Legislative Budget Committee
Summary of Committee Mission, Goals, and Objectives Purpose of the Committee:
The Legislative Budget Committee was established as an alternate method of influencing Congressional action. WESTCAS intended that it's primary efforts be focused on ensuring federal regulations were fair in their treatment of the arid states. The method of achieving that fairness was to influence the language of the legislative reauthorization of the CWA, SDWA, and ESA, which would form the basis for regulatory action. WESTCAS leaders, however, realized that another avenue available was to influence the legislative budgets and appropriations for the federal departments that conduct business under, or enforce the regulations of, the CWA, SDWA, and ESA. Hence, the Legislative Budget Committee was created to compliment the work of the WESTCAS Task Forces that were specifically focused on language for the reauthorization of those Acts.
Mission Statement
To promote WESTCAS objectives to assure financial support for arid states critical issues by:
- reviewing and analyzing Federal budget requests and appropriations;
- interacting with state and national associations;
- influencing Congressional appropriations.
Goals and Objectives
Goal #1: Perform continuing review and analysis of federal budget requirements.
- Objective: Implement an internal communications system with WESTCAS membership to focus on issues and concerns.
- Sub-Objective: Establish teams to be the WESTCAS experts on the budgets for EPA, FWS, BOR, USACE, AG, USGS, and NMFS.
- Objective: Recommend WESTCAS positions on Federal budget requirements for approval by the WESTCAS Board of Directors.
- Sub-Objective: Discuss budget and appropriations issues with Area, Regional, and Federal levels of the federal departments to obtain pre-budget submission information (future fiscal year preparation) and post-President's budget to Congress (current budget year proposal).
- Sub-Objective: Brief WESTCAS general membership on the content of the budgets for EPA, FWS, BOR, USACE, USGS, NMFS, and AG, including equity and impact.
Goal #2: Obtain support for WESTCAS budget positions from State and national organizations.
- Objective: Establish cooperative programs to actively promote positions that are common with other State and national organizations.
- Objective: Encourage WestCAS members to promote budget task force positions in other State and national organizations.
- Objective: Interact with counterparts in State and national organizations on existing common budget issues.
- Objective: Interact with WestCAS members and other State and national organizations on new issues and concerns.
Goal #3: Influence Congressional decisions in the budget appropriations process.
- Objective: Submit written testimony to the Appropriations Committees on selected department budgets.
- Objective: Submit to the appropriations subcommittees and/or congressional membersstaffs a list of questions regarding programs and budget issues related to the arid states.
- Sub-Objective: Provide to WESTCAS membership copies of the testimony submitted.
- Objective: Implement a program that will enable WESTCAS members to coordinate budget issues with local Congressional delegates.