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NCSL RECEIVES GRANT TO TRAIN MIDDLE EASTERN LEGISLATIVE STAFF
NCSL was awarded a $900,000 grant by the U.S. State Department to participate in the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI). For 16 months, NCSL will work with legislative staff in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Lebanon in providing professional development opportunities, and to involve their national assemblies in the African Network of Parliamentary Personnel. MEPI was originally created by the U.S. State Department to support and enhance economic and democratic efforts in the Middle East.
SECTION 8 HOUSING VOUCHERS STILL A CONCERN
An NPR report on July 9 stated that the funding cuts for Section 8 housing vouchers made by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) continue to be a concern. Approximately 2 million people receive subsidized housing vouchers with a standard that they pay no more than 30 percent of their income toward rent. However, the HUD action in April 2004, made retroactive to January, puts an estimated 90,000 families at risk of losing their vouchers before the end of the year. Housing authorities across the country have already suspended vouchers or raised costs for renters. The report can be heard at www.npr.org/rundowns/segment.php?wfId=3246024.
CONGRESS PASSES U.S.-AUSTRALIA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
On July 14 and 15, the U.S. House and Senate respectively passed legislation (HR 4759) to complete the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by votes of 314-109 and 80-16. Excluded from the agreement is a mechanism for an investor-state dispute resolution. NCSL lobbied for this exclusion, the first ever among recent trade agreements, because of negative experience at the state level with similar mechanisms in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NCSL wrote to USTR Ambassador Robert Zoellick in February, thanking him for negotiating the exclusion. The letter is at www.ncsl.org/standcomm/scecon/ustr2004feb12.htm. President Bush signed the bill on August 3.
U.S.-MOROCCO FREE TRADE AGREEMENT COMPLETED
On July 21 and 22, Congress approved the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (H.R. 4842). The U.S. House passed it with a vote of 323-99, and the Senate approved the bill 85-13. The White House issued a statement saying that the FTA “provides a significant opportunity to encourage economic reform and development in a moderate Muslim nation.” The bill went to the President on August 5 for signing.
SENATE BACKS TOBACCO COMPROMISE
On July 15, the Senate voted 78-15 to approve a newly struck deal to regulate the manufacturing, marketing and sales of cigarettes in return for an industry-financed $12 billion buyout of tobacco farmers. The proposal was submitted as an amendment to the Jobs Creation bill (HR 4520). The provisions give the FDA authority to regulate the sale, distribution and advertising of tobacco products in efforts to reduce smoking and addiction among youth, as well as require changes in tobacco products, such as the reduction or elimination of additives, but not ban the products themselves. The House version includes no FDA regulatory authority, and the buyout would be financed by taxpayers. The bill has been advanced to Conference Committee.
AG TRADE FRAMEWORK SET BY WTO
The General Council of the World Trade Organization agreed on July 31 on a framework for agricultural trade negotiations. The 147 WTO member nations will seek elimination of all agricultural export subsidies, improvement in market access for farm goods through tariff reductions and expanded quotas, and substantial reduction in trade-distorting agricultural support programs. It also expands market access for manufactured goods, further opens global service markets and seeks less bureaucratic red tape to enhance the movement of goods across borders. See http://www.ustr.gov/ for more information.
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2003-2004 Officers
Chair
Representative Peter L. Lewiss
Rhode Island
Vice Chairs
Representative Sheryl Allen
Utah
Representative Terri Austin
Indiana
Representative Michael Jackson
Rhode Island
Representative Randy Johnson
Florida
Staff Chair
Hannah Shostack
New Jersey
Staff Vice Chairs
Nelson Fox
Ohio
Committee Staff
Jeremy Meadows
Committee Director
202-624-8664
jeremy.meadows@ncsl.org
Mandy Rafool
Program Principal
303-856-1506
mandy.rafool@ncsl.org
Trina Palmer
Research Analyst
202-624-8695
trina.palmer@ncsl.org
Offices
Headquarters
7700 East First Place
Denver, Colorado 80230
State-Federal Relations
444 North Capitol Street, NW
Suite 515
Washington, DC 20001 |
