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HIGHLIGHTS
- Perfect Power System
– Briefing
- Community Revitalization
– Report
- Clean Water and Safe
Drinking Water – Letters
- Cogeneration in the
Northeast – Conference
- Soo Lock Construction
Project -- Letter
Perfect Power
System – Briefing
The Northeast-Midwest Congressional and Senate
Coalitions on Wednesday, April 26, will host a briefing on the perfect
power system. Reliable and affordable electricity continues to be a
key factor that will determine the future of the U.S.
economy. Unfortunately, today’s electricity grid and generators
are antiquated, vulnerable to disruption, and inadequate to power future
needs reliably. This briefing provides an overview of how we got to
where we are, the options we face, and the consequences of the choices we
make. Speaking will be Richard Munson, author of From Edison to Enron, and Kurt Yeager,
chairman of the World Energy Council’s study on energy and climate
change and past-president of the Electric Power Research Institute.
The hour-long briefing on April 26 will begin at 1:00 pm in 1539
Longworth House Office Building.
Contact: Diane DeVaul at the
Northeast-Midwest Institute (202/464-4009).
Community Revitalization – Report
Northeast-Midwest Institute has released a new research
report on Federal Policy Ideas for Community
Revitalization: Suggestions from Congressionally Hosted Roundtable
Discussions of Federal Policies for Older Core Cities and Close-in
Suburbs, downloadable at http://www.nemw.org/NEMW_FedPolicy&CommRevital2006.pdf.
The report, funded by the Surdna Foundation, provides about 40 specific
federal policy suggestions culled mostly from roundtable discussions hosted
last year by Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition Co-chair Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode
Island and by NEMW Congressional Coalition members Rep.
Thaddeus G. McCotter of Michigan and
Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio.
The report covers federal policy ideas regarding brownfield and vacant
property redevelopment, housing, water and transportation infrastructure,
business and economic development, and energy. Federal funding cuts,
gaps between federal programs and local needs, and federal program
rigidities have had adverse impacts on the revitalization prospects and
quality of life in America’s
cities. The new report compiles federal policy ideas to help
revitalize America’s older cities and
suburbs. Contact: Matt Kane
at the Northeast-Midwest Institute (612/825-0443).
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 has been extended to
Tuesday, April 25. 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 has been extended to Tuesday, April 25.
Contact: Ari
Strauss at the Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition (202/224-0606).
Cogeneration in the Northeast –
Conference
The Northeast Combined Heat and Power Initiative on May
11 will sponsor its annual meeting at the University of Southern
Maine in Portland.
The conference’s focus will be on reducing energy costs through
recycled energy. Information on the meeting can be found at www.northeastchp.org/nechpi
Soo Lock Construction Project –
Letter
The Great Lakes Task Force is circulating a letter to
the Department. of Commerce about the Soo Lock construction
project. The Corps of Engineers had asked the Department of Commerce to
provide comments to the Corps on the proposed replacement lock. The
Task Force letter encourages the Department’s support and urges it to
respond to the Corps. The letter’s signature deadline is April
28th. Contact: Joy
Mulinex with the Great Lakes Task
Force (202/224-1211).
Calendar | Media Links | Reports/Periodicals
Northeast-Midwest
Institute
218 D St, SE
Washington DC 20003
Ph. 202 544 5200
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