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HIGHLIGHTS
- Trade Adjustment Assistance
for Firms – Lunch/Briefing
- Clean Water and Safe
Drinking Water – Letters
- Great Lakes Restoration – Legislation
- Brownfield/Environmental
Finance – Job Opening
Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms -- Lunch/Briefing
The American Business Council,
in coordination with the Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition, will host a lunchtime
briefing on the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms (TAA for Firms)
Program. The briefing will be held on Monday, April 10, at 12:15 pm in 342
Dirksen Senate Office Building. The
TAA for Firms program assists small domestic manufacturing companies that
experience losses of jobs and/or sales due to imports. TAA for Firms
provides technical assistance to hundreds of companies across the nation by
addressing problems in the areas of marketing, financing, production,
product development, distribution, management, information systems, and
exporting. To RSVP for the event, please contact Dana
Marie DiOttavio with the American Business Council (610/825-5200)
Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water
– Letters
Reps. Louise
Slaughter (D-NY) and Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) are seeking signatures on a
letter that supports $1.35 billion in funding for the
Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), and at least $1 billion for the
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF). CWSRF monies are loaned to communities
and loan repayments are recycled back into the program to fund additional
water quality protection projects. Similarly, the DWSRF program makes
funds available to drinking water systems in order to finance
infrastructure improvements. Since their inception, the programs have
provided more than $61.35 billion to more than to 23,000 projects around
the country. While this amount represents an important federal
investment, the Congressional Budget Office estimates a spending gap of as
much as $388 billion for clean and safe water needs over the next 20
years. The letter’s signature deadline is Friday, April
14. Contact: Elizabeth
Mark at the Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition (202/226-5181).
Senators Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), Lincoln Chafee (R-RI),
James Jeffords (I-VT), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), George Voinovich (R-OH), and
Jack Reed (D-RI) are seeking signatures on a letter that supports $1.35
billion in funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), and
$850 million for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF). The
letter’s signature deadline is Friday, April 21. Contact:
Ari
Strauss at the Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition (202/224-0606).
Great Lakes Restoration
– Legislation
Senators Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Carl Levin (D-MI) and
Reps. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) and Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) recently introduced
legislation (S. 2545 and H.R. 5100) to protect and restore the Great
Lakes ecosystem. The legislation reflects the
recommendations from the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration, a partnership of federal, state, and
local government officials and program managers, scientists, and interested
private stakeholders. The legislation would:
- Stop the
introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species by
reauthorizing the National Invasive Species Act of 1996;
- Prevent
Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes by
authorizing the Corps of Engineers to maintain and operate the
dispersal barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and prohibit
the importation and sale of Asian carp;
- Restore
fish and wildlife habitat by reauthorizing the Great Lakes Fish &
Wildlife Restoration Act at $20 million per year;
- Prevent
sewage contamination by reauthorizing the State Revolving Loan Fund
and providing $20 billion over five years to assist communities with
improving their wastewater infrastructure.
- Clean up
contaminated sediment under the Great Lakes Legacy Act by
reauthorizing the program for $150 million per year, up from $54
million;
- Phase out
mercury in products by establishing a new EPA grant program at $10
million per year and improving existing research programs;
- Coordinate
and improve Great Lakes
programs by establishing the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force and
the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration.
Contact:
Joy Mulinex with the
Great Lakes Task Forces (202/224-1211).
Brownfield/Environmental
Finance – Job Opening
The Northeast-Midwest Institute is seeking a senior policy
analyst to help develop financing vehicles for economic development and
environmental projects. The analyst will pay particular attention to
brownfield cleanup and reuse, urban forestry, community development, and
ecosystem restoration. Tasks will include researching case studies,
preparing reports, organizing workshops and briefings, and advancing policy
proposals on Capitol Hill. Click
here to review a job announcement.
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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