U.S. Government Is on the Brink of Another Government Shutdown

Congress returns to Washington this week with less than a week left until the September 30^th deadline to extend federal funding to prevent a government shutdown. 

While the Senate is expected to take up a continuing resolution (CR) that would extend current funding levels, the House schedule includes four of the FY 2024 Appropriations bills, but not a short-term extension to fund the government past September 30^th. The Senate is scheduled to take the first in a series of procedural votes at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to tee up the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, which will serve as the legislative vehicle to pass the CR. 

While many have expected a CR to potentially include additional funds for Ukraine and disaster relief, it is very possible that Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will propose a clean CR with no additional funding in order to deny House Speaker Kevin McCarthy a reason not to bring a Senate-passed CR to the House floor. However, a small group of House Conservatives have pledged not to support any CR and have threatened Speaker McCarthy that they would bring a Motion to Vacate the Chair, the procedure to remove the Speaker, if he brings a CR up for a vote in the House.

NEMWI Releases Updated

Great Lakes Legislative Tracker

The Northeast-Midwest Institute continues to monitor Great Lakes and water policy legislation in the 118^th Congress with an updated Great Lakes and Water Policy Legislative Tracker that is being released today. While the bulk of Congress’ energy is currently focused on the FY 2024 budget process and the impending federal government shutdown, this tracker monitors federal legislation impacting the Great Lakes. 

To view NEMWI’s Great Lakes and Water Policy Legislative Tracker, please visit here.

NEMWI Announces New LinkedIn Page

CONNECT with us on LinkedIn! The Northeast-Midwest Institute is re-vamping our LinkedIn page with new updates and information on our regional research and policy education programs. On LinkedIn we’ll be sharing timely updates on upcoming briefings, hearings, and events. While we will continue to post updates to our other channels (Facebook and Twitter/X), NEMWI will also share important Great Lakes, water conservation, and manufacturing policy developments on LinkedIn to keep you in the know. 

Please consider joining us as we continue to foster connections both within and outside our organization. We hope that our new LinkedIn page will serve as a hub of collaboration among our partners and supporters. Our use of the site constitutes an exciting new opportunity to network and forge new relationships with organizations closely aligned with NEMWI and will provide a forum for discussion among a large network of stakeholders.