GLIN==> Northeast-Midwest Weekly Update -- 26 October 2009

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Weekly Update

26 October 2009

 

.         Summit on Rail Investment in the <>  Northeast and Midwest

.         Briefing: <>   Vacant Property Revitalization to Strengthen
Communities

*	House Passes <>  Coast Guard Bill Funding New Icebreaking
Vessel

.         Letter Supports Increased Funding for <>  Geologic Mapping
Coalition

*	HHS Releases <>  First Quarter LIHEAP Funding

.         Upper Mississippi River Basin <>  Association Quarterly
Meeting

.         Symposium: <>   Securing Water in a Changing Climate

.         Abstracts Sought for Stormwater <>  Pollution Prevention
Conference

 

 

Summit on Rail Investment in the Northeast and Midwest

 

The Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition, in coordination with
the Northeast Midwest Institute, 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania, and
Smart Growth America, is hosting a one day rail summit on Monday,
October 26, from 9 AM until 3 PM in Room 2167 of the Rayburn House
Office Building.  The event, Rebuilding the Corridors of Prosperity:
High Speed Rail and Transportation Investment in the Northeast and
Midwest, will focus on rail planning, construction, and investment in
the Northeast and Midwest.

 

Presentations will be given by Karen Rae, Deputy Administrator of the
Federal Rail Administration; Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN), Co-Chair of
the Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition, and Chairman of the
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; and Roy Kienitz,
Under-Secretary of the Department of Transportation.  The speakers
will discuss the future of federal rail policy, and the importance of
regional cooperation.

 

The Summit will highlight cooperative agreements forged by Northeast
and Midwest states, and determine the role states play in connecting
these important rail corridors.  The goal of the gathering is to
stimulate interstate dialogue about rail plans, funding requests, and
the importance of multi-regional coordination.

 

Contact Greg Lewis <mailto:glewis at nemw.org?subject=Rail%20Summit>
(202/464-4005) or Fritz
<mailto:fohrenschall at nemw.org?subject=Rail%20Summit>  Ohrenschall
(202/544-5200) at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

 

 

Briefing:  Vacant Property Revitaliza-tion to Strengthen Communities

 

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY), and the
Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition - in coordination with the
National Vacant Properties Campaign, Local Initiatives Support
Corporation, and the Northeast-Midwest Institute - are sponsoring a
Congressional staff <http://www.nemw.org/images/CRSIStaffBriefing.pdf>
briefing on the issue of large scale vacancy and abandonment.  The
briefing will be held on Thursday, October 29, from 2:30 PM until 3:30
PM in room 2253 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

 

The briefing will highlight how communities are revitalizing vacant
sites, and developing innovative approaches to rebuild local
economies, create urban food systems, and supply public amenities,
such as parks.  The briefing will provide an overview of The Community
Regeneration, Sustainability and Innovation Act of 2009 (H.R.
<http://www.nemw.org/images/hr932.pdf>  932) - legislation that
provides communities with an important tool to reuse vacant/abandoned
properties, and offers a renewed sense of hope for making
neighborhoods across the country better places to live.

 

Speakers include Jennifer Leonard of the National Vacant Properties
Campaign, Phil Kidd of the Mahoning Valley Organizing Project (Ohio),
Terry Gillen of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, and Joe
Schilling of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech.

 

Contact:  Greg
<mailto:glewis at nemw.org?subject=Vacant%20Property%20Revitalization%20B
riefing>  Lewis (202/464-4005) at the Northeast-Midwest Institute, or
Mary
<mailto:mary.cronin at mail.house.gov?subject=Vacant%20Property%20Revital
ization%20Briefing>  Cronin (202/226-6795) at the Northeast-Midwest
Congressional Coalition.

 

 

House Passes Coast Guard Bill Funding New Icebreaking Vessel

 

The House passed the Coast Guard reauthorization bill (H.R. 3619
<http://www.nemw.org/images/hr3619.pdf> ) this week, including
language authorizing the Coast Guard to build a new icebreaking
vessel.  The bill authorizes the construction of this new icebreaker
because five of the Coast Guard's Great Lakes icebreakers are nearing
the end of their useful lives, and two other Coast Guard icebreaking
assets have experienced difficulty in heavy ice conditions.  During
the spring of 2008, United States flag vessels operating on the Great
Lakes suffered more than $1.3 million in damages to their hulls
because the Coast Guard did not have enough assets available to keep
Great Lakes shipping lanes open.

 

Contact Joy
<mailto:joy_mulinex at levin.senate.gov?subject=House%20Passes%20Coast%20
Guard%20Reauthorization>  Mulinex (202/224-1211) at the Great Lakes
Task Force.

 

 

Letter Supports Increased Funding for Geologic Mapping Coalition

 

The Great Lakes Task Force is circulating a letter to Secretary of
Interior Ken Salazar urging him to increase the base budget of the
Great Lakes Geologic
<http://igs.indiana.edu/GreatLakesGeology/index.html>  Mapping
Coalition.  The Mapping Coalition is a cooperative program between the
USGS and the eight Great Lakes states.  Established in the late 1990s,
the Coalition was designed to address critical water resource,
environmental, and land use issues.  The Mapping Coalition has never
received an increase to its base budget.  The deadline for Members of
Congress to sign the letter has been extended to Thursday, October 29.

 

Contact Joy
<mailto:joy_mulinex at levin.senate.gov?subject=Geologic%20Mapping%20Fund
ing%20Support%20Letter>  Mulinex (202/224-1211) at the Great Lakes
Task Force.

 

 

HHS Releases First Quarter LIHEAP Funding

 

Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released
more than $2.6 billion in funding for the Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Program (LIHEAP).  LIHEAP helps low-income families and
seniors pay high energy bills.  A chart
<http://www.acf.hhs.gov/news/press/2009/liheap_2010.html>  showing
state-by-state allotments is available on the HHS website.

 

Every year, the Northeast-Midwest Senate and Congressional Coalitions
initiate letters to the Appropriations Committees requesting full
funding for this vital program.  For fiscal 2009, Congress
appropriated $5.1 billion for LIHEAP - the highest amount ever for the
program - serving an estimated 7.5 million households.

 

Since the government is operating under a short-term Continuing
Resolution while Congress completes its appropriations, states have
been limited to 75 percent of their total expected LIHEAP funding in
this release.  While Congress has not yet completed the fiscal 2010
Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, bills in both the House and
Senate include $5.1 billion for LIHEAP.

 

Contact Chris
<mailto:chris_hickling at reed.senate.gov?subject=LIHEAP%20Appropriations
>  Hickling (202/224-0606), at the Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition,
or 

Mary
<mailto:mary.cronin at mail.house.gov?subject=LIHEAP%20Appropriations>
Cronin (202/226-6795) at the Northeast-Midwest Congressional
Coalition.

 

 

Upper Mississippi River Basin Association Quarterly Meeting

 

The Upper Mississippi River Basin Association (UMRBA) has announced
its next set of meetings for the Upper Mississippi River on November
17-19 in Rock Island, Illinois. Preliminary agendas
<http://www.umrba.org/meetings.htm>  for the quarterly meetings of
UMRBA, the Navigation Environmental Coordination Committee (NECC), and
EMP Coordinating Committee (EMP-CC), as well as the Joint Session of
NECC and EMP-CC, are now available online.

 

Contact Margie
<mailto:mdaniels at umrba.org?subject=UMRBA%20Quarterly%20Meeting>
Daniels (651/224-2880) at the Upper Mississippi River Basin
Association.

 

 

Symposium:  Securing Water in a Changing Climate

 

The World Wildlife Fund's Kathryn Fuller Science for Nature Symposium,
entitled "Securing
<http://www.worldwildlife.org/science/fellowships/fuller/fuller-sympos
ium-2009.html>  Water for Nature and People in a Changing Climate,"
will take place November 3-4, at the Smithsonian National Museum of
Natural History in Washington, DC.  Admission is free.  This year's
symposium aims "to provide a state-of-the-science review on freshwater
and climate adaptation science, and a platform for dialogue that will
provide feedback on gaps in our understanding and immediate needs for
research."

 

 

Abstracts Sought for Stormwater Pollution Prevention Conference

 

StormCon, the world's largest conference on stormwater pollution
prevention, is seeking abstracts for its ninth annual conference, to
be held August 1-5, 2010, in San Antonio, Texas.  The abstract
submission deadline is December 2.  If an abstract is accepted, the
final paper for the conference proceedings will be due on May 3, 2010.
Click here <http://www.stormcon.com/>  for a full description of the
conference, and to submit an abstract online.

 

 

 
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