|
HIGHLIGHTS
·
Job Opening: Senate Legislative
Director
·
LIHEAP
·
Base Closings
·
Clean Water Financing
·
Oil Heat Research Program
·
Brownfield Assistance for Disadvantaged
Communities
Job
Opening: Senate Legislative Director
The Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition is seeking a
legislative director. The bipartisan caucus is co-chaired by Senators
Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jack Reed (D-RI) and addresses a variety of
economic and environmental issues important to the region. The legislative
director would work for all Members of the Senate Coalition, regardless of
party. Resumes should be sent by September
9th to dickmunson@nemw.org.
LIHEAP
Noting the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the prices of
gasoline, heating oil, and natural gas, the Northeast-Midwest Senate
Coalition last week asked the president to include $900 million within a
supplemental appropriation in emergency Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Program (LIHEAP) funds. The 24 senators noted “an imminent
emergency confronting millions of Americans in cold weather states”
as the current rise in energy prices coupled with energy debt remaining
from last winter are leading to increased disconnections and arrears among
consumers as the winter heating season begins. The Northeast-Midwest
Congressional Coalition – led by Reps. Charles Bass (R-NH), Steven
LaTourette (R-OH), Marty Meehan (D-MA), and Louise Slaughter (D-NY) –
are sending a similar letter this week. The signature deadline is
Thursday, September 8; contact is Lisa Mark (202/226-5181).
Base Closings Commission Spares Some
Regional Facilities But Votes to Close Others
The Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) voted
the last week in August to keep open a number of major bases in the
Northeast-Midwest region that had been on the Defense Department’s
list of recommended closings, including the Naval Submarine Base in New
London, CT; the Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, ME; the Air Reserve Station
at the Pittsburgh (PA) international Airport; and the Air Guard Station in
Battle Creek, MI.
Prior to the BRAC Commission decisions, Connecticut and
Maine had been slated for the deepest personnel cuts among all the states
under the Defense Department’s BRAC list, and the Northeast-Midwest
region was expected to once again bear a disproportionate share of the
cutbacks even though the region accounts for the nation’s smallest
share of Defense Department personnel. The BRAC Commission’s
decisions significantly reduce the cuts planned for the Northeast-Midwest
region. The BRAC Commission will send its final report to President
Bush by Sept. 8, and the president is expected to forward the report to
Congress. The recommendations become law unless Congress rejects the
report in its entirety.
Unfortunately, many important military facilities
throughout the Northeast-Midwest region were approved for closings and
reductions by the BRAC Commission, including the Rock Island Arsenal, the
Great Lakes Naval Station, and the Springfield-based Air National Guard
unit, all in Illinois; the Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana; the Naval Air
Station in Brunswick, Maine; the Otis Air National Guard Base in
Massachusetts; the Army Garrison on the Selfridge Air National Guard Base
in Michigan; Fort Monmouth in New Jersey; the Naval Air Station in Willow
Grove, Pennsylvania; and the General Mitchell Air Reserve Station in
Wisconsin. A number of states in the region have raised legal
challenges to Defense Department plans to close or reduce National Guard
facilities without approval from governors.
As part of an effort to promote regional equity in the
BRAC process, the Northeast-Midwest Institute released reports in 2004 and
2005 highlighting the disproportionate and adverse impact on the region of
both past base closings and realignments and the Defense Department’s
proposals for BRAC 2005. Web-versions of the reports are available at
http://www.nemw.org/reports.htm#fedspending.
Clean Water Financing
Senator Jack Reed (R-RI), co-chair of the
Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition, is seeking signatures on a letter
asking the Treasury Secretary to provide arbitrage relief for water
infrastructure investments. States lack funding for needed wastewater
and stormwater treatment facilities, and Congress last year cut funding for
the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) from $1.35 billion to $1.1
billion. Several states are leveraging their SRFs in order to
increase funding, yet federal arbitrage rules hinder these efforts.
Contact: Kris Sarri
with the Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition (202/224-0606).
Oil Heat Research Program
Reps. Marty Meehan (D-MA) and Steven LaTourette (R-OH),
co-chairs of the Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition, are circulating
a letter that supports a $1-million appropriation in the upcoming Energy
and Water conference for the Oil Heat Research Program at Brookhaven
National Laboratory. The research program is designed to improve the
efficiency and technology of heating oil combustion. More than 10
million American households use oil to heat their homes. This program
has already saved over $7 billion for the 11 percent of U.S. homes
using oil heat. The signature deadline is Thursday, September
8. Contact: Lisa Mark with
the Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition (202/226-5181).
Brownfield Assistance for Disadvantaged
Communities
The Northeast-Midwest Institute seeks a qualified
sub-contractor to support a new project to identify strategies, methods,
and tools for achieving brownfield reuse success in disadvantaged
communities. Funding of up to $50,000 will be awarded for one year,
beginning October 1, 2005. The deadline
for submission is September 14. For further information, see our request for proposals.
Calendar | Media Links | Reports/Periodicals
Northeast-Midwest
Institute
218 D St, SE
Washington DC 20003
Ph. 202 544 5200
Email dickmunson@nemw.org with comments or to
unsubscribe from this mailing list.
|
