Vancouver lays out federal legislative agenda for 2021

COVID-19 relief, police cameras and transportation projects will dominate the city of Vancouver’s lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., next year.

In an annual report to the Vancouver city council Monday evening, representatives from lobbying firm CFM Advocates worked to nail down the city’s legislative priorities for 2021.

Parts of the agenda could still change drastically, as the timing of a potential pandemic recovery will have a major impact on the city’s economic outlook. Likewise, a sweeping transportation infrastructure package could end up hinging on the Senate, which won’t be decided until a Georgia runoff election is tallied in January.

“This is a living, breathing document that is in draft form right now,” said Joel Rubin, the city’s longtime lobbyist.

Still about the bridge

For all the transformative power of 2020, one thing stayed the same: rebuilding the Interstate 5 bridge remains the top legislative priority among Vancouver’s leaders.

“Obviously, taking top billing is the I-5 bridge replacement project,” Rubin said.

With potential groundbreaking on a new bridge still years away, there’s no price tag attached to the replacement project — it’s instead being pursued by the city as a policy item. When the time comes, there’s a handful of potential federal pots of funds that could contribute financially.

“It is the future of Vancouver, and we are optimistic that the federal government is going to be a good partner for the city going forward,” Rubin said.

Other local transportation projects will also rely on federal funds next year. For the third time, the city plans to pursue a competitive $10 million grant to expand Southeast First Street.

More broadly, city lobbyists also plan to advocate for more local control of transportation funds allocated in the next Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill.

“Today 90 percent of all federal money goes through state departments of transportation,” Rubin said. In Washington state, he added, that tends to mean that state transportation dollars end up in the greater Seattle area.

One other line-item on the city’s wish list has the single highest price tag: next year, Vancouver will seek a $20 million federal grant to seismically retrofit Water Station 5.

The city had unsuccessfully sought a $10 million award for the project earlier this year. David Hodges, another CFM lobbyist, said seeking a larger amount could actually work in the city’s favor because it’s a better fit for the specific federal grant program.

“This is a significant facility that serves more than 250,000 of the greater Vancouver population, and it’s critical. If there was an earthquake or greater Cascadia event your water supply could be jeopardized,” Hodges said.

Past and future COVID-19 aid

Vancouver received a total of $10.4 million in federal pandemic relief dollars so far this year. More could still come.

Last week, a $908 billion follow-up to the CARES Act was unveiled in the Senate. It also has the support of the House Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group that includes Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground.

At this point, it’s unknown whether Congress can pass another COVID-19 relief bill before the government breaks for the holidays.

“Another round is necessary,” Rubin said. “We are hopeful that a CARES-2 package will be acted upon, but we’re closely monitoring that.”

Push for body cameras

The topic of police body cameras wasn’t included in the presentation’s initial list of discussion topics. But Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle, however, pushed to include it as a priority in the 2021 legislative session. Councilor Laurie Lebowsky echoed the request.

Locally, pressure is mounting to increase the accountability of law enforcement officers. On Sunday, hundreds of people gathered in Hazel Dell for a march to honor Kevin E. Peterson Jr., a 21-year-old Black man fatally shot by Clark County Sheriff’s Office deputies in October.

Both the sheriff and the chief of the Vancouver Police Department have said they’d support the implementation of police-worn body cameras. The issue is the price tag — there’s the upfront cost of equipment and training, then there’s the storage cost of thousands and thousands of hours of footage. The Spokane Police Department, which is comparable in size, pays $321,372 per year just for video storage.

On top of that, the department would need to hire additional staff to handle public records requests for footage.

Federal funding could offset some of those costs, Rubin said. A $50 million Bureau of Justice grant program, opening in the spring, could help Vancouver cover the initial cost of purchasing the technology. The award couldn’t go toward the long-term expenses associated with body-worn cameras.

But with the national conversation around police accountability going strong, Rubin added, that could change next year.

“That’s something that the House, the Senate and I think the Biden administration will be very interested in increasing,” Rubin said. “I think it’s something we should consider adding to your agenda.”