture Roundtable and Strategy Session for the 2002 Farm Bill

9:45 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

AFI Commerce and Communications Committee

9:45 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

Internet Privacy: A Mandate for State Preemption?

11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Internet Banking: Who Protects your Money from Cyberfraud?

12:00 noon-1:30 p.m.

Digital Graveyards: Can Those Old "Apples" Grow Trees?
Joint session with the Environment Committee

Speakers: Holly Evans, Director of Environmental Affairs, Electronic Industries Association
Robert Tonetti, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.

Speed to Market: Are State Regulations Impeding New Insurance Products from the Marketplace?

2:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

The Battle for Spectrum! Public Safety Networks vs. the Broadcast Networks

4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Committee Business Meeting

9:45 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

AFI Education, Labor and Workforce Development Committee

9:45 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

Update on Congressional Activity

11:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Testing and Data Gathering

12:45 p.m.-2:00 p.m.

Committee Business Session/Policy Discussion

• Head Start
  Education Reform Proposals
  School Construction

2:15 p.m.-3:45 p.m.

Immigrants, Sweatshops and Economic Development

4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

OSHA Regulations on Repetitive Motion: Impact on Workers

9:45 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

AFI Energy and Transportation Committee

9:45 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

Coal: The Love/Hate Relationship Continues
Joint session with the AFI Environment Committee

Speaker: Stephen L. Miller, President, Center for Energy and Economic Development (CEED)
Patrico Silva, Natural Resources Defense Council

11:00 a.m.-12:00 noon

Regional Approaches to National Energy Concers

Speakers: Chuck Gray, Executive Director, National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC)
Jeff Genzer, General Counsel, National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO)

12:00 noon-1:30 p.m.

National Energy Policy: A Report from Capitol Hill

Speaker: Deborah Estes, Democratic Counsel, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.

Congressional Aviation Update

Speaker: Stacie Soumbeniotis, Senior Counsel, House Aviation Subcommittee

General Congressional Update

2:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Committee Business Session/Policy Discussion

• Fuel Transportation and Storage Safety
  Oil Overcharge Settlement Funds
  Hazardous Materials Transportation
  Motor Carrier Regulation
  Waterways/Ports

9:45 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

AFI Environment Committee

9:45 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

Coal: The Love/Hate Relationship Continues
Joint session with the Energy and Transportation Committee

Speakers: Stephen L. Miller, President, Center for Energy and Economic Development (CEED)
Patrico Silva, Natural Resources Defense Council

11:00 a.m.-12:00 noon

The Call for New Investments in America's Water Infrastructure

Joint session with the AFI Federal Budget and Taxation Committee

Speakers: Peter Cook, Executive Director, National Association of Water Companies
Lee Garrigan, Manager, Government Affairs, Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA) WIN Administrator
Ken Kirk, Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA)
Paul Schwartz, National Policy Coordinator, Clean Water Action

12:00 noon-1:00 p.m.

Working Lunch: Digital Graveyards: Can Those Old "Apples" Grow Trees?
Joint session with the Commerce and Communications Committee

Speakers: Holly Evans, Director of Environmental Affairs, Electronic Industries Association
Robert Tonetti, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.

Arsenic in Drinking Water

Speaker: Vanessa Leiby, Executive Director, Association of State Drinking Water Administrators

2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

2:00 p.m.-2:45 p.m.




2:45 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

Overview of Recent Supreme Court Cases

EPA vs. American Trucking Association

Speaker: Robert Gasaway, Kirkland and Ellis, Washington, D.C.

The Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook City v. United States Army Corps of Engineers (migratory bird rule)

Speakers: Sharon Swingle, Associate, Mayer, Brown & Platt
Lance Wood, Assistant Chief Counsel for Environmental Law and Regulatory Programs, The United States Army Corp of Engineers

3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Committee Business Session/Policy Discussion

• Water Quality
  Superfund Reform
  Solid Waste Management
  Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA)

9:45 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

AFI Federal Budget and Taxation Committee

9:45 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

Federal Budget and Tax Update

11:00 a.m.-12:00 noon

The Call for New Investments in America's Water Infrastructure

Joint session with the Environment Committee

Speakers: Peter Cook, Executive Director, National Association of Water Companies
Lee Garrigan, Manager, Government Affairs, Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA) WIN Administrator
Ken Kirk, Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA)
Paul Schwartz, National Policy Coordinator, Clean Water Action

12:00 noon-12:15 p.m.

Break/Lunch

12:15 p.m.-2:30 p.m.

The Federal Budget Surplus Project

2:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

Tax Incentives for Lower-Income Workers and Families

Joint session with the Human Services Committee

Speakers: Bob Greenstein, Executive Director, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP)
Rick May, Principal, Davidson and Company

4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Committee Business Session

9:45 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

AFI Health Committee

9:45 a.m.-10:00 a.m.

Welcome and Introductions

10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

Legislative/Regulatory Update

• Status Report on Key Health Regulations
  Medicaid Managed Care
  Medicaid Upper Payment Limit
  Medicaid Seclusion and Restraint
  Medicaid Eligibility
  State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
  Medical Records Privacy
  HIPAA Electronic Transactions
  Needle Stick Safety
• Federal Budget/Appropriations Update

11:00 a.m.-12:00 noon

Patients' Bill of Rights: Closer or Farther Away?

12:00 noon-1:15 p.m.

Establishing a Prescription Drug Benefit in the Medicare Program...If, When, How???

1:15 p.m.-2:00 p.m.

FDA Regulation of Tobacco Products: A Review of Propsals

2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

Medicaid/SCHIP Update

Family Opportunities Act
The Immigrant Child Health Improvement Act
The Family Health Insurance Program

3:00 p.m-4:00 p.m.

Is There a Federal Solution to the Shortage of Nurses?

4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Supporting Services and Caregivers for the Elderly: Update on Aging and Services and Olmstead
Joint session with AFI Human Services Committee

Speaker: Donna Folkemer, Program Manager, NCSL Forum for State Health Policy Leadership

9:45 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

AFI Human Services Committee

9:45 a.m.-11:15 a.m.

Changes in Federal Human Services Programs: What's on the Horizon

11:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Welfare Reform and Family Well-being

Speaker: Gordon L. Berlin, Senior Vice President, Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC), New York

12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m.

Working Lunch

Marian Wright Edelman, President, Children's Defense Fund

1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.

Federal Update on Human Services Budget and Appropriations/Committee Business Session

Speakers: Lee Posey, Policy Specialist, AFI Human Services Committee
Sheri Steisel, Federal Affairs Counsel, AFI Human Services Committee

2:30 p.m.-3:15 p.m.

Tax Incentives for Lower-Income Workers and Families
Joint session with the AFI Federal Budget and Taxation Committee

Speakers: Bob Greenstein, Executive Director, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP)
Rick May, Principal, Davidson and Company

3:15 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

Joint Business Session/Consideration of Policies
Joint with the AFI Federal Budget and Taxation Committee

4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Supporting Services and Caregivers for the Elderly: Update on Aging and Services and Olmstead
Joint session with the AFI Health Committee

Speakers: Virginia Daze, Director, State Community Care Programs, National Association of State Units on Aging
Donna Folkemer, Program Manager, NCSL Forum for State Health Policy Leadership

9:45 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

AFI Law and Justice Committee

9:45 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

Election Reform (Consideration of NCSL Election Reform Task Force Recommendations)

Speakers: Sametta Klinetob, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the Honorable Asa Hutchinson, U.S. House of Representatives
DesMarie Mosco, Legislative Assistant, Office of the Honorable Karen McCarthy, U.S. House of Representatives

11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Legislative Update

12:15 p.m.-1:00 p.m.

Working Lunch

1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

Juvenile Justice
Criminal History Records Policy Consideration

Speaker: Bobby Vassar, Counsel, Office of the Honorable Bobby Scott, U.S. House of Representatives

3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Section 527

5:15 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

AFI Steering Committee

6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Reception

Saturday, May 12

8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.

Registration

8:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

Special Briefings (Continental Breakfast)

Federal Education Reform Proposals

National Energy

Speakers: Shawn Intorcio, Manager, Standard and Poor's DRI Global Energy Services
William Kovacs, Vice President of Environment, Technology and Regulatory Affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bill Prindle, Director of Buildings and Utilities Programs, Alliance to Save Energy
Michael Oldak, Director, State Competitive and Regulatory Policies, Edison Electric Institute

11:00 a.m.-12:00 noon

AFI Business Meeting-Consideration of Policy Resolutions

12:00 noon-1:30 p.m.

Closing Plenary Luncheon

1:45 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

Rail Working Group Meeting

1:45 p.m.-2:45 p.m.

Understanding the Bond Financing Mechanisms in the Amtrak High-Speed Rail Bill

2:45 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

Senate v. House: An Analysis of High-Speed Rail Legislation

Speaker: Frank Mulvey, Minority Staff Director, House Subcommittee on Ground Transportation