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HIGHLIGHTS
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LIHEAP – Legislative Victories
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Brownfield Funding -- Letter
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Great Lakes Programs –
Letters
Manufacturing Extension Partnership -- Letter
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Farmers’ Markets – Web Site
and Grants
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Toxic Substances in the Great Lakes –
Briefing
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House Appropriation Letters Delivered
LIHEAP –
Legislative Victories
The Senate on Thursday, March 16, approved a Budget
Resolution amendment – introduced by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) – to
increase spending for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
(LIHEAP) by $3.318 billion, bringing the fiscal 2007 total to the fully-authorized
level of $5.1 billion. The amendment was approved 51 to 49.
The House several hours later approved the transfer to
LIHEAP of $1 billion in fiscal 2006. The funds will be divided
between regular block grants and contingency funds. The
administration has indicated it will release the contingency funds quickly.
The bill was approved 287 to 128; it matches legislation advanced by
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and accepted last week by the Senate.
Brownfield Funding -- Letter
Senators Carl Levin (D-MI), Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), and
Jim Jeffords (I-VT) are seeking signatures on a letter supporting $250
million in appropriations for the Environmental Protection Agency’s
brownfields program. The initiative provides states and communities
with resources to assess, clean up, and redevelop brownfields. Since 1995,
the program has leveraged more than $7.3 billion - creating approximately
34,000 new jobs - from both the private and public sectors to facilitate
cleanup and redevelopment projects. The demand for brownfields funding
continues to grow and EPA was
only able to provide grants to 200 of the 700 communities that applied for
funds last year. The letter’s signature deadline if April
4. Contacts: Alice
Yates with Sen. Levin (202/224-2683), Nathan Miller with Sen.
Chafee (202/224-4235), and Malcolm Woolf with Sen.
Jeffords (202/224-7931).
Great Lakes Programs –
Letters
The House and Senate Great Lakes Task Forces are
seeking signatures on letters asking appropriators to
provide funds to priority programs in the Great Lakes, such
as the Great Lakes Legacy Program, the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab,
the Great Lakes National Program Office, and the dispersal barrier.
The signature deadlines are March 27 in the House and March 31 in the
Senate. Contact: Joy
Mulinex with the Great Lakes Task
Force (202/224-1211).
Manufacturing Extension Partnership -- Letter
Leaders of the Senate Task Force on Manufacturing
– 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 a letter 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 is March 24. Contacts: Ari Strauss with the Senate
Manufacturing Task Force (202/224-0606).
Farmers' Markets – Web Site and
Grants
The Northeast-Midwest Institute, a major partner in the
Farmers’ Market Project, announces the launch of a new website, Resources for Farmers’ Markets
at www.farmersmarketsusa.org.
The website will allow consumers to search for markets, provide information
about funding opportunities and policy developments, and enable market
managers and farmers to showcase their markets and products.
Contact: Alan Hunt at the
Northeast-Midwest Institute (202-464-4016).
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has
announced that approximately $1 million will be made available through a
new competitive grants program, the Farmers Market Promotion Program
(FMPP). The FFPP, authorized in the 2002 Farm Bill but only funded
for the first time in fiscal 2006, will help to improve and expand domestic
farmers markets, roadside stands, community-supported agriculture programs
and other direct producer-to-consumer market opportunities. For more
information, see Farmers' Market Promotion
Program.
Toxic
Substances in the Great Lakes –
Briefing
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
(ATSDR) on Tuesday, March 21st, will brief congressional staff on their
Great Lakes Human Health Effects research program. Initiated in 1992,
ATSDR’s Great Lakes Human Health Effects Research Program is designed
to characterize exposure to contaminants via consumption of Great
Lakes fish, and investigate the potential for short- and
long-term adverse health effects. The March 21 briefing will be begin
at 2:00 pm in 2325 Rayburn House Office Building.
Contact: Joy Mulinex with
the Great Lakes Task Force (202/224-1211).
House
Appropriation Letters Delivered
Click below to see Dear Colleague letters delivered to
House appropriators on Community
Development Block Grants, energy
efficiency, Manufacturing
Extension Partnership, Susquehanna
River Basin, and Chesapeake
Bay.
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
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