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Briefing:
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI): A Driver for the Region's Prosperity through Economic, Environmental, and Societal Revitalization
Please join the Northeast-Midwest Institute (NEMWI), along with the Great Lakes Commission, the Healing Our Waters Great Lakes Coalition, the International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR), and other Great Lakes Stakeholders for a Congressional briefing on the successes of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) and the continued need for federal support to clean up the Great Lakes.
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Congressional Visitor Center
SVC 203-02
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Participants:
- Introduction and Overview of the GLRI - Matt McKenna, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program, Northeast-Midwest Institute
- Assessing the Investment: the Economic Impact of the GLRI - Matt Doss, Policy Director, Great Lakes Commission
- Areas of Concern (AOC) Clean-up and Economic Revitalization - Dr. John Hartig, Great Lakes Science-Policy Advisor, International Association of Great Lakes Researchers
- The Need for the GLRI Act of 2019 - Alexis Lopez-Cepero, Water Policy Fellow, Healing Our Waters Great Lakes Coalition
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) has been a critical federal program in advancing and growing the Great Lakes region's economy. Investments through the GLRI have helped create jobs and have led to long-term economic benefits for the Great Lakes states and the country. A report completed last fall from economists at the University of Michigan, Central Michigan University, and Duke University highlighted and quantified the economic prosperity that the GLRI is creating in the region. The study showed that for every $1 the GLRI invested in restoration funding, more than $3 in additional economic activity was generated region-wide. Another newly released report by the International Association of Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) found that major positive communal and economic benefits have been achieved through the cleanup of the most toxic and polluted sites in the Great Lakes.
The briefing will not only focus on the GLRI's success stories, but also discuss the continued need for increased federal support for the Great Lakes. This summer, bipartisan and bicameral legislation (S. 2295 and H.R. 4031) was introduced in Congress that would reauthorize the GLRI for five years starting in FY 2022 at $375 million and increase the authorized amount by $25 million each year through FY 2026. The briefing will provide an overview of the continued resources needed in the Great Lakes to continue the progress being made, which would be supported by the GLRI Act of 2019.
To RSVP please email Matt McKenna with the Northeast-Midwest Institute at
mmckenna@nemw.org.
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Northeast-Midwest Institute Releases New White Paper on Retooling Trade Adjustment Assistance and Modernizing the Trade Safety Net
The Northeast-Midwest Institute today released a new White Paper aimed at modernizing Trade Adjustment Assistance and other programs that work to remedy the costs of liberalized trade. The U.S. has developed a web of assistance programs designed to support the industries and individuals that suffer losses as a result of international trade and a global economy. These programs have had moderate success, but they are too narrow and are not up to date with the nuances of the modern global economy.
This report details the key shortcomings with the current system, specifically looking at issues relating to applying for TAA, participation outcomes, the receiving of benefits, performance outcomes, and future reauthorization. The report then delves into ten key policy recommendations to improve and enhance the program to more effectively mitigate the harms and costs associated with the expansion of global trade.
The full report is available here.
For more information,
please contact
Michael Goff
, President and CEO of the Northeast-Midwest Institute
.
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Potential Progress in U.S.-China Trade Talks Could Lead to Relief on U.S. Soybeans, Pork Exports
Yet again there is the appearance of a possible easing of tensions between the United States and China in the long-running trade war between the two global economic powers. President Trump appears to be easing off of his past threats of implementing further tariffs on Chinese imports into the United States in return for China deescalating its retaliation on U.S. pork and soybeans.
Similar possibilities were floated in the past but ultimately never came to fruition. Subsequently, all sides are proceeding with caution, despite initial optimism. China is attempting to narrow the scope of the trade negotiations to certain issues like agriculture while the U.S. is attempting to use the threat of tariffs to force China to restructure its entire national economic approach. These two contradictory goals are likely going to continue resulting in tensions throughout the negotiations.
For more information,
please contact Chris Askew-Merwin, Senior Policy Analyst for Water Programs at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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Trump Administration Repeals "Waters of the United States" Rule, Leaving Broad Swaths of Nation's Waters without Environmental Protection
On Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency at the direction of President Trump scrapped the "Waters of the United States Rule" or "WOTUS." The rule specified that the Clean Water Act applied to various streams and wetlands within the United States. Without WOTUS in place, these environmental safeguards will no longer apply to the waters in question. This rule change comes as a major win for the agriculture industry and a major loss for the environment.
The Trump Administration had attempted to replace WOTUS with a more narrow rule previously, but was stymied by the courts for not following the proper procedure for public comment and review. The White House is still formulating its replacement rule, but decided to go ahead with abolishing the existing rule that was put in place by the Obama Administration.
Over half of the wetlands currently protected by the Clean Water Act now are now outside the scope of the Clean Water Act under the Trump administration's approach.
For more information,
please contact
Michael Goff
, President and CEO of the Northeast-Midwest Institute
.
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NEMWI: Strengthening the Region that Sustains the Nation
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