INSTITUTE HONORS REPS. MOORHEAD AND BEILENSON AT ADVISORY BOARD DELEGATION LUNCHEON On Thursday, the Institute honored retiring delegation members Reps. Carlos Moorhead and Tony Beilenson at a luncheon held as part of its annual fall Advisory Board meeting. Nearly half of the California Congressional delegation joined about 60 Advisory Board members and others at the lunch. Frank Cruz, the Chairman of the Institute's Board of Directors emceed the event. Fred Martin, the Institute's Treasurer, introduced Reps. George Brown and David Dreier, who praised the public service and dedication California enjoyed from Reps. Moorhead and Beilenson over their long service in the House. Then Jan Boel, the Institute's Vice-Chair, introduced the guests of honor for their remarks. Rep. Moorhead is retiring after 24 years in the House, and Rep. Beilenson is leaving after 20 years. After Reps. Moorhead's and Beilenson's remarks, Tim Ransdell, the Institute's Executive Director, reported on the legislative activities, products and services that the Institute has provided this year to the delegation, supporters, and other colleagues. Ransdell expressed appreciation to the Institute's Advisory Board, Board and staff, and to the California State University system and Sun Microsystems for their in-kind contributions. He also noted that the Institute would soon release a "factbook" prepared by the Economic Advisory Council and unveil an internet homepage. BAKER BILL ON BAY-DELTA FUNDING RECEIVING WIDE SUPPORT Rep. Bill Baker (Walnut Creek) introduced legislation to provide the first installment in federal funding for the San Francisco Bay-Delta water restoration project. The bill, entitled the "California Bay-Delta Environmental Enhancement and Water Security Act," will authorize $143 million annually for fiscal years 1998 thru 2000 to be used for environmental enhancement and habitat restoration in the Bay-Delta region. So far, 40 members of the California congressional delegation have signed on as co-sponsors. The hope is to get all of the delegation on the bill. The bill is also strongly supported by the "stakeholders" in the CALFED Bay-Delta process, which is comprised of agricultural, urban, and environmental interests. In November, Californians will vote on Proposition 204, a bond measure to raise $995 million as the state's share in funding the project. The bond money, if approved, will be devoted to Delta improvement projects, loans and grants for water quality and environmental enhancement projects. Members wishing to co-sponsor the legislation should contact Patrick Sullivan in Rep. Baker's office at x51880. ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES NEW NATIONAL SPACE POLICY Earlier today the Clinton administration unveiled a new national space policy which will commit the nation "to a strong and stable program in space that addresses both U.S. civil and national security requirements, and will ensure America's role as the world's space leader." The new plan, announced by Assistant to the President for Science and Technology John H. Gibbons, stems from a year-long study conducted by the National Science and Technology Council and the National Security Council. A detailed summary of the document outlines the policy objectives for the nation's space policy as they relate to the civil space program, the commercial sector and national security. With respect to the civil space program, the plan clearly supports a national commitment to the International Space Station, re-useable launch vehicle programs, robotic exploration of Mars, and a long-term program of environmental monitoring from space. The new policy calls for the stimulation of private-sector investment in the space program by committing the federal government "to purchase commercial available goods and services and by offering stable and predictable access to federal space-related hardware, facilities and data." Finally, the plan calls for closer coordination between the Department of Defense and intelligence community activities related to space policy. For instance, the plan calls for monitoring of compliance by foreign governments with arms control and non-proliferation agreements. This new policy comes just a few months before the "space summit" scheduled to occur in early December. Summit participants will include key members of the Administration, the military and Congressional representatives. HOUSE GOVERNMENT REFORM & OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE ADOPTS REPORT DENOUNCING DECENNIAL CENSUS SAMPLING On Wednesday, the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight adopted and forwarded to the full House a non-binding report repudiating the Census Bureau's plans to develop the tools to statistically adjust the 2000 Census. The Bureau's proposed adjustment, known as the Integrated Coverage Measurement, would change the Census from one of actual enumeration -- literally counting every citizen -- to a system based in small part on sampling. The Bureau believes that by employing sampling, the Bureau can better uncover the hard-to-find last 10% of residents that often prove elusive to census takers -- historically disproportionately minorities and renters. By some estimates, as many as 4.5% of African American and 5% of Hispanic residents have gone uncounted. At stake for California are potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in increased federal formula funding. In 1992, the Census Bureau estimated that 834,000 Californians were not counted by the 1990 census, which constituted 21% of the nationwide undercount. If the 1990 census had been adjusted based on sampling techniques, California could have received increased funding under a range of programs based on these counts. In addition to the increased federal funding, California might stand to benefit from adjusted census counts by increasing its already formidable representation in Congress. (In the end, then-Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher elected to overrule the Census Bureau in 1992 and not apply the adjustment; in March of this year, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld that decision.) The conclusion of the report, which was adopted 22-12, is that the Census Bureau should not use sampling techniques "to complete or adjust an actual enumeration, which is constitutionally mandated for purposes of apportionment." Though the report has no binding legal impact, the vote represents the strongest indication that some in Congress may seek to block implementation of the Census Bureau's plan to reform their census methodology. The report was prepared by the staff of the Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Bill Clinger. Clinger's home state of Pennsylvania was undercounted by only 0.29% -- the second lowest percentage of any state, after only Rhode Island. In contrast, California was undercounted by 2.73% -- making it the third most undercounted state, after New Mexico and Texas. UCLA BUSINESS FORECASTING PROJECT PREDICTS MORE JOBS FOR CALIFORNIA, GROWTH IN U.S. ECONOMY A recently released report by the UCLA Business Forecasting Project opines future economic health for both California and the nation as a whole. According to their latest quarterly report, the U.S. economy will experience slight acceleration in real GDP and continued low interest over the next decade and a half. This growth is fueled by a slightly faster growth in the labor force, a jump in private capital stock and advances in the application of research which will accelerate the rate of technological change. The UCLA economists predict an even brighter future for California's economy, with the state's economy outpacing the nation's through 2010. This growth will result in a 2 percent long-term growth rate in non-farm employment. This rate translates into 4.6 million more jobs by 2010. UCLA attributes the growth to several factors including "a strong foreign demand for entertainment services; a productive agriculture sector; a booming multimedia industry; and a reviving high tech manufacturing sector, centered in electronics and aerospace." HOUSE HOLDS ISTEA HEARING ON HIGHWAY SAFETY The House Surface Transportation Subcommittee held another in a series of hearings on the reauthorization of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA). The purpose of the hearing was to examine the various highway safety grant and research programs (including the Section 402, 403 and 410 programs) and other traffic safety issues. Committee members heard testimony from officials of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Associations of Governors' Highway Safety Representatives. Also appearing before the panel were representatives from various highway safety organizations. Witnesses discussed the status and needs of the various highway safety grant programs and their eligibility and will offer recommendations for improving the programs during the reauthorization of ISTEA. For copies of the witness' testimony contact the Institute at 202-546-3700 or refer to the subcommittees web site at www.house.gov/transportation. NEWEST CSU TO RECEIVE FEDERAL FUNDS California's newest state university, CSU at Monterey Bay, will receive $13 million in federal funds to help the one year old campus adjust to its new surroundings at the former Fort Ord Army Base. The money, which comes from the Department of Defense base conversion fund, is intended to help the university renovate 127,000 square feet of military buildings -- including three motor pools, a theater, and a soldiers club -- and convert the buildings into classrooms, a performing arts center, and a student union. Construction on the 1,250 student university is slated to begin early next year and be completed by the following fall. ADVOCATES SEEKING INCREASED NIH SPENDING The co-chairs of the Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus are circulating a "Dear Colleague" letter urging the White House and the House and Senate leadership to adopt the higher House- passed funding level for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The House approved a $12.7 billion package for the NIH, a 6.9% increase over FY 1996 and $333 million above the Senate level. Funding for NIH is part of the behemoth appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health & Human Services and Education. Education advocates are likewise working to ensure that funding for education remain as high as possible. The Labor-HHS-Education bill is considered one of the most likely to wind up unresolved, and thus rolled into a continuing resolution. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (San Francisco) is among the co-chairs of the Biomedical Research Caucus. Members wishing to sign the letter can call Seth Johnson at Rep. Gekas' office at x54315. For further information, contact the University of California at (202) 588-0002. UPDATE OF INSTITUTE'S FEDERAL REPORT AVAILABLE The Institute publishes a Federal Report detailing the status of legislation and issues which it has been tracking, and reporting on its products and services, such as the weekly Bulletin, white papers, briefings, and its member breakfasts. A copy of the Executive Summary of the report, which was released in its most recently updated form, is attached. For a copy of the full report, please call the Institute at 202-546-3700. ----------------- CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FEDERAL REPORT, FALL 1996 UPDATE [The following is excerpted from a report delivered at the 9/19/96 California Institute Congressional Luncheon. For a copy of the full report, contact the Institute at 202-546-3700.] _______________________ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Federal Report is prepared by the California Institute staff for its semi-annual Board meetings. It details the legislative issues the Institute has worked on in 1996 and the products and services that the Institute provides to its Advisory Board and the congressional delegation. LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY Since January 1996, the Institute has engaged in activities regarding a number of significant issues, including: Immigration -- The Institute continues to work to assess approaches for reimbursing states for certain costs of illegal immigration, and to monitor efforts to restrict various benefits to legal immigrants and reform laws regarding legal and illegal immigration. Medicaid Formula -- The Institute has analyzed the impact of proposed Medicaid formula changes on California, and provided the delegation with this fair share data. Disaster Insurance -- The Institute continues to focus on proposals for a national disaster insurance plan to cover damages caused by earthquakes and other natural disasters. ISTEA Reauthorization -- The Institute has provided continuous analysis of the reauthorization deliberations and will continue to focus on the issue in the 105th Congress. Education -- The Institute has worked with the delegation and a California K-12 alliance regarding California's interests in federal education funding allocations. FDA Reform -- The Institute will continue to provide the delegation with information on the importance of this issue to California's biomedical technology industry. Tax Policy and Technology Industries-- The Institute continues to advise the delegation regarding tax issues important to the state's technology community, including a targeted capital gains tax cut; a permanent research and development tax credit with an appropriate base year; and accelerated depreciation of semiconductor production equipment. Budget, Appropriations, and Other Key Projects -- The Institute will continue to track policy and funding for a range of important California concerns in transportation, defense, space, science, energy, trade, and other areas. PRODUCTS AND SERVICES To promote the exchange of policy views among the Congressional delegation, the Institute's Advisory Board members and others, and to provide timely information on legislative issues of importance to California, the Institute provides the following products and services: Member Breakfasts -- Advisory Board members are invited to attend a monthly breakfast hosted by the Institute featuring one or two members of the delegation. Briefings -- The Institute has sponsored briefings on several issues, including immigration, the 2000 census, the California economy, and defense downsizing. Policy Papers -- The Institute has recently produced papers on the Export Administration Act, federal formula grant allocations, the balance of payments between California and the federal government, and the use of poverty data in federal formulas. Capitol Hill Bulletins -- The Institute continues to monitor and report on federal issues of significance to California in its weekly California Capitol Hill Bulletin. Electronic Products -- The Institute continues to expand availability of its written products and other services via e-mail, a home page, and other electronic means.