House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH-8) announced last Thursday that there would not be a Farm Bill vote in the House this month, effectively ending hopes of working out an agreement with the Senate and its already-passed version of a new Farm Bill this Congress.  The House Republican leadership decision came as a bipartisan attempt to force the measure onto the House floor (called a "discharge petition") faltered.   The consequences of the decision (an expired 2008 Farm Bill at midnight, September 30, 2012) will not become immediately evident; most key Farm Bill programs will continue to be funded through the end of the calendar year, if not beyond, because the 2008 Farm Bill covers all of this calendar year's (2012) crops, even though the effective date of the current law matches that of the Federal fiscal year.  Additionally, Congressional appropriations can be utilized to fund many of the major Farm Bill provisions, whether they are authorized or not.  To read more about what might come next, see here.  

For more information, contact Mark Gorman, Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

Last week, Senate Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chairs Senators Carl Levin and Mark Kirk partnered with six other Senators to introduce the Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection Act of 2012. The bill would provide authorization to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force, and the Great Lakes Advisory Board, while providing reauthorization for the Great Lakes National Program Office and the Great Lakes Legacy Act. The new legislation authorizes the same level of funding as proposed in bicameral, bipartisan legislation from the previous (111th) Congress (S. 3073/H.R. 4755), which was supported by 11 Senators and 43 Representatives across the eight Great Lakes states. Although the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved and favorably reported the earlier bill, Congress did not pass it prior to the end of the session.   

For more information, see the Senators' joint press release here, or contact Kate Ostrander or Mike Gaffin, Legislative Directors of the Northeast-Midwest Congressional and Senate Coalitions, respectively.

On Friday, September 28th, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the National Association for State Community Services Programs (NASCSP) are hosting a Capitol Hill briefing in coordination with the House and Senate Northeast-Midwest Coalitions to discuss the U.S. Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). Experts and advocates will discuss the program's funding history, results, and impact to help inform congressional funding decisions going forward, while also answering questions about FY2009 stimulus funds and assessing current needs. The briefing will take place from 11-12:30pm in the Capitol Visitor Center's Congressional Meeting Room North (CVC 268) and is open to all interested attendees. 

For more information, contact Kate Ostrander or Mike Gaffin, Legislative Directors of the Northeast-Midwest Congressional and Senate Coalitions, respectively.