New Great Lakes legislative activity reflected in the Northeast-Midwest Institute’s Great Lakes Legislative Tracker as of October 1, 2021, includes the REDUCE ACT OF 2021.
Congressman Thomas Suozzi (D- NY-03) has reintroduced the REDUCE ACT of 2021 in the U.S. House. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) had introduced the REDUCE ACT of 2021 in the U.S. Senate on August 5. If passed, the REDUCE ACT of 2021 would modify the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, to establish an excise tax on plastics.
Additionally, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) recently introduced S.2869. S2869 would limit the authority of the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to prescribe chargeable premium rates for flood insurance under the National Flood Insurance Program.
The Northeast-Midwest Institute and its Great Lakes Washington Program will continue to monitor the progress of Great Lakes legislation. The updated Great Lakes Legislative Tracker can be viewed Here.
Bipartisan Infrastructure Package Stalls in House
The U.S. House of Representatives was expected to vote on a bipartisan infrastructure package last week, but the vote was postponed until later this month due to Democratic concerns about garnering enough support for a larger legislative package dubbed the Build Back Better Act. The $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act, which would be moved through the reconciliation process, contains a whole host of Democratic priorities.
Under the reconciliation process, the bill would only need a simple majority of votes in the Senate, rather than the normal sixty vote threshold, however several moderate Democrats have expressed concerns about the overall size of the package, which has led to uncertainty about the passage of the legislation. Progressive House Democrats have insisted that the Build Back Better Act be passed in unison with the bipartisan infrastructure package, so as to continue to put pressure on moderates for passage of the larger package. Both chambers will continue to negotiate the bill in the coming weeks and currently plan to hold a vote later this month on both pieces of legislation.
Congress did approve a 30-day extension of surface transportation programs over the weekend, ending a day-long shutdown of some Transportation Department functions, permitting 3,700 furloughed employees to return to work this week.
While the House is currently not scheduled to hold any votes over the next two weeks, they will likely have to reconvene sooner rather than later, as the federal government continues to face a looming debt ceiling cliff on Oct. 18, which is the date that the U.S. Treasury has said it would default on its outstanding debt if Congress does not increase or suspend the debt ceiling.
NEMWI Participates in Great Lakes Twitter Chat
The Northeast-Midwest Institute (NEMWI) participated in a Great Lakes Twitter Chat on Thursday, September 30, hosted by the Erb Family Foundation. The chat, which can be viewed using the hashtag #GreatLakesChat, allowed Twitter users to ask and answer questions, share resources, and learn from experts and local organizations about the Great Lakes watershed.
More than 30 Great Lakes organizations participated in the conversation, which highlighted topics including what is at stake in the Great Lakes watershed and what organizations can do to protect the Great Lakes and their local watersheds. The Erb Family Foundation also recently released three new videos that leverage a Great Lakes watershed map that it developed along with The Nature Conservancy, educating viewers about the watershed, that can be viewed here.
The Northeast-Midwest Institute is on Twitter with new updates and information on its regional research and policy education program and with announcements for upcoming briefings and events. NEMWI is posting its research reports on current regional issues and ongoing policy education on the page to make keeping up with our policy work easier than ever. NEMWI also is updating the page with announcements of upcoming policy briefings and webinars.
Please check out NEMWI’s Twitter page here or by searching @NEMWInstitute. And be sure to FOLLOW us to keep up-to-date with NEMWI on Twitter.
AMCC, Partnered with NEMWI, Releases Strategic Plan
The American Manufacturing Communities Collaborative (AMCC) is pleased to announce the release of a first ever Strategic Plan to strengthen the American manufacturing ecosystem. AMCC is a national community of manufacturing ecosystem partners in regions across America with an intentional focus on enhancing competitiveness through innovation, equity, and environmental sustainability. The Northeast-Midwest Institute collaborated with AMCC in the development of this new strategic plan.
“This strategic plan is a result of years of close collaboration among regional and national leaders who are focused on revamping the American manufacturing ecosystem,” said AMCC Executive Director Matt Bogoshian. “The approach in this Strategic Plan will help manufacturers make smarter products that solve problems and create good paying jobs for a diverse workforce.”
AMCC’s Strategic Planning goals are:
Goal 1: Grow the national community of manufacturing ecosystem partners with an intentional focus on enhancing competitiveness through innovation, equity, and environmental sustainability.
Goal 2: Connect with and advocate for integrated national and state manufacturing policies with strong regional public and private partners.
Goal 3: Develop a standardized set of metrics across communities that can be rolled up to demonstrate impact.
Goal 4: Build and significantly expand organizational sustainability.
To see the AMCC Strategic Plan document, click HERE.
For more information on AMCC collaboration opportunities, contact Matt Bogoshian at matt.bogoshian@amccmail.com and visit AMCC’s website at https://americanmcc.org/ or Dr. Michael J. Goff, President and CEO of the Northeast-Midwest Institute, at mgoff@nemw.org .
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