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HIGHLIGHTS
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Great Lakes Day
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Manufacturing Extension Partnership
– Letter
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Community Development Block Grants --
Letter
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Environmental Management Program
– Letter
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Energy Efficiency – Letter
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LIHEAP – Senate and House Action
and Pending Letter
Great Lakes Day
Regional, national, and
binational leaders on Thursday, March 16, will discuss Great
Lakes restoration and protection. Contact: Joy Mulinex with the Great
Lakes Task Force (202/224-1211). Activities
include:
- 8:00 – 9:30 am – Great
Lakes Congressional Breakfast sponsored by the Northeast-Midwest
Institute and Great Lakes Commission. The breakfast reception
will be held in 325 Russell Senate Office Building. For
registration, go to https://glc.org/greatlakesday/register.html
- 10:00 am – 12:30 pm
– Senate Environment & Public Works Committee
Hearing on the Great Lakes.
Witnesses include three Great Lakes
senators, Administrator Stephen Johnson, Ohio Governor Bob Taft, Chicago
Mayor Richard M. Daley, Tribal Chairman Frank Ettawageshik, and other
non-governmental organizations. The hearing will be held in 628
Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Manufacturing Extension Partnership --
Letter
Leaders of the House and Senate Task Forces on
Manufacturing – Reps. Steven LaTourette (R-OH), Marty Meehan (D-MA),
Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Michael Doyle (D-PA), Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), and
Bart Gordon (D-TN) and Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Herbert Kohl (D-WI),
Mike DeWine (R-OH), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Joseph Liberman (D-CT)
– are seeking signatures on letters that ask appropriators to support
level funding – $106 million – for the Manufacturing Extension
Partnership (MEP) Program. MEP
is a nationwide network of resources that leverages public
and private resources to make a comprehensive range of services and
assistance available to smaller manufacturers. Through this support
system, MEP helps manufacturers
compete globally, supporting greater supply-chain integration, and providing
access to technology for improved productivity. The
signature deadline for the House letter is COB Tuesday, March 14.
Contacts: Lisa Mark with the House
Manufacturing Task Force (202/226-5181) and Ari Strauss with the Senate
Manufacturing Task Force (202/224-0606).
Community Development Block Grants
– Letter
Reps. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Rob Simmons (R-CT) are
seeking signatures on a letter asking appropriators to provide $4.3 billion
for the Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) program in fiscal
2007. CDBG provides communities with vital tools to help spur
homeownership, housing rehabilitation, public improvements, public services,
and economic development projects. The letter’s signature
deadline is Wednesday, March 15. Contact: Lisa Mark at the
Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition (202/226-5181).
Environmental Management Program
– Letter
The Upper Mississippi Congressional Task Force is
circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter supporting the
administration’s request to fund the Environmental Management Program
(EMP) at $26.8 million. The EMP supports habitat restoration projects
that mitigate damage to the environment caused by the construction of
navigation and flood control projects on the Upper
Mississippi River. The letter also requests
restoration of $10 million for the continued operations and maintenance of
basin-wide navigation and flood control projects on the lock and dam
system. Contacts: Mark
Lange with Rep. Kind (202/225-5506) or Eric Keber with Rep. Gutknecht
(202/225-2472).
Energy Efficiency Funding –
Letter
Reps. Michael Castle (R-DE), Mark Udall (D-CO), Sherwood
Boehlert (R-NY), and Bart Stupak (D-MI) are seeking signatures on a letter
that supports critical energy efficiency programs within the Department of
Energy. The DOE initiatives that are endangered by reduced funding
include: Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), State Energy
Program (SEP), energy efficiency deployment programs, Industrial
Technologies Program, Equipment Standards and Analysis Program, Federal
Energy Management Program, and Distributed Energy Program. Also
supported is the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which provides
unbiased data that helps the U.S. respond
effectively to changes and fluctuations in the energy markets. These
programs reduce energy consumption, dependence on foreign oil, harmful
pollution, and energy costs. The letter’s signature deadline
is March 14. Contact: Lisa Mark with the
Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition (202/226-5181).
LIHEAP –
Senate and House Actions and Pending Letter
The Senate on March 7 passed S. 2320, the LIHEAP Funding
Bill sponsored by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME). As modified by an
amendment on the floor, the Snowe bill takes the $1 billion in fiscal 2007
LIHEAP funds provided in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and makes it
available for use in fiscal 2006, with half the $1 billion released through
the state block grant formula and the second half released into the
contingency emergency fund, which is released subject to the discretion of
the administration. This bill is now awaiting action in the House and
may be brought up for consideration as early as the week of March 13.
Reps. Steven LaTourette (R-OH) and Marty Meehan (D-MA), co-chairs of the
Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition, recently introduced similar
legislation (H.R. 4793). Contacts: Ari Strauss with the
Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition (202/224-0606) and Lisa Mark with the
Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition (202/226-5181).
Reps. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Rob Simmons (R-CT), Marty
Meehan (D-MA), and Steven LaTourette (R-OH) are seeking signatures on a
letter that asks appropriators to provide full funding for the Low Income
Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The letter’s signature
deadline is Monday, March 13. Contacts: Steve Boms with Rep. Ackerman
(202/225-2601) or Shauna Hewes
with Rep. Simmons (202/225-2076).
Calendar | Media Links | Reports/Periodicals
Northeast-Midwest
Institute
218 D St, SE
Washington DC 20003
Ph. 202 544 5200
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