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Government Reopens, CBO Says Economy Sheds Billions Due to Shutdown
After thirty-five days of waste and widespread harm to federal workers and the country, the longest government shutdown in the history of the U.S. came to an end this weekend.
The continuing resolution signed by President Trump only extends funding for the lapsed federal agencies by three weeks until February 15th, though the furloughed federal employees will receive back pay. Federal contract workers, however, will not. There is no funding for a border wall.
In the coming weeks, the House and Senate will attempt to negotiate a border security package as a part of negotiations to fully fund the rest of the government for the remaining fiscal year. It remains to be seen what negotiations will yield and if that result will be enough to prevent another shutdown.
While the shutdown is over, the impacts remain. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), an estimated $3 billion of projected GDP for 2019 was lost, according to a recently released report. "The shutdown dampened economic activity mainly because of the loss of furloughed federal workers' contribution to GDP, the delay in federal spending on goods and services, and the reduction in aggregate demand," CBO's report said. The shutdown left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without a paycheck for over a month until finally, President Trump signed the continuing resolution.
There are 2.1 million federally employed workers and out of those, 800,000 work at agencies where appropriations lapsed during the shutdown. CBO estimates that around 300,000 of the 800,000 were furloughed. "The weekly compensation costs for workers at agencies that were without an appropriation totaled roughly $1.8 billion, or about 40 percent of total compensation for federal workers" CBO's report stated. Workers who were furloughed during the government shutdown will be given back pay to make up for their lost wages, but even that will not make up for the money lost as a result of the shutdown.
For more information, please contact
Eric Heath
, Senior Policy Counsel for the Mississippi River Basin Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute
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116th Congress: Committee Leadership Profiles
As the 116th Congress gets into full swing in the coming weeks, the Northeast-Midwest Institute will profile the Chair and Ranking Member of the Congressional committees most relevant to the region. To start off this series of profiles, this newsletter will begin with the leadership for the House Agriculture Committee.
Rep. Collin Peterson, Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture:
Collin Peterson is the U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 7th Congressional District and has been serving in that position since 1991. He was elected as Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture for a second time on January 4th; he previously held the position from 2007-2011 and served as the committee's Ranking Member from 2011-2018. Additionally, he is a veteran who served in the National Guard from 1963-1969. Peterson has been a key player regarding farming legislation; one of his biggest accomplishments as a Representative is his work on Farm Bills, including the one that was passed in December of 2018. While working as Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, he hopes to smoothly implement the new Farm Bill and work on addressing what he describes as the "growing economic storm" in farm country.
Rep. Mike Conaway, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Agriculture:
Kenneth Michael Conaway is the U.S. Representative for Texas's 11th Congressional District. He assumed office in 2005 and was ChairmAn of the House Committee on Agriculture from 2015-2019. He is also a veteran who served in the Army from 1970-1972, where he was awarded an Army Commendation Medal. Conaway serves in a district that heavily relies on agriculture and has continually emphasized the importance of ensuring that the American agricultural sector continues to grow. Conaway highlighted his objectives as Ranking Member by saying, "I will focus on aggressive oversight and review of the programs and policies within the jurisdiction of the committee, including federal crop insurance and nutrition assistance programs." As Ranking member of the House Committee on Agriculture, he also plans on assisting with the proper implementation of the new Farm Bill.
For more information, please contact
Eric Heath
, Senior Policy Counsel for the Mississippi River Basin Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute
.
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PFAS Task Force - A Bipartisan Effort Aimed at Tackling Water Contamination
Last week, Congressman Dan Kildee (MI - 05) joined Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA - 01) to announce a bipartisan task force with the goal of tackling the threat of per - and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS) contamination.
This bipartisan task force will aim to educate the public about the increasing threat of PFAS contamination in drinking water while working across the aisle to create policies that fund and protect communities that have been affected by PFAS contamination.
In the past, Congressman Kildee worked with both Republicans and Democrats to introduce legislation that ensured Veteran affected by PFAS contamination could get the help they needed through the U.S Department Veterans' Affairs (VA).
Members of Congress who have joined the bipartisan task force include:
Congressman Ben Ray Lujan (NM-03), Congressman Peter King (NY-03), Congressman James McGovern (MA-02), Congressman Fred Upton (MI-06), Congressman Bill Huizenga (MI-02), Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12), Congressman Mike Turner (OH-10), Congressman Brendan Boyle (PA-02), Congressman Tim Walberg (MI-07), Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence (MI-14), Congressman Jack Bergman (MI-01), Congresswoman Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Congressman Antonio Delgado (NY-19), Congressman Andy Levin (MI-09), Congresswoman Haley Stevens (MI-11), Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (MI-08), Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), and Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-04).
For more information, please con
tact
Dr. Sri Vedachalam
, Director of the Safe Drinking Water Research and Policy Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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New Study Suggests That Fines from the EPA Have Dropped 85 Percent under the Trump Administration
A new study of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data reveals an 85 percent drop in fines for polluters under the Trump administration compared to the two previous decades,
according to the Washington Post
. Cynthia Giles, former head of the EPA's enforcement and compliance office under the Obama administration, conducted the investigation and reported the 85 percent drop from $500 million to $72 million in fines in the past two years. According to some EPA officials, this drop in civil penalties may hinder the EPA's ability to discourage companies from polluting. The EPA's fines are implemented to make it more expensive to break the law than to comply with it; without them, more companies may be inclined to pollute.
In contrast to the claims by Giles, acting administrator of the EPA Adam Wheeler, rejected recent criticisms stemming from multiple reports claiming the EPA was fining companies less. He posits that the EPA is imposing fewer fines because they are working with companies to make sure they are following federal law, decreasing the number of fines the agency needs to impose.
Another important factor to consider in relation to the decrease in fines by the EPA is the declining number of staff. According to a study conducted by the Washington Post in October of 2018, more than 80 employees have left the EPA since Trump assumed office, leaving the agency largely understaffed with only 147 of the 200 investigators that are required by law from the 1990 Pollution Prosecution Act. A large number of criminal investigators are either at retirement age or are leaving because of buyouts, which is making it more difficult for the EPA to keep up with the workload and enforce the law.
For more information, please contact
Eric Heath
, Senior Policy Counsel for the Mississippi River Basin Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute
.
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Legislation Studying Economic Impact of Oil Spill at Straits of Mackinac Reintroduced in House
The Preserve Our Lakes and Keep Environment Safe (LAKES) Act was reintroduced in the House of Representatives last week by Rep. Debbie Dingell (MI-12). The bill requires the Department of Transportation to conduct a year-long study to determine the economic and environmental risks pipelines under the Straits of Mackinac pose to the Great Lakes.
The bill also calls on the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to terminate operations of any such pipeline should the study determine its operation poses significant risk to life, property, or the environment. Similar legislation was introduced last Congress, but was never acted upon.
For more information, please contact
Matt McKenna
, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program, at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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US Army Corps Extends Review Period of Brandon Road Draft Feasibility Study
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has extended the review period of "The Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS) - Brandon Road Integrated Feasibility Study and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) - Will County, Illinois."
The end of the review changed from January 7, 2019 to February 22, 2019. The report is posted to the project website
here.
For more information, please contact
Matt McKenna
, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program, at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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This Week in Washington
In the Senate:
In the House:
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NEMWI: Strengthening the Region that Sustains the Nation
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