Last week, Rhode Island joined New Jersey as the second state in the region (and third in the country) to offer paid family leave for care of a newborn, adopted or foster child, or to care for a sick relative. Rhode Island's system will allow for four weeks of paid leave at about 60 percent of an employee's salary (capped at about $750 a week), funded by employee paycheck contributions. Supporters of paid leave argue that such laws fill gaps in the national Family Medical Leave Act, which allows for 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year for eligible employees only. Opponents worry about the effect of such laws on businesses and their productivity. Other NEMW states are pursuing similar laws. New York and Massachusetts have paid-leave bills pending; task forces in Connecticut, Vermont, and New Hampshire are looking into paid leave in their states. Read more in this Washington Post article.

For more information, please contact Colleen Cain, Senior Policy Analyst, Northeast-Midwest Institute.   

On Wednesday, December 18, 2013, the Northeast-Midwest Institute coordinated a briefing, entitled "The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative: Moving from the GAO Report to the Next Action Plan" on agency responses to the Government Accountability Office's audit of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), as well as plans for its future. Speakers included Cameron Davis, Senior Advisor to the Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Rachel Jacobson, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife & Parks, U.S. Department of Interior; and Martin Lowenfish, Natural Resource Conservation Service Conservation Initiatives Team Leader, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Mr. Davis provided background on how the GLRI, through bipartisan Congressional support, has been able to boost the environmental restoration efforts in the Great Lakes region, notably, the work on Areas of Concern. As part of the Administration's continued commitment to the GLRI, the agencies have begun taking public input on what should be included in the next Action Plan. The agencies are also using feedback from the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) Audit of the GLRI; the Great Lakes Advisory Board input; and input from the Administration's Science Advisory Board. The draft of the FY2015-19 Action Plan is expected in Spring 2014, where it will be open to formal public comment. Speakers from the Department of the Interior and Agriculture highlighted specific projects that have led to progress under the GLRI, including preventing invasions of Asian carp into the Great Lakes and reduction of nutrient loadings, respectively. The Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chairs, Sens. Carl Levin (MI) and Mark Kirk (IL) and Reps. Candice Miller (MI-10), John Dingell (MI-12), Sean Duffy (WI-07), and Louise Slaughter (NY-25), served as honorary co-sponsors of the briefing. A full summary and slides are available 

For more information, please contact Danielle Chesky, Northeast-Midwest Institute. 

On Monday, January 6, 2014, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its report, the Great Lakes-Mississippi River Interbasin Study. The Study, originally authorized in the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, studied potential pathways for invasive species to move between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins. The report focused on the connection at the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, along with 18 other potential pathways. Though most well-known for reviewing the potential for Asian carp to move from the Mississippi River basin to the Great Lakes, the study also considered multiple fish, plants, and other species, as well as viruses. The study provided multiple options for Congressional Members and the public to consider, though did not give a specific recommendation. Next steps for the report would include further study and development of a particular option, as well as Congressional authorization of the full project and funding. The Northeast-Midwest Institute, and honorary cosponsors Sens. Carl Levin (MI) and Mark Kirk (IL), and Reps. Candice Miller (MI-10), John Dingell (MI-12), Sean Duffy (WI-07) and Louise Slaughter (NY-25), will host a briefing from Administration officials for Congressional staff on the report on Wednesday, January 8, 2014, at 10:30 a.m. in the Capitol Visitor's Center, SVC-215.  

For more information, please contact Danielle Chesky, Northeast-Midwest Institute.   

*     Bicameral, bipartisan letters of support for Great Lakes priorities, such as the designation of the Great Lakes Navigation System and higher use of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, from Great Lakes Task Force and Delegation Members;

*     Recap of the most recent briefing, "The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative: Moving from the GAO Report to the Next Action Plan", highlighting agency responses to the GAO report as well as future plans;

*    Notifications for the upcoming Great Lakes Environmental Summit (Wednesday February 5, 2014) and the Great Lakes Congressional Breakfast (Thursday, March 7, 2014).

For more information, please contact Danielle Chesky, Northeast-Midwest Institute.