Senate Agreement Moves Shutdown Toward an End 

The Senate Sunday night cleared the first procedural vote toward reopening the government. Eight Democrats joined almost all Republicans in voting to advance a Continuing Resolution that would extend current funding levels to January 30th alongside three full-year spending bills covering Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and the Legislative Branch. As part of a broader deal, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) committed to holding a December vote on a to-be-negotiated bill from Democrats to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies that had been the Party’s stated reason for blocking a clean CR for the past 40 days, though a vote in the House is not guaranteed. 

Importantly, the bill includes provisions reversing over 4,000 reduction-in-force notices issued since October 1st and prevents any more RIFs from being issued through the January 30th extension date. This means that the EPA employees in the Office of Land and Emergency Management who received RIF notices will be reinstated. Planned RIFs at the Department of the Interior, which were prevented by court order from being issued in the first place, must now be shelved for at least two more months. This includes 108 employees at the USGS Great Lakes Science Center, which stood to lose 79% of its workforce had those RIFs gone into effect. The bill also ensures that both furloughed workers and those who worked without pay during the shutdown will receive pay in accordance with the 2019 Government Employee Fair Treatment Act.  

The Senate could pass the bill as soon as today, though individual senators could also hold the package up by forcing the chamber to exhaust most or all of the allotted debate time. Once it clears the Senate, a House vote is expected to pass largely along party lines later this week, at which point the President’s signature would end the longest government shutdown in history. 

NEMWI To Host Event on

Great Lakes Marine Sanctuaries

The Northeast-Midwest Institute and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation will co-host a Congressional briefing on Great Lakes marine sanctuaries on Wednesday, December 17th, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in Rayburn 2168. The briefing is a session of NEMWI’s Great Lakes Primer and Orientation Program, sponsored by the Erb Family Foundation.

Join us for a deep dive into the chilling mysteries of the Great Lakes with virtual reality headsets, 3-D shipwreck models, and *Erie* storytelling!

Covering about 10,000 miles of coastline, America’s Great Lakes serve as gateways for trade and tourism, centers for biodiversity and science innovation, and underwater museums for national maritime heritage. Only about 15% of these lakebeds are mapped to modern standards, leaving huge gaps in the data needed to create updated nautical charts, discover untold stories and shipwrecks, and manage the region’s extraordinary natural and cultural resources. The recent designations of national marine sanctuaries in the Great Lakes have led to intensive mapping efforts and new discoveries by NOAA and its commercial, academic, and federal partners.

The answers to many maritime mysteries lie in the depths of these largely unexplored waters, preserving evidence and glimpses into the past, for those who dare to discover. The briefing will focus on the network of America’s premier marine places in the Great Lakes and the new discoveries, innovative technologies, and immersive experiences benefiting their communities.



Light refreshments will be provided.

Please RSVP to Diane Dotson at ddotson@marinesanctuary.org.

Connect With the Northeast-Midwest Institute

on Social Media

The Northeast-Midwest Institute is on social media with new updates and information on its regional research and policy education program and with announcements for upcoming briefings and events. NEMWI is posting our research reports on current regional issues and ongoing policy education on the page to make keeping up with our policy work easier than ever. The Institute also is updating the page with announcements of upcoming policy briefings and webinars. NEMWI is excited for the opportunity to connect with as many people as possible. 

Please check out our LinkedIn here, our Twitter/X here, our Facebook here, and our Bluesky here. Be sure to like and follow us to keep up to date with NEMWI!

On Bluesky, also check out our Great Lakes feed at "NEMW Great Lakes Feed" and if you are a Great Lakes organization on Bluesky, contact Great Lakes Program Manager Alex Eastman at aeastman@nemw.org so that we can add your posts to the feed!