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Capitol Hill This Week: Transportation, Spending, Microbead-Free Waters Act, and More
Big-ticket legislative items will demand the attention of Congress this week, ahead of a planned Thanksgiving week recess. Surface transportation program authorization expires this Friday, November 20. House and Senate conferees will work early in the week to resolve a handful of differences between the Senate (DRIVE Act) and House (STRR Act) long-term bill versions.
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ppropriators from both chambers will continue work this week on an omnibus 2016 fiscal year spending package that both meets the conditions of the bipartisan budget deal, and that can pass both chambers while avoiding a Presidential veto over policy riders. Republicans plan to propose a number of spending bill riders (or amendments) that address contentious energy and environmental policies, including one restricting funding to implement the final Waters of the U.S. rule. The continuing resolution currently funding the federal government expires on December 11. The alternatives to passing an omnibus bill by then are a federal government shutdown or yet another short-term extension.
Some regionally relevant hearings and meetings taking place this week are listed below.
Tuesday, November 17
- Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing to examine past wildfire seasons to inform and improve future Federal wildland fire management strategies; 10:00 AM, room 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
- House Energy and Commerce Committee meeting to mark up several bills, including S. 611, the Grassroots Rural and Small Community Water Systems Assistance Act; and H.R. 1321, the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015; 4:00 PM, room 2123 Rayburn House Office Building.
Wednesday, November 18
- Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing examining the International Climate Negotiations; 9:30 AM, room 406 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
- House Budget Committee hearing entitled, "Does Biennial Budgeting Fit in a Rewrite of the Budget Process?" 9:45 AM, room 210 Cannon House Office Building.
- House Natural Resources Committee legislative hearing on "Protecting America's Recreation and Conservation Act" (discussion draft) to "reauthorize and reform the Land and Water Conservation Fund;" 10:00 AM, room 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
- House Science, Space and Technology Committee hearing on the "Administration's Empty Promises for the International Climate Treaty;" 10:00 AM, room 2318 Rayburn House Office Building.
For more information, contact
Mark Gorman
, Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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Great Lakes Task Force Circulating Soo Locks Letter
The Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition's Great Lakes Task Force leaders are circulating for additional Member signatures a letter to
Assistant Secretary Jo-Ellen Darcy urging the expeditious completion of the US Army Corps of Engineers' Economic Reevaluation Report for replacing the Davis and Sabin Locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan (Soo Locks). These locks connect Lake Superior with the rest of the Great Lakes, allowing approximately 10,000 vessels to pass through a year. They are integral to the Great Lakes Navigation System and essential to the economy of not just the Great Lakes region, but the country as a whole. Closing date is this Thursday, November 19.
For more information, contact Colleen Cain
, Senior Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute, or Sam Breene, Legislative Director of the Northeast-Midwest Coalition.
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Webinar: Tips for Successful Brownfields Grant Proposals, November 17
The New Jersey Institute of Technology, NALGEP, the Center for Creative Land Recycling, and the
KSU Technical Assistance to Brownfields Communities Program
will host a free webinar, "Tips for Successful Brownfields Grant Proposals," on Tuesday, November 17 at 2 PM. Following on the release of FY
2016 EPA Brownfields Assessment and Cleanup Grants guidelines, the webinar will provide advice on preparing a successful application. Speakers will discuss how to ma
ximize proposal points and avoid common mistakes, new FY16 Environmental Protection Agency grant guidelines, the importance of community support, and special tips for disadvantaged and small/rural communities. Register here.
For more information, contact
Colleen Cain
, Senior Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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NEMWI: Strengthening the Region that Sustains the Nation
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