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W E E K L Y  U P D A T E  February 3, 2020
 
In this Week's Issue:
NEMWI to Host Great Lakes Environmental Summit
Sen. Sanders Introduces PFAS bill
House to Consider GLRI Bill
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NEMWI To Host Great Lakes Environmental Summit 
Sponsored This Year by The Nature Conservancy
This week, the Northeast-Midwest Institute is convening its annual Great Lakes Environmental Summit in Washington, DC. The Summit, which is an invitation event, convenes Great Lakes policy experts, advocates, and stakeholders to discuss the issues that are most impactful to the health of the Great Lakes. Participants at the Summit also include Members of Congress and their staff, Congressional committee staff, and Administrative officials discussing the 2020 federal policy agenda as it pertains to the Great Lakes.  The Summit also provides an opportunity for the Great Lakes community and Congressional staff to identify and discuss regional legislative opportunities in the ever-evolving legislative and appropriations process.  

NEMWI is excited that The Nature Conservancy is the sponsor of this year's Summit. The Nature Conservancy, which is one of the most effective and wide-reaching environmental organizations in the world, has continued to be a leader in providing critical resources to protect the world's largest source of freshwater. For over 65 years, The Nature Conservancy has protected more than 100 sites throughout the Great Lakes, including prairies, savannas, forests, wetlands and rivers, as well as working collaboratively with farmers, foresters, elected officials, agencies, and communities across the region to protect this globally significant freshwater ecosystem.
The 2020 Great Lakes Environmental Summit is hosted by NEMWI's 
Great Lakes Washington Program which is funded with the generous support of 
the Joyce Foundation and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
Sen. Sanders Introduces PFAS Bill
On January 28, Senator Bernie Sanders introduced a bill that would require the EPA to classify PFAS chemical compounds as hazardous substances and would hold polluters accountable for the clean-up of their contamination under the Superfund law. The bill, S.3227, is called the Prevent Future American Sickness Act of 2020, or the PFAS Act. The bill was introduced at a panel discussion which included Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) who introduced a similar PFAS bill, H.R. 535, that was passed in the House on January 10. 
Also on the panel was actor Mark Ruffalo who recently starred in the movie "Dark Waters" as corporate attorney Rob Bilott, who brought the issue of PFAS to light after he successfully sued the chemical company DuPont for their role in knowingly and willfully contaminating the water supply of Parkersburg, West Virginia and poisoning over 3,500 residents. Currently Rob Bilott is engaged in an on-going class action lawsuit against DuPont and 3M that is seeking relief for everyone in the United States who has been exposed to PFAS. It is estimated that at least 95% of the U.S. population has been exposed to PFAS.
The 5,000 to 7,000 chemical compounds that make up the PFAS family have been linked to a host of health effects, including increased rates of cancer, liver damage, decreased fertility, increased risk of asthma, increased risk of thyroid disease, weakening of the immune system, and has been shown to negatively impact the development of fetuses. 
Please contact Senior Policy Analyst,  Chris Askew-Merwin , for more information.
House to Consider GLRI Bill This Week

The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to take up the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Act of 2019 under the Suspension of the Rules on Wednesday, February 5. The bill, which was introduced by Representatives David P. Joyce (R-OH) and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), would reauthorize the GLRI at $375 million stating in FY 2022, and raise its authorization level each year by $25 million for five years through FY 2026, ending at the GLRI's original funding level at $475 million.

The bipartisan bill has 49 cosponsors and has also been introduced in the U.S Senate by Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Rob Portman (R-OH), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) (the bipartisan bill has 13 cosponsors on the Senate side). In order for the House to pass the bill under the Suspension of the Rules, two-thirds of the House will have to vote in favor of the bill. Congress provided $320 million for the GLRI in the FY 2020 appropriations omnibus bill that it passed at the end of 2019.

Please contact Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program, Matthew McKenna, for more information.
This Week in Washington

In the Senate:


In the House:


NEMWI: Strengthening the Region that Sustains the Nation