In what was one of the most productive sessions in the five-year history of the annual RCGA Legislative Leadership Trip to Washington, D.C., 92 St. Louis area business and civic leaders were in the nation’s capital in early June to meet with the entire bi-state St. Louis regional Congressional delegation and other Congressional and Clinton Administration officials. Timely topics, including the expansion of Lambert–St. Louis International Airport, federal clean air standards, restoration of the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credit, and a proposal for a St. Louis-based Bicentennial celebration of the 1804 signing of the Louisiana Purchase, generated lively interaction between members of the St. Louis delegation and the 16 high-level speakers.
Bi-State St. Louis’ four U.S. Senators John Ashcroft (R-MO), Kit Bond (R-MO), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL), along with Congressmen Roy Blunt (R-MO), Jerry Costello (D-IL), Dick Gephardt (D-MO), Kenny Hulshof (R-MO), John Shimkus (R-IL), and Jim Talent (R-MO), each addressed the RCGA delegation. The St. Louis group also heard from Congressman J.C. Watts (R-OK), and Congresswoman Anne Northrup (R-KY).
Concerning aviation, the House of Representatives had just voted on funding that would dedicate at least $140 million to the FAA-approved Lambert Airport expansion. Further, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Jane Garvey strongly affirmed the Administration’s commitment to near-term Lambert expansion.
Gephardt, who played an instrumental role in the tentative TWA contract agreement, thanked the regional community for its successful efforts on behalf of the airline. Gephardt and others also strongly affirmed their commitment to move forward on Record of Decision (ROD) implementation concerning Lambert expansion. Garvey noted that despite the objections to W-1W by local representatives of the air traffic controllers and pilot’s associations, she continues to receive strong reaffirmation from these organizations at the national level that W-1W is sound, safe and will meet Lambert’s future needs.
Garvey underscored, as did several members of the Congressional delegation, that she expected to get through the lawsuit quickly and that she has no intention of slowing down the airport expansion project. She further added that the FAA has never lost a Record of Decision legal challenge, and did not plan for St. Louis to become “a poster child.”
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Carol Browner reaffirmed the EPA’s commitment to the prudent implementation of the federal air quality standards, while sustaining long-term regional economic growth and competitiveness. Browner emphasized that the two objectives are not incompatible. She also commended the St. Louis region’s and the State of Missouri’s recent actions to fulfill the Clean Air Standards.
National Science Foundation (NSF) Director Dr. Rita Colwell focused on high technology, noting in particular that the St. Louis region is, and will increasingly become, a national center for biotechnology, plant science and agriculture research and development. She specifically highlighted the ongoing plant research at Washington University and at the University of Missouri at Columbia, and the NSF’s commitment to these efforts.
Gephardt, Talent and Sen. John Chaffee (R-RI) discussed the very real prospect for the restoration of a federal historic preservation tax credit. In 1997, the RCGA and its economic development partners successfully advocated passage of the most progressive state Historic Tax Credit in the nation. The RCGA has reaffirmed its strong support for a federal Historic Tax Credit, which was virtually eliminated in 1986. Chaffee was introduced to the delegation by his “seat mate in the Senate for 16 years,” – St. Louis 2004 chair and RCGA Board member John Danforth, who was a member of the RCGA delegation.
On the topic of regional collaboration, with long-standing strong encouragement and background support from the RCGA, Congressman John Shimkus (R-IL) announced that the Bi-state delegation would begin meeting on a regular basis in Washington to focus on key issues important to Missouri and Illinois.
Lastly, Gephardt announced that he, with the support of Talent, Blunt and Congressman Bill Clay (D-MO), introduced legislation to establish a federal commission to promote and coordinate activities associated with the commemoration of the purchase of the Louisiana Territory, as well as the first exploration of that territory by the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
The RCGA has been working in partnership with The Missouri Historical Society, along with the David Francis Society and the University of Missouri at St. Louis (UM-St. Louis), for the past year in support of this legislation.
It is proposed that the Commission would be headquartered in St. Louis, as close as possible to the location where the transfer of the Louisiana Territory was effected in 1804. That location is now Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, which has as its mission the Louisiana Purchase heritage.
The Commission would be authorized to accept, use, solicit, and dispose of donations of money, property, or personal services. The federal appropriation for the Commission’s budget is proposed at $1 million annually through the termination of the work of the Commission and its final report due on March 1, 2007.
