Congress has come to an agreement on a massive omnibus spending and authorization bill that includes all twelve appropriations bills for FY 2021, a Covid relief bill, the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), and an energy reform bill, among other things. Congress had been struggling to find a compromise for a final bill before it recesses for the remainder of the year, and over the weekend Congressional leadership was able to come to agreement on a host of issues that had been preventing a final bill from coming forward. While NEWMI continues to fully analyze the full extent of the provisions of the bill, big items include:

NEMWI continues to monitor the passage and implementation of this and other critical legislation to the region.

Congress has rejected urgent calls for federal assistance for states and localities which are facing fiscal crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the recession which has followed in its wake as it prepares to pass an omnibus spending and authorization bill this week.

States and cities face a well-documented fiscal crisis due to the surge in demand for state and local public services and their precipitous decline in revenue due to the recession. Congress' refusal to include states and cities in its new economic recovery bill leaves many states and cities in a situation where they will have no choice but to implement lay-offs and service reductions at a time when public services are needed more than ever.

The Senate passed the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Act this weekend by unanimous consent. The bill reauthorizes the GLRI, which is set to expire at the end of FY 2021, for five additional years. Additionally, it also gradually increases the authorization amount by $25 million each year, raising it from a starting point of $375 in FY 2022 to a total of $475 million in FY 2026. The GLRI, which was launched in 2010, has provided funding to more than 5,400 projects totaling over $2.7 billion to improve water quality, protect and restore habitat, control invasive species, and manage other challenges in the Great Lakes

The bipartisan bill was sponsored by Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH) and Reps. David Joyce (R-OH), and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH). The House passed the bill earlier this year, and it now heads to the President's desk for his signature.