2008 Homeland Security Appropriations Full Committee Markup Summary 
The Homeland Security Appropriations bill (
H.R. 2638) addresses our nation’s most pressing security needs, working to implement many of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and fulfilling the commitments made by the House in the 9/11 bill passed in January. Of particular interest is the $50 million in grants not funded in 2007 or in the President’s request, to help states to comply with Real ID, an unfunded mandate requiring state licenses to meet new standards in order to be used for federal identification purposes. These funds will only be available through
Sept. 30, 2008. The Committee also questioned the $40 million appropriated in FY 2006 for Real ID that was never used. The Department of Homeland Security is directed to use the remaining pilot project funding for near-term Real ID pilots. View the summary at
http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/HomelandFC.pdf.
FMCSA Releases Motor Carrier Safety Progress Report
On June 6, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released its Motor Carrier Safety Progress Report updated as of March 31, 2007.
The report is available for download on the FMCSA Web site.
GAO Assesses Current Motor Carrier Safety Compliance Model
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has the primary federal responsibility for reducing crashes involving large trucks and buses that operate in interstate commerce. FMCSA decides which motor carriers to review for compliance with its safety regulations primarily by using an automated, data-driven analysis model called SafeStat. SafeStat uses data on crashes and other data to assign carriers priorities for compliance reviews.
The Government Accountablity Office (GAO) assessed both the extent to which changes to the SafeStat model could improve its ability to identify carriers that pose high crash risks and how the quality of the data used affects SafeStat‘s performance. To carry out its work, GAO analyzed how SafeStat identified high-risk carriers in 2004 and compared these results with crash data through 2005. GAO is recommending that FMCSA use a negative binomial regression model to identify carriers that pose high crash risks.
In commenting on a draft of this report, the Department of Transportation agreed that the use of a negative binomial regression model looked promising for selecting carriers for compliance reviews, but expressed some reservation about the greater sensitivity of this approach to problems with reported crash data. The full GAO report is available on the GAO Web site at
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07585.pdf.
National Customs Automation Program Test
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in conjunction with the Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, is currently conducting a National Customs Automation Program (NCAP) test concerning the transmission of automated truck manifest data. View the
Federal Register notice for details on the the next group, or cluster, of ports to be deployed for this test and other information. All land border ports in the state of Minnesota are expected to be fully deployed for testing by June 8, 2007. Comments concerning this notice and all aspects of the announced test may be submitted at any time during the test period as detailed in the
Federal Register notice.
Information Collection Request for Alternative Inspection Services and Commercial Driver Application
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has submitted the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995: Application—Alternative Inspection Services/FAST Commercial Driver Application. This is a proposed extension of an information collection that was previously approved. CBP is proposing that this information collection be extended with no change to the burden hours. This document is published to obtain comments from the public and affected agencies. This proposed information collection was previously published in the
Federal Register (72 FR 12181) on March 15, 2007, allowing for a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.10. Written comments should be received on or before July 11, 2007. View the June 11
Federal Register Notice for further details.
Grants Policy Committee Webcast on New Legislation & Strategic Planning
The Grants Policy Committee (GPC) continues to lead federal grant management and administration streamlining activities. The next GPC Stakeholder Webcast & Meeting will be held June 19, 2007 from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. (ET) to discuss new legislation affecting grant life cycle changes, data and reporting requirements, and awardee and federal communities, policies, and planning. Webcast goals are: (1) To raise awareness in the stakeholder community about new legislation concerning transparency and accountability and the effects it will have on stakeholder federal assistance funding cycle, data and reporting requirements, policies and planning; and (2) to receive input from stakeholders to assist the GPC in drafting a strategic plan to set priorities and inform its continued streamlining activities. The location of the meeting and the broadcast of the Webcast will take place at the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. For details and instructions on attending the meeting, read the
Federal Register Notice posted. The meeting will be Webcast at
http://www.grants.gov/aboutgrants/grants_news.jsp under the June 19 meeting materials. If you have any questions BEFORE or AFTER the webcast, or any comments to be addressed, e-mail
gpcwebcast@nsf.gov. To ask a question or make a comment during the webcast, e-mail
HUDTV@HUD.GOV or call the studio at (202) 708-0995.
Transportation-Housing Subcommittee to Unveil Bill
On June 11, the Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (Transportation-HUD) will begin markup of the FY 2008 Appropriations. The committee is expected to unveil a bill to reject Bush administration proposals to cut funding for several programs, including community development grants and Amtrak. The bill provides funding for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Commercial Driver's License program and highway safety programs. It is also expected that another attempt will be made to delay a plan to allow Mexican trucks to make long-haul trips on U.S. roads.
Get in on the Challenge: The Move Cover Photo Contest
We are looking for the best photo that depicts the theme for each issue of MOVE. The selected photo will be used on the cover and viewed by thousands of readers! Pull out those cameras and brush up on those skills!
Be sure to review the submission guidelines and release form. Make note of the upcoming themes and deadlines for submission. E-mail move@aamva.org with questions...and good luck!
Issue: Annual Conference Issue '07
Theme: "Communicate. Collaborate. Face the Future Together"
DEADLINE: June 19, 2007
The Congressional Budget Office Releases Cost Estimate to Senate Amendment 1150
Senate Amendment (S.A.) 1150 to S. 1348, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, as amended by the Senate between May 22 and May 24, would revise laws governing immigration, authorize initiatives to improve enforcement of those laws, and expand the number of legal immigrants allowed into the United States. Implementing those changes would increase both direct (or mandatory) spending and discretionary spending (spending subject to annual appropriation action). S.A. 1150 also would affect federal revenues, directly through enactment of the legislation's provisions and indirectly by increasing the size of the labor force. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimate that the legislation would exert a relatively small net effect on the federal budget balance over the next two decades, since additional expenditures would be mostly offset by additional revenue. In addition, CBO estimates that enacting this legislation would increase the population in the United States by about 1.8 million residents by 2017. By 2027, the net change in the population would be negligible. View the estimated costs and other details on the
CBO Web site.
U.S. Citizens with Pending Passport Applications Allowed Temporary Travel Flexibility
The U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security
announced last week that U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda who have applied for but not yet received passports can nevertheless temporarily enter and depart from the United States by air with a government-issued photo identification and Department of State official proof of application for a passport through Sept. 30, 2007. The federal government is making this accommodation for air travel due to longer than expected processing times for passport applications in the face of record-breaking demand due to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). WHTI was mandated by Congress in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to strengthen border security and facilitate entry into the United States for citizens and legitimate international visitors. WHTI requirements for air travel took effect on Jan. 23, 2007. As early as January 2008, the Departments will begin to implement WHTI at land and sea ports of entry. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking outlining a phased implementation is expected to be published in the
Federal Register within the next two weeks. More details are available in the June 8 U.S. Department of State
press release.
UCR Board of Directors Meeting Scheduled
The Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) Board of Directors has announced a public telephonic meeting will take place on June 28, 2007, 11 a.m.- 2:00 p.m. (ET). Any interested person may call Avelino Gutierrez at (505) 827-4565 to receive the toll-free number and pass code needed to participate in this meeting by telephone. The Board will continue its work in developing and implementing the Unified Carrier Registration Plan and Agreement and to that end, may consider matters properly before the Board. Contact Avelino Gutierrez at (505) 827-4565 for more details.
Efforts to Pass Immigration Bill Fail in the Senate
After weeks of debate in the Senate, and with 350 amendments submitted, the Senate has given up on the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (
S. 1348). The Senate is still optimistic that they will return to the debate in weeks to come and a resolution will be made. On June 6, AAMVA issued
a statement about Real ID provisions contained in the Unlawful Employment of Aliens section of the substitute amendment 1150. This amendment would require all U.S. citizens, and those aliens here lawfully, to obtain a Real ID compliant driver’s license before they can be employed. These provisions would potentially result in an overwhelming operational burden on motor vehicle agencies nationwide and could potentially threaten the personal privacy of every U.S. citizen by requiring motor vehicle agencies to share customers’ digital images (photos) with employers. Final Rule on Defect and Noncompliance Notification, Reports, and Responsibility
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a final rule that contains administrative adjustments to part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports; part 577, Defect and Noncompliance Notification; and part 579, Reporting of Information and Communications about Potential Defects, of Title 49 of the CFR. Specifically, NHTSA is updating and/or supplementing the mailing and address information found in some sections, and correcting erroneous references found in other sections. NHTSA is also moving one paragraph of part 573, requiring submission of draft owner notification letters to NHTSA, to another paragraph found in part 577 that addresses the content of owner notification letters, where that paragraph more logically fits. None of these amendments impose or relax any substantive requirements or burdens on manufacturers. This final rule is effective July 11, 2007. More details are available in the
Federal Register Notice.
FMCSA Requests Comments on Demonstration Project on NAFTA Trucking Provisions
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announces additional details about the initiation of a project to demonstrate the ability of Mexico-domiciled motor carriers to operate safely in the United States beyond the commercial zones along the U.S.-Mexico border. On May 1, 2007, FMCSA published a notice in the
Federal Register announcing its plans to initiate the project as part of the agency’s implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) cross-border trucking provisions. In response to section 6901(b)(2)(B) of the “U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans” Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007,” FMCSA provides for public comment certain additional details concerning the demonstration project. The FMCSA will carefully consider all comments received in response to the May 1, 2007, notice and this supplemental notice before further decisions are made concerning the implementation of the NAFTA trucking demonstration/pilot project. Comments must be received on or before June 28, 2007. View the
Federal Register Notice for more details.
Final Rule On Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation
In a final rule announced in the June 11
Federal Register, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) amends its regulations concerning parts and accessories necessary for safe operation in response to a petition for reconsideration filed by the Truck Manufacturers Association. As requested by a petitioner, this amendment resolves an inconsistency between FMCSA’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. The rule is effective July 11, 2007. For more information regarding this rulemaking, view the
Federal Register Notice.
AAMVA Seeks Information on How Jurisdictions Handle CDL Holders Cited for BAC
Jurisdictions have differing processes for dealing with commercial drivers cited for having a blood alcohol content (BAC) of more than .04 while driving a commercial motor vehicle. In the upcoming Commercial Driver's License Information System (CDLIS) Modernization project, AAMVA wants to ensure it accurately captures the data necessary for all jurisdiction requirements. To help with this effort,
please respond to the survey titled "Citation of CDL Holder for BAC > .04 in CMV."
Enhance your Job Skills with AAMVA University
Take your training to a higher level; sign up today for a course with AAMVA University. AAMVA University can also provide training at your jurisdiction's facility. Visit
www.aamva-u.org for details or to register online, or call (866) 908-8270.
Check out these upcoming classes in Arlington, VA:
- FDR Level II Course: July 9-12, 2007; cut-off June 22
- FDR Instructor Certification Course: Aug. 13-17, 2007; cut-off July 27 (prerequisite: FDR Level II Course)
AAMVA Surveys Jurisdictions on Access to Survey Tool
The AAMVA survey tool has always been restricted to jurisdiction members and AAMVA staff. Occasionally, we have conducted a survey for a government agency. Associate members have expressed a desire to use the survey tool to poll jurisdictions on various issues and conduct market research. AAMVA would like to know how jurisdiction members feel about this request. Please take a moment to answer
this brief survey by close of business on Friday, June 15.
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"This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson