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Northeast-Midwest Institute to Host Congressional Great Lakes Orientation Briefing
The Northeast-Midwest Institute will be holding a comprehensive orientation briefing for Congressional staff on critical federal Great Lakes issues on Friday, March 29 from 12 pm - 3 pm in Rayburn 2060.
This comprehensive orientation briefing will focus on providing new and existing Congressional staff a broad overview on the key issues impacting the Great Lakes. Because of the large amount of content that will be presented at the orientation briefing there will be several orientation briefings over the spring that will also touch upon economic and infrastructure needs in the region.
What
: Great Lakes Orientation for Congressional Staff
When
: 12:00 PM- 3:00 PM, Friday, March 29, 2019
Who
: Key Great Lakes federal, state, and NGO stakeholders from across the region
RSVP
: Matt McKenna, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program mmckenna@nemw.org
For more information,
please contact
Matthew McKenna, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute
.
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U.S. Farmers Preparing to Plant One of the Largest Soybean Crops on Record Despite Uncertainty
After a number of tumultuous months for soybean sales, farmers are acting optimistic about the future. The ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China led to a virtual halt in U.S. soybean exports to China, the world's largest soybean importer. Soybean are the largest export for the U.S. agriculture sector, or at least they were until recently.
Despite these troubling developments, soybean farmers are planning to continue planting soybeans at a massive scale. According to reporting by Reuters, farmers see it as their only option: "It is tough to rotate out of soybeans because what else are you going to plant?" Other options like sorghum have also been hurt by the trade war, while alternatives like hemp have a high startup cost. Thus, soybean farmers are on track to plant the third largest soybean crop on record.
The U.S. and China continue to discuss ways to deescalate the trade hostilities, but substantial progress has yet to be achieved. Adding further complexity to the situation, China has been suffering in recent months from an outbreak of African swine fever, taking a toll on the pork industry and depressing demand for soybeans, which are used for hog feed.
With these ongoing negotiations and questions floating around the ratification of the recently renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement, uncertainty has reached a dangerously high level for one of the most important facets of the U.S. economy.
For more information, please contact
Eric Heath
, Senior Policy Counsel for the Mississippi River Basin Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute
.
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Seven Years after Hurricane Sandy, New York City Still Seeking Solutions to Rising Waters
Mayor of New York City Bill De Blasio unveiled a proposal last week to strengthen
Lower Manhattan's resilience to the threat of climate change,
Politico's Danielle Muoio reports
. The purpose of the plan is to fortify the city's
coastal resilience
capabilities by extending the shoreline of the East River to shield Lower Manhattan from rising waters. However, the Mayor was met with skepticism regarding the plan's feasibility given that it would cost taxpayers $10 billion to implement. Finding a viable method to fund the Mayor's plan will prove to be the most difficult obstacle in providing structural reinforcement along the city's coast.
Nearly seven years removed from $70 billion in damages sustained by Hurricane Sandy, New York City has struggled to implement a plan that would address the potential complications of rising sea-levels and
storm surges
. The Mayor's proposal aims to protect the city's
most vulnerable
localities, such as the South Street Seaport and Manhattan's Financial District, from the potentially devastating consequences that may result from rising waters and severe flooding. Despite these looming threats, the hefty cost of the project will ensure that any transition from engineering blueprints to the shores of the East River will likely not materialize in the foreseeable future.
Undeterred by the proposal's financial burden, De Blasio opined that his plan is "audacious, but most of all it is necessary",
according to Politico
. The Mayor further defended his ambitious plan by implying that it could be initiated by leveraging federal funds to start the project. "Lower Manhattan is one of the core centers of the American Economy," he
continued
. "The security of Lower Manhattan should be a national priority. The fact is, it is not, and it's incomprehensible to me that there is no sense of urgency from the federal government." The City of New York still has a portion of the
$511 million
awarded to it by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the wake of Hurricane Sandy remaining. The prospect of further federal funds is uncertain in the current political climate.
The Mayor's petitioning of federal funds to invigorate his plan reflects the reality that undertaking a major infrastructure project for Lower Manhattan is unlikely even as hurricane season approaches and the people of New York remain all too familiar with the unbearable costs of disaster recovery. While New York may not encounter another super-storm for quite some time, the threat of climate change continues to grow both nationally and globally. Although there is no debate about what is at stake, the question of who will pay for New York City's protection from future natural disasters will likely span far past Mayor De Blasio's administration.
For more information, please contact Eric Heath, Senior Policy Counsel for the Mississippi River Basin Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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116th Congress: Committee Leadership Profiles
As the 116th Congress gets into full swing, the Northeast-Midwest Institute will profile the Chair and Ranking Member of the Congressional committees most relevant to the region. This newsletter will include the Appropriations subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies.
Rep. David Price, Chairman of the Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
David Price is the U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 4
th
Congressional district. Rep. Price has been the Representative for this district for 29 years, serving from 1987 to 1995 and 1997 to the present day. During the 116
th
Congress Rep. Price will serve as Chairman of the Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Committee; senior member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs; and on the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. Rep. Price's website states, "(He) strongly support(s) efforts to protect the environment, promote wise stewardship of our natural resources, and address global warming." He supported the American Clean Energy and Security Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act during his tenure.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, Ranking Member of the Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Mario Diaz-Balart is the U.S. Representative for Florida's 25
th Congressional district. Rep. Diaz-Balart served in both the Florida State House and Senate before becoming a U.S. Representative in 2003. During Rep. Diaz-Balart's time as Chairman he was able to secure funding to fight invasive algal blooms that are seen from Florida to the Great Lakes. Rep. Diaz-Balart's website states, " After the devastating algal blooms that hurt Florida's water supply and tourism industry, the bill provides robust funding to study these harmful blooms and mitigation efforts to allow for better response, and preparedness against future outbreaks." Rep. Diaz-Balart was also able to secure a
record level of Investments in infrastructure and housing as Chairman.
For more information, please contact
Eric Heath
, Senior Policy Counsel for the Mississippi River Basin Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute
.
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2020 Candidate Profiles: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Potential Democratic Nominee for President of the United States
Kirsten Gillibrand is the Junior Senator from New York; she is currently serving her second term in Congress and was elected in 2009. She previously served as Representative of New York's 20
th Congressional District from 2007-2009. She also worked on Hilary Clinton's Senate campaign and practiced at multiple private law firms. Senator Gillibrand published a book in 2014 titled
Off the Sidelines: Raise Your Voice, Change the World. The book touched on a number of subjects and shed light on the sexism she faced within the Senate. During the 116
th Congress, Senator Gillibrand will be serving on the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; the Committee on Armed Services; the Committee on Environment and Public Works; and the Special Committee on Aging.
According to Senator Gillibrand's 2020 campaign website, "[she] was one of the first supporters of the Green New Deal, and she's prioritized the environment since day one. She supports creating a net-zero emissions economy, and she wants to go further by putting a price on carbon." Senator Gillibrand has also received a lifetime score of 95% from the League of Conservation Voters, which is an advocacy group that provides environmental scorecards of legislators based on their voting records. Senator Gillibrand has also stated that she would rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement and implement policies that would force companies to disclose climate risks.
For more information, please contact Eric Heath, Senior Policy Counsel for the Mississippi River Basin Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
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This Week in Washington
In the Senate:
In the House:
The House is not in session this week.
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NEMWI: Strengthening the Region that Sustains the Nation
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