Vermont Sen. James Jeffords rocked the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate by declaring his independence from the Republican Party and agreeing to caucus with the Democrats. The new ratio – 50-49-1 – effectively turns control of the Senate to the Democrats. With this change come all-new committee chairs, with new agendas and priorities. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), soon to switch roles, must negotiate a new organizational resolution for the Senate.

Democrats take control on June 5, when the current organizing resolution expires. The task should be easier than it was at the beginning of the year, when the two leaders hammered out a historic power-sharing agreement to reflect the Senate’s 50-50 split. Republican and Democratic leadership aides said there is a basic understanding that Democrats will hold a one-seat advantage on committees.

The NACo legislative affairs staff has reviewed the possible changes and made some predictions as to what may be in store for NACo priorities.

Labor, Health and Human Services
A Senate controlled by the Democrats could mean higher funding for some of NACo’s labor, health and human service priorities. It is fair to expect that the allocations for the Labor HHS appropriations subcommittee will be higher under Majority Leader Daschle. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) is expected to be the chairman of this subcommittee. Harkin was one of the main sponsors of the Senate budget proposal to increase the workforce development programs by $900 million over the next five years. Although this amendment did not survive the budget conference, we can expect Harkin to push for it during the appropriations process.

Similarly, there is a better chance of increasing the Social Services Block Grant to $2.38 billion. The Senate budget included this figure, but it too failed in conference. Harkin is considered to be more supportive of this program than Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Penn.), particularly since some of the funds are used for disabled individuals, one of Harkin’s top priorities.

The programs that made up the 1996 welfare reform law are up for reauthorization in this Congress. A Democratic Senate would have a wide-ranging effect on reauthorization. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) will fall under the jurisdiction of the Finance Committee. Recently, some of the more conservative members of the House have expressed their intention to mandate states to spend 10 percent of their TANF dollars in promoting marriage. Such a proposal is not likely to survive with a Democratic Senate.

There may also be a chance to obtain some changes that would allow states to provide more hours of education and training and to stop the five-year time-limit clock when an individual is working and still receiving cash assistance. Another program that is up for reauthorization is the Food Stamp program, which may stand a chance of receiving some benefit increases in a Democratic Senate.

Similarly, there may be a better chance of restoring health and food stamp benefits to legal immigrants. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), who will chair the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, is one of the main sponsors of legislation to restore these benefits and can be expected to push for its passage

The Senate leadership change does not dramatically affect the outlook for health care issues. The biggest change will come with the so-called Patients’ Bill of Rights legislation, also known as HMO reform. Kennedy has been one of the prime supporters of legislation that would provide patients with the right to seek appeals and legal and/or monetary recourse regarding health care coverage decisions made by their HMOs. With Kennedy assuming the committee chairmanship, it is widely expected he will seek action on this legislation, which has been stalled in negotiations and controversy for the past several years.

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who will take over from Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) as the chair of the Finance Committee, is not expected to veer from the path already set out for the committee. Medicare reform and a Medicare prescription drug benefit remain on the committee’s agenda.

Justice and Public Safety
It is now clear that Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) will chair the Senate Judiciary Committee, after Sen. Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-Del.) announced he would turn down the job in favor of the chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Leahy will replace Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) who will now become the ranking member.

In addition to his new assignment on the Foreign Relations Committee, Biden will also chair a new Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime & Drugs. This subcommittee will likely have jurisdiction for all state and local anticrime programs.

Both Leahy and Biden are strong advocates of discretionary funding from Washington as opposed to direct block grants to cities and counties. Earlier this year, Leahy and Hatch introduced new legislation on drug treatment. Leahy and Biden will be strong supporters of the COPS program, as they have been in the past. They are also expected to strongly support drug treatment and prevention programs.

Community and Economic Development
The Jeffords switch will most likely result in Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.) becoming chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Committee, with Maryland’s junior senator, Barbara Mikulski (D), becoming chair of the VA-HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee. Maryland’s senatorial delegation will now wield strong powers in the finance and housing industries.

Both Sarbanes and Mikulski support the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), a key funding priority for local government programs and services. Sarbanes has also indicated a strong interest in developing legislation to combat predatory lending, an issue of concern for NACo’s Community & Economic Development Committee. An interim policy position adopted by the Community & Economic Development Committee during the 2001 Legislative Conference calls for all levels of government to adopt policies to end predatory lending practices.

Public Lands
The new chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will be Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.). Bingaman has been a supporter of many of NACo’s priorities, particularly the PILT program, on which he has introduced legislation, S. 454, to fully fund the program and take it off-budget.

Taxation and Finance
The change in leadership of the Commerce Committee should help in getting approval of a good remote sales tax bill. Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.), the new chairman, supported and cosponsored legislation (S.512) introduced by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.). NACo strongly supports this bill.

The legislation will also be considered by Finance Committee Chairman Baucus, who is sympathetic to NACo’ position on the bill because of the fairness and equity issues involved. There are a number of Republican and Democrat senators who will champion state and local governments’ views on this issue.

Transportation
On federal highway and transit programs, Jeffords becomes the new Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which has jurisdiction over the highway program. Being from a rural state, he will be sympathetic to the highway program, but probably more concerned than former chairman Sen. Robert Smith (R-N.H.) about the environmental effects of highway construction.

On rail service and safety, Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.) replaces Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) as chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. NACo expects him to be a greater supporter of Amtrak and the expansion of passenger rail service than McCain.

When looking at enhanced funding of highways, transit, airport and rail service, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) replaces Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. NACo expects little change and a continued pro-transportation funding philosophy.

Telecommunications and Technology
On the online privacy front, things could heat up. Specifically, legislation put forth by Commerce Committee leaders Hollings and McCain may come to the forefront quickly. Late last year, Congress was thought to be poised to move quickly on this particular legislation, since industry was beginning to warm up to the idea of new privacy laws, especially in the face of a potential onslaught of separate state laws. But privacy measures slowed down in the face of critics who have claimed new laws could cost businesses between $9 billion and $36 billion annually. NACo supports a voluntary privacy effort rather than one mandated by Congress.

While privacy may shift into high gear, broadband bills may see a marked slowdown, most notably a controversial bill that favors the regional Bell companies. Reps. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), who is chairman of the House Commerce and Energy Committee, and John Dingell (D-Mich.) have crafted the Internet Freedom and Broadband Deployment Act of 2001, H.R. 1542.

The bill would amend the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and lift Federal Communications Commission regulations that prohibit the Baby Bells from offering long distance, including high-speed Internet services, until they meet provisions designed to increase competition among local telephone service providers. The telecommunications act prohibits the Baby Bells from offering high-speed Internet services until they allow competition in the local telephone markets. NACo supports the deployment of broadband technologies on a competitive basis, but has not yet taken a position on H.R. 1542.

Agriculture
Harkin, as new chairman of the Agriculture Committee, could speed up action on the farm bill and increase the likelihood that the bill will include stronger sections on conservation, food safety, nutrition and aid to small farmers. Harkin is the lead sponsor of the Conservation Security Act, which would make payments to farmers for protecting land that remains in agricultural production, with limitations on those payments so that smaller farmers would be bigger beneficiaries.

NACo is pursuing changes to the Rural Development titles of the farm bill to provide opportunities for counties to obtain needed funding for rural development projects, particularly in the over 500 “persistently poor” counties identified by the federal government.