State of the FWFSA - Post 2006 Elections

American voters sent a clear message yesterday in changing the balance of power in Congress. The Democratic party overwhelmingly took over control of the House of Representatives while control of the Senate remains in question as a re-count in the senate race in Virginia is all but certain.

One of the most stunning losses of the evening went to Congressman Richard Pombo (R-CA) who, as you know has supported our issues for the 12 years he has spent in Congress. He also introduced the OT pay cap bill in 1999 which was subsequently passed into law as well as our portal to portal & classification legislation.

His loss, and the election results across the nation will in no way will affect our continued ability to move our issues forward. Those of you keeping track of our portal to portal legislation know that we had already secured more Democratic cosponsors than Republican cosponsors. Furthermore, Democrats poised to take the chairmanships of the committees & subcommittees that have jurisdiction on our issues both in the House & Senate are well-versed on our issues.

We have worked for years to develop close relationships with those on both sides of the aisle and in my opinion, we won’t skip a beat in educating congress and continuing to get our voice heard until substantive changes are made.

For the immediate future, current members of congress, incumbents who both won & lost, will return to Washington under what is termed a “lame duck session.” This is simply a post-election session inclusive of those that won’t be returning to Congress in January. During this session, the Republicans will still be in charge of the House & Senate.

With the dramatic shift of power from this election, it is likely Republicans who have been voted out of office, or those who will lose their chairmanships as a result of the elections will use this period of time to pass legislation that likely would not pass under a Democratic congress.

Still to be completed is the Senate Interior Appropriations bill. Interestingly enough, the current Chairman of that committee is Senator Conrad Burns who has now been voted out of office. His loss, coupled with that of Pombo’s might allow us an even better opportunity to get our portal to portal & classification legislation into the Interior Appropriations bill.

Thus there are several weeks of work ahead for the FWFSA in an effort to sooth those that lost but also remind them that they have important work still to be done. During this time we will also be reinforcing our relationships with Democrats.

As a result, we are in fine shape politically. Although it is a definite blow to have congressman Pombo out because of his staunch support, I also forged a close personal relationship with him, his family and staff. We will simply move on and continue to get things done regardless of who is running the show. We will keep you informed as to the actions of congress during the “lame duck” session.

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