Weekly Update – 28 February 2005
HIGHLIGHTS
· Great Lakes Day
· Letter and Briefing: Community Development Block Grants
· Letters: Manufacturing Extension Partnership
· Letter: LIHEAP
· Letter: Clean Water
· Letter: Saint Lawrence Seaway
Regional, national, and binational leaders will discuss Great Lakes restoration and protection at three events on Wednesday, March 2. Activities, sponsored by the Northeast-Midwest Institute and Great Lakes Commission, include:
8:00 – 9:30 am – Great Lakes Congressional Breakfast
B-338 Rayburn House Office Building
Remarks by:
· Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley
· Toronto Mayor David Miller
· Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI)
· Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL)
9:45 am – Press Conference
2218 Rayburn House Office Building
Remarks by:
· Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley
· Toronto Mayor David Miller
· Members of the House and Senate Great Lakes Task Forces
10:15 am – 12:30 pm – Great Lakes Issue Briefing
2325 Rayburn House Office Building
Remarks by:
· Ben Grumbles, EPA Assistant Administrator for Water
· Congressional staff
Letter and Briefing: Community Development Block Grant
Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition members – including Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Jack Reed (D-RI), Mike DeWine (R-OH), and Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) – are requesting signatures on a letter that asks the Budget Committee to support $4.732 billion for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program and to retain the program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The signature deadline is Wednesday, March 2, at 10:00 am. Contacts: Kris Sarri with the Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition (202/224-0606) or Chanda Betourney with Senator Leahy (202/224-4242).
The Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition on Tuesday, March 1, will host a briefing on the importance of CDBG to communities nationwide and on the administration’s Strengthening America’s Communities proposal. Speakers will include Akron (OH) Mayor Donald Plusquellic, Jackson (MS) Mayor Harvey Johnson, Portland (ME) City Manager Joe Gray, and officials from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Fairfax County, Visalia, Concord (NH), and Bank of America. The March 1 briefing will run from 3:00 until 4:30 pm in 236 Russell Senate Office Building.
Letters: Manufacturing Extension Partnership
Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), George Voinovich (R-OH), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), and Herbert Kohl (D-WI) are requesting signatures on a letter asking the Senate Budget Committee to support the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program in the fiscal 2006 budget resolution. The signature deadline is COB Monday, February 28. Contact: Kris Sarri at the Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition (202/224-0606).
Reps. Steven LaTourette (R-OH), Marty Meehan (D-MA), Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Mike Doyle (D-PA), Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), and Bart Gordon (D-TN) are circulating a letter asking appropriators to provide $109 million to MEP in fiscal 2006. Signature deadline is in early April. Contact: Julie Smith with Rep. LaTourette (202/225-5731).
Letter: LIHEAP
Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jack Reed (D-RI), co-chairs of the Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition, are seeking signatures on a letter that requests $3 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in the fiscal 2006 budget resolution and advanced funding for fiscal 2007. The signature deadline is Monday, February 28, 2005. Contact: Kris Sarri with the Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition (202/224-0606).
Letter: Clean Water
Senators Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), and James Jeffords (I-VT) are requesting signatures on a letter that seeks $1.35 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) and $850 million for the Drinking Water SRF in the fiscal 2006 budget resolution. The signature deadline is March 2. Contact: Kris Sarri with the Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition (202/224-0606).
Letter: Saint Lawrence Seaway
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) is circulating a letter to the Senate Budget Committee that opposes the administration’s proposal to reinstate tolls in the Saint Lawrence Seaway in order to support the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC). For years, the SLSDC’s budget has been funded by the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, with shippers paying into the fund based on the amount of cargo they carry, and Congress appropriated money from the fund to pay for navigation infrastructure. If this toll proposal were adopted, it would disadvantage ships coming into and out of the Great Lakes because they would have to pay into the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund as well as pay tolls. The signature deadline is Tuesday, March 1. Contact is Kristen Knepper with Sen. Stabenow (202/224-4822).
Calendar | Media Links | Reports/Periodicals
218 D St, SE
Washington DC 20003
Ph. 202 544 5200
Email dickmunson@nemw.org with comments or to unsubscribe from this mailing list.
