NEMWI to Host July 14 Briefing: "Water Data to Answer Urgent Water Policy Questions: Harmful Algal Blooms, Agriculture, and Lake Erie"

  The Latest on Capitol Hill 

Members of the U.S. House and Senate return from their week-long holiday recess this week, ready to consider spending bills and other legislation. Expect the full House to restart its floor consideration of H.R. 2822 - the FY2016 Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which funds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior and its agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey. NEMWI produced an overview of the bill, following its Committee markup.

 

At this point the House has fully passed its spending bills funding the following regionally-relevant federal entities:

• Department of Energy and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Department of Commerce, and other science agencies
• Departments of Transportation and Housing & Urban Development

The House has passed out of Committee and made ready for debate by the full House the Interior and Environment bill, which as noted is on the floor this week. The House Appropriations Committee has also distributed its bill funding the Departments of Labor, Health & Human Services, and Education, for which the NEMWI has produced a fact sheet outlining some regionally-relevant programs.

 

Though the Senate has yet to fully pass any of its spending bills, the Committee has prepared for floor debate spending bills for:

• the Department of Energy and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• the Department of Commerce, and other science agencies 
• the Departments of Labor, Health & Human Services, and Education 
• the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• the Departments of Transportation and Housing & Urban Development

Hearings and meetings coming up this week include:

 

Tuesday

• Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security hearing entitled "Technologies Transforming Transportation: Is the Government Keeping Up?" (including testimony and discussion on how technology integrates with ports to impact safety, efficiency, and reliability); 10:00 AM, room 253 Senate Russell Office Building.

Wednesday

• House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency hearing "Examining DHS's Misplaced Focus on Climate Change;" 10:00 AM, room 311 Cannon House Office Building.  The hearing will "examine the Department of Homeland Security's rhetoric, role, and budget regarding climate change."
• House Appropriation Committee meeting to markup the fiscal year 2016 Agriculture Appropriations Bill; 10:15 AM, room 2359 Rayburn House Office Building.
• House Small Business Committee hearing on "the Calm before the Storm: Oversight of SBA's Disaster Loan Program"; 11:00 AM, room 2360 Rayburn House Office Building.
• House Natural Resources Committee meeting to markup several bills (specific bills not yet posted); 4:00 PM, room 1324 Longworth House Office Building (this meeting is for opening statements only; full markup will begin on Thursday at 10:00 AM).

Thursday

• House Science, Space and Technology Committee hearing "Examining EPA's Regulatory Overreach"; 10:00 AM, room 2318 Rayburn House Office Building.
• House Natural Resources Committee meeting to markup several bills (specific bills not yet posted); 10:00 AM, room 1324 Longworth House Office Building (this meeting follows from a Wednesday, 4:00 PM Committee meeting for opening statements only).

For more information, contact Mark Gorman, Policy Analyst; Danielle Chesky, Director, Great Lakes Washington Program; or Colleen Cain, Sr. Policy Analyst - all at the Northeast-Midwest Institute. 

 

 

The Obama Administration last week invited communities to participate in  Local Foods, Local Places, a federal initiative providing direct technical support to build strong local food systems as part of a community's emerging economic action plans. Under this effort, a team of agricultural, transportation, public health, environmental, and regional economic experts work directly with local communities to spur local economic growth and improve the quality of life for all residents. Local Foods, Local Places is a partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and the Delta Regional Authority. Together, the agencies are investing $800,000 to support this second round of assistance. Twenty-six rural and urban communities (six of which are located in the NEMW region) participated in the first round in 2014, creating local farmer's markets, assisting schoolchildren to grow their own food, and developing community gardens in transit-accessible places, among other activities. Application guidelines and deadlines are available here.