Job Opening – Northeast-Midwest Institute’s Executive Director
The Northeast-Midwest Institute – a Washington-based, non-profit, and non-partisan research organization dedicated to economic vitality, environmental quality, and regional equity for Northeast and Midwest states – is seeking an executive director. The executive director will serve as the full-time chief executive officer of the Institute and coordinate with the Northeast-Midwest Congressional and Senate Coalitions, bi-partisan caucuses that advocate for federal policies on agricultural, economic development, energy, environmental issues. Click here for a job announcement.
Clean Water SRF – H.R. 720 Formula Proposal
The Northeast-Midwest Institute produced at one-page research summary on a proposed change in the allotment formula for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund as called for in The Water Quality Financing Act of 2007 (H.R. 720). Click here for the report. Contact: Matt Kane with the Northeast-Midwest Institute (612/825-0443).
Great Lakes Region Economic Growth – Briefing on Federal Policy Options
Researchers from the Brookings Institution on March 5 will brief congressional staff on renewal strategies for the Great Lakes region, with John Austin and Bruce Katz from Brookings will discuss findings of the recent Brookings report on The Vital Center: A Federal State Compact to Renew the Great Lakes Region, which highlights the economic strengths and weaknesses of the Great Lakes region and makes recommendations for regional actions and federal policies that can support the economic growth and vitality of this important economic area. The report focuses on an economic region that encompasses all or parts of 12 states. The events, which will be hosted by the co-chairs of the Congressional Great Lakes Task Force, are co-sponsored by the Northeast-Midwest Institute. The House-side briefing will be held on March 5 from 1:30 pm to 2:45 pm in 2218 Rayburn and the Senate-side event will be from 3:30 pm until 4:45 pm in 188 Russell Senate Office Building. Contact: John Austin at the Brookings Institution.
Great Lakes -- Breakfast, Hearing, and Letter
The Great Lakes Commission and Northeast-Midwest Institute on March 7 will sponsor the annual Great Lakes Congressional Breakfast. Click here for an updated agenda.
The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment, will hold a hearing on March 7, beginning at 2:00 pm in 2167 Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing will focus on the impact of aquatic invasive species on the Great Lakes.
The House and Senate Great Lakes Task Forces are circulating letters that seek several legislative provisions within the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) for the Army Corps of Engineers. Principal among the requests is authorization for the dispersal barrier in the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal. Additional requests include reauthorizing the Remedial Action Plan and Sediment Remediation Program; allowing in-kind contributions for the Great Lakes Fishery & Ecosystem Restoration program and the John Glenn Basin Program; and authorizing a study on erosion in the St. Clair River. The signature deadline is February 26. Contact: Joy Mulinex with the Great Lakes Task Forces (202/224-1211).
