Senate to Debate Continuing Resolution Today After Democrat and Republican Appropriators Strike Deal

As expected, Senate appropriators last night introduced their spending plan to fund the federal government from March 27 through the end of the 2013 fiscal year in September, by amending a version passed by the House last week (H R 933).  In the process, the bill's authors say that they have provided more federal agencies added spending flexibility in setting their budgets under the terms of sequestration by altering the base from which the cuts are made.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said yesterday that he would allow senators to offer amendments to the legislation when they consider the spending package today in the full Senate (viewers can see a Senate floor webcast here).

The Senate amendment adds three new complete appropriations bills (Agriculture; Commerce, Justice and Science; and Homeland Security) to the Defense, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bills that were already included in the House version.  The other agencies not covered by those portions of the package, including the U.S. EPA and the Department of Interior, would be subject to a continuation of fiscal year 2012 spending levels, although the Senate bill makes further adjustments to those amounts by way of what it calls "anomalies."

From the standpoint of the Mississippi River Basin and some of the key budget line items of particular relevance to water resource issues, the Senate package would provide for the following (click links to view and download the relevant section of the Senate package).

Agriculture

Overall discretionary spending for fiscal year 2013 would total $20.532 billion for Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration programs.  This total includes an across-the-board cut of 2.513 percent for non-security programs and an across the board cut of 0.092 percent for security programs under the jurisdiction of the Agriculture Appropriation Subcommittee.  According to the Senate summary, of particular relevance to Mississippi River Basin stakeholders, this portion of the bill provides:

• $824 million for activities for the Natural Resources Conservation Service;
• $1.205 billion for the National Institute on Food and Agriculture (including Agriculture and Food Research Initiative funding at $290 million);
• $1.074 billion for the Agricultural Research Service;
• $2.219 billion in budget authority for Rural Development, maintaining many loans and grants essential to small and remote rural communities;
• More than $1.5 billion for the water and waste water loan and grant program, and 
• $2.2 billion in loans for "essential community facilities."

Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies

Overall discretionary spending provisions of note for agencies under the jurisdiction of the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriation Subcommittee for fiscal year 2013 would total $50.21 billion, including $5 billion for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and $7.25 billion for National Science Foundation (NSF).  The NSF funding represents an increase of $221 million above the fiscal year 2012 enacted level.

Department of Homeland Security

Overall discretionary spending for the Department of Homeland Security for fiscal year 2013 would total $39.609 billion under the Senate measure, and would include $10.7 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  Included in that FEMA amount is $7 billion for the Disaster Relief Fund which, based on the appropriators' estimates, "will support an average disaster year and the costs of recovery from previous major disasters."  The bill prohibits the implementation of the newly proposed National Preparedness Grant Program and encourages FEMA "to work with stakeholders to refine a proposal for the proper committees of jurisdiction."  The bill also provides $95 million for Flood Hazard Mapping and Risk Analysis, and $25 million for Predisaster Mitigation Grants (The latter program provides funds to states, territories, tribal governments, communities and universities for hazard mitigation planning and the implementation of mitigation projects prior to a disaster event - mitigation activities designed to reduce disaster losses, and protect life and property from future disaster damages.).

Other Budget Items of Note and Anamolies

Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies section of the Senate measure (found here) reduces the Army Corps of Engineers construction funding by $20 million

Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies section of the Senate measure (found here)

• Provides $1.21 billion for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Resource Management programs;
• Provides $19.1 million for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Construction programs;
• Continues an annual $30 million rescission of contract authority provided from the Land and Water Conservation funds (a rescission is the cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress);
• Subjects the Department of Interior's funding to a $7.5 million rescission;
• EPA funding would face a $50 million rescission. Overall the bill provides the following amounts for Environmental Protection Agency accounts:
• $785.3 million for Science and Technology programs
• $2.65 billion for Environmental Programs and Management operations
• $1.18 billion for Hazardous Substance Superfund programs; and
• $3.58 billion for State and Tribal Assistance Grants.

Mississippi River Mayors Set to Press New Agenda in Washington

Mayors from along the length of the Mississippi River will gather in Washington, DC next week to advance their newly-developed, River-centric agenda in the halls of Congress and among federal agencies. Mayors representing the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative have scheduled various meetings and public events for March 19 through 21 to formally announce and promote the Initiative's policy goals. Meetings to discuss the Initiative's River-based agenda have been scheduled between the mayors and Congressional leaders in both the House and Senate, as well as with White House staff and representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

In addition to those meetings, a formal announcement of the Initiative-backed Mississippi River Congressional Caucus and of the Initiative's platform are set to occur on March 21, when photographs from along the Mississippi River will serve as a backdrop to the announcements during a 10 AM press conference (Cannon Caucus Room, Cannon House Office Building, 1st Street and Independence Avenue, SE).  The photo exhibit will be free and open to the public from 9 AM  through 3 PM on that day (the entire week's agenda of meetings and events can be viewed here).

The "platform to restore and sustain the Mississippi River" that the mayors are set to announce in full next week is expected to address several River-related issues.  Based upon a listing of concerns on the Initiative's web page, those issues are likely to touch upon River water quality and habitat restoration, flooding and floodplains, River-focused recreation, and sustainable economies.

The Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative consists of mayors from 45 River cities and towns from New Orleans, Louisiana in the south to St. Cloud, Minnesota in the north.  The Initiative is run by a steering committee consisting of one mayoral representative from each of the ten main-stem Mississippi River states, and is co-chaired by St. Louis, Missouri Mayor Francis Slay and St. Cloud, Minnesota Mayor David Kleis.  The entire roster of the Initiative's cities and towns currently includes:

• Minnesota: St. Cloud, Clearwater, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Red Wing, Winona
• Wisconsin: Prairie du Chien, Prescott, La Crosse
• Illinois: Sauget, Prairie du Rocher, Chester, Savanna, East Moline, Grafton, Alton, Moline, Rock Island, Cairo
• Iowa: Muscatine, Guttenberg, Burlington, Dubuque, Fort Madison, Clinton, Bettendorf, Lansing, Davenport
• Kentucky: Wickliffe, Columbus
• Missouri: LaGrange, Clarksville, Ste. Genevieve, Canton, East St. Louis, St. Louis
• Tennessee: Tiptonville, Memphis
• Arkansas: Helena, Osceola
• Mississippi: Vicksburg, Natchez
• Louisiana: Vidalia, Baton Rouge, New Orleans

Further information about the Initiative, and its policy and legislative platform can be obtained by contacting its Director, Colin Wellenkamp at the Northeast-Midwest Institute (cwellenkamp@nemw.org and 202-464-4010).

Capitol Hill This Week - What to Watch That Could Effect Water Resources

Here are the activities scheduled this week in the U.S. House and Senate that could have a significant impact on the Mississippi River Basin's water and natural resources.  Where available, links are provided to the relevant Committee and legislation pages on the Internet.  Many of the proceedings are webcast live (follow the appropriate link).

Tuesday, March 12

• On Tuesday, the House will meet for legislative business, when it is scheduled to consider H.R. 1035, a bill sponsored by Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI-4) of the Financial Services Committee, to require the Federal Emergency Management Agency to undertake a study of voluntary community-based flood insurance options and how such options might be incorporated into the national flood insurance program.  
• The House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to hold a March 13 hearing on National Forest Management Impacts on Rural Economies; Communities.  The meeting will be held at 10 AM (Eastern) in room 1300 of the Longworth House Office Building, and stream live over the Internet. The only witness currently scheduled to testify is U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell.

Wednesday, March 13

• The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies will hold a 9:30 AM hearing on water infrastructure financing (room B-308, Rayburn House Office Building).  Witnesses currently scheduled to testify include Mike Shapiro, U.S. EPA deputy assistant administrator for the Office of Water; Alfredo Gomez, director of natural resources at the Government Accountability Office; Aurel Arndt, general manager of the Lehigh County Authority (Pennsylvania); Ben Grumbles, president of the U.S. Water Alliance; Howard Neukrug, commissioner of the Philadelphia Water Department; Jeff Sterba, president of American Water; and Thad Wilson, vice president of M3 Capital Partners LLC.

Wednesday, March 13 and Thursday, March 14

Budget Resolutions

• House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI-1) is set to release his Fiscal Year 2014 budget plan on Tuesday, and the Budget Committee may consider the Budget Resolution as early as Wednesday, March 13.  The proposed resolution would set tax and spending targets for the entire federal government for the next Fiscal Year (starting October 1, 2013). While the House has been somewhat diligent in passing annual Budget Resolutions in the past several years, the Senate has not.  Collectively, however, the House and Senate Budget Committee leaders have committed themselves to moving Congress back toward its more traditional role of passing a Budget Resolution each year, rather than relying upon the stopgap funding measures that have characterized the recent past.
• The Senate Budget Committee is expected to debate its own Fiscal Year 2014 budget resolution on Thursday.

Generally Speaking

• Senate Democrats will also move forward this week with their plan to fund the government from March 27 through the end of the fiscal year in September.   The House passed its version of the Fiscal Year 2013 Continuing Resolution (H R 933) last week, sending it on to the Senate for its consideration.  Senate Democrats are expected to modify the House bill by providing more federal agencies added flexibility in setting their budgets under the terms of sequestration by altering the base from which the cuts are made.

Mississippi River Basin Water Resource News for the Week

~Virtual Newspaper for an Aquatic World~

Mississippi River Basin Asian Carp Management is Focus of Capitol Hill Symposium; Recent Legislation

Asian carp management in the Mississippi River Basin was the topic of discussion at a March 6, Capitol Hill "Asian Carp Awareness Symposium" in conjunction with National Invasive Species Awareness Week and Great Lakes Days.  The Symposium focused on  Federal, state, local, nonprofit and private coordinating efforts and responses to combat invasive Asian carp in the Ohio River, Upper Mississippi River, Lower Mississippi River, Missouri River and Great Lakes basins.  Legislation that has been recently introduced in the U.S. House and Senate was also addressed by several Symposium speakers, including two sponsors of one of those bills, who stressed that the legislation would assist Asian carp control efforts.  To read more details on this issue, the Symposium and the pending legislation, see here.

Who Are the Federal Agency Sequestration "Winners" and "Losers?" - To Be Determined

Based upon the "no shutdown" rhetoric coming out of last Friday's White House meeting among Congressional leaders and the President, the potential for an end-of-March, Federal government shutdown is practically nil (especially since the President has also told Democratic leaders in the Senate not to threaten a shutdown). The main question remaining, then, is whether the inevitable spending bill, or Continuing Resolution, will replace the sequestration cuts (that went into effect late last week) with some other budget numbers, for what amounts and for which agencies. Some Federal agencies may end up with more money to spend through the remainder of the 2013 fiscal year, and some less. Picking the "winners" and "losers" will be the crux of the congressional debate between now and March 27: the last date for any spending legislation before the current spending authority lapses. In reality, since March 22 is the last date that Congress is scheduled to be in session prior to a two-week-long spring recess, the next spending deal will likely be hashed out by then.  You can read more detailed news on this issue under the "Federal Budget" heading, below.

Dubuque Brings It's Mississippi River-Focused Agenda to Washington, DC

Representatives of City of Dubuque, Iowa and the Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism visited Washington, DC this week for their annual trip to bring the Mississippi River city's and region's business "voice . . . to Iowa's federal legislative delegation in Washington."  The Chamber's message to federal lawmakers, as well as the strategic policy recommendations underlying that message, reflect on the city's Mississippi River heritage, and was one advocating for federal policies that assist with economic development while assuring long-term sustainability.  To read more of Dubuque's legislative agenda and River-based sustainability approach, see this article.

Notable @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week  

Water Quality -

• Environmental Science & Technology paper: Aging US sewer systems release considerable nitrogen into urban watersheds http://bit.ly/WWvpFr
• Wetland management reduces sediment; nutrient loading to Upper Mississippi River;  Journal of Environmental Quality http://bit.ly/100H7M2 (abstract)
• Researchers tracking the amount of saline runoff into Minnehaha Creek (MN) http://bit.ly/168Xt9T (Mississippi River tributary)
• Farm Press Blog editorial : "Louisiana ag braces for new hypoxia challenge"-agriculture is "convenient whipping boy" http://bit.ly/Yb7uvI

Water Resource Management (Floodplains, Dams, Navigation, Wetlands, Flooding, Supplies, etc.) -

• KS and MO landowners with 2011 flood-damaged property viewing Supreme Court ruling as opening to sue US government http://bit.ly/13Dab0U
• Congressional Research Service: National Flood Insurance Program: Status and Remaining Issues for Congress http://bit.ly/ZgSyhz (PDF file)
• Brookings policy proposal: how National Flood Insurance and other federal disaster relief programs could be reformed http://bit.ly/Z303aA
• Mississippi River breaks through banks in Louisiana, reconnecting itself with old canal and its wetlands http://bit.ly/12odkSE
• U.S. Army Corps:  Mississippi River rock removal project near Thebes and Grand Tower, IL completed http://reut.rs/Z2ilsG
• Mississippi River water levels on the rise going into spring; barges are carrying full loads again http://bit.ly/Z2ic8p
• Low Mississippi River water levels are hurting Jefferson County, Missouri towns http://bit.ly/12okSVF
• House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee begin series of Water Resources Development Act listening sessions http://bit.ly/XSDyZ5
• Federal judge continues a 2005 injunction that prohibits transfer of Missouri River water into Hudson Bay watershed http://bit.ly/14uVyZx
• With likely second year of drought ahead, Army Corps to soon start Missouri River sandbar vegetation control work http://bit.ly/WWRpjF

Drought-

March 5 Drought Monitor Map
(click to enlarge)

• Little change in Plains and Midwest drought conditions as water remains locked in snow or out of frozen ground http://bit.ly/rak0SU
• Drought-stricken Plains farmers 'giddy' over heavy snow http://n.pr/ZY3thg
• USDA and Iowa State Climatologist: just 13 % of Iowa’s soils report adequate moisture despite snows http://dmreg.co/165Er4c

Farm Bill-

• New Congressional Budget Office estimate: 2012 Farm Bill drafts save $9-10 Billion less than originally thought http://1.usa.gov/12oczch
• Writing new farm bill just got harder with Congressional Budget Office's downgrading of promised Farm Bill savings http://bit.ly/12oheLm
• Journal of Soil and Water Conservation: Farmer support for extending Conservation Compliance beyond soil erosion http://bit.ly/ZgVfSE

Agriculture -

• Crop insurance is now on the verge of becoming the primary means of supporting farm income http://bit.ly/12ohuu0
• Hamburger or Hummus? Free online course on food system sustainability buff.ly/15T4YBs
• House Ag Committee questions USDA Secretary Vilsack on plans to implement the sequester http://1.usa.gov/167UCOv (testimony; webcast)
• Farm Foundation Forum highlights new report: “Developing a New Vision for US Agriculture, Forestry and Conservation” http://bit.ly/W9TgOZ
• Dept. of Agriculture should benefit from Senate changes to House's fiscal 2013 spending bill http://bit.ly/W9V0Yy
• 173-acre Illinois farm sells for $15,375 per acre in a transaction billed as a new record for the area http://bit.ly/W9VopW

In the Cities -

• Dubuque, Iowa representatives bring their Mississippi River-focused agenda and history to Washington, DC http://bit.ly/WWNByE (story above)

Forestry -

• House Ag Committee to hold March 13 hearing on National Forest Management Impacts on Rural Economies; Communities http://1.usa.gov/WWWKHq

Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -

• Unprecedented confluence of myriad environmental issues threatens Minnesota's natural resources and heritage http://bit.ly/12okmH9
• Songbird use of floodplain and upland forests along the Upper Mississippi River corridor during spring migration http://on.doi.gov/100I1IA (abstract)
• National Invasive Species Awareness Week recognized in U.S. House  http://bit.ly/W9SUYS

Gulf Coastal Region-

• U.S. Senators Landrieu (D-LA) and Shelby (R-AL) urge 'robust' Clean Water Act fines for 2010 BP spill http://bit.ly/Xfg299
• Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority head: "NOAA folks are just misinformed” on sea level rise http://bit.ly/Xfgkg9

Resource Extraction -

• Wisconsin study will examine the impact of frac sand mines on water http://bit.ly/12okF4E
• Southern Illinoisans Against Fracturing our Environment hosts event to focus on hydraulic fracturing in the region http://bit.ly/ZW2gXV
• North Dakota's economy won't buckle under sequestration cuts, thanks in large part to state's oil and gas boom http://bit.ly/ZW5JFO

Federal Budget -

• National Journal details how two years of deep cuts to the EPA budget have handicapped the agency http://bit.ly/ZW3sud
• White House: Sequestration means 100s of millions of dollars in cuts to environmental, energy and land-use agencies http://1.usa.gov/YI6em3
• Obama looks to make long-term federal deficit deal with GOP http://wapo.st/WMSoNB

Fiscal Year 2013

• House passes legislation that would provide Federal government with discretionary funds for rest of Fiscal Year 2013 http://bit.ly/VGDf4c
• GOP six-month spending bill attempts to shift money around to alter sequester effects http://politi.co/100F1Mb
• Senate Appropriations Committee Chair plans to substantially expand on House GOP six-month, stopgap spending bill http://bit.ly/167Wc2Q
• Candidates for separate appropriations in Senate’s fiscal 2013 spending bill: Commerce-Justice-Science; Agriculture http://bit.ly/WWsc91
• Senate Democrats unveil their changes to the House bill funding government through September http://bit.ly/W9UoCq

Fiscal Year 2014

• In the next weeks, Chairs of Senate and House Budget Committees will roll out competing fiscal year 2104 budgets http://wapo.st/WWt7pK
• The Hill reports that the President’s delayed budget for FY 2014 is now expected to be delivered on Monday, March 25 http://bit.ly/ZgU3fT

Events -  Information on all past and future events listed here can be viewed in the on-line calendar on this Blog page   and here as a stand-alone calendar

• 2013 Society of Wetland Scientist International conference will be held in Duluth, Minnesota, June 2-6 http://bit.ly/14kGk9u
• 14th Annual St. Croix Basin Conference; April 8, University of Wisconsin River Falls; March 27 registration deadline http://bit.ly/Z35Ro6

e-Newsletters, Publications and Journals -

• Association of State Floodplain Managers bi-monthly "News & Views" http://bit.ly/ZgRtGH (PDF file)
• Tennessee Clean Water Network March 3, 2013 e-newsletter http://bit.ly/ZgRMBl
• Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water  Weekly Newsletter: "Water Headlines" http://bit.ly/13DdEws
• U.S. Water Alliance March e-newsletter NewsWaves here: http://conta.cc/XWaFum

Other news-

• National Park Service Report: St. Croix River Tourism brings $8.8 million to region http://bit.ly/Z2i1u2
• St. Croix River Association seeks nominations for the 2013 St. Croix Watershed Stewardship Award http://bit.ly/Z35dXz
• Upper Mississippi River Basin Association seeks to fill Executive Director position opening http://bit.ly/100Gm5I (PDF file)
• Ceres: Few insurers address climate change effects on their business; some leaders emerging http://bit.ly/ZtRHKC and http://bit.ly/XZqxw5

Political Scene -

• Obama names his three nominees for lead jobs at EPA, Budget Office and the Energy Department http://n.pr/VuHyj0

Last Word -

"I hope not." - House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH-8), when asked Saturday about the Farm Bill and if it would take another year to pass (at the 22nd Annual Farm Forum at Edison State Community College, Greenville, Ohio).

"I have a bad feeling about this." - Various characters; Star Wars episodes I, II, III, IV, V and VI.

Mississippi River Basin Asian Carp Management is Focus of Capitol Hill Symposium

Asian carp management in the Mississippi River Basin was the main topic of discussion at a March 6, Capitol Hill "Asian Carp Awareness Symposium" held during National Invasive Species Awareness Week and Great Lakes Days.  The Symposium focused on  Federal, state, local, nonprofit and private coordinating efforts and responses to combat invasive Asian carp in the Ohio River, Upper Mississippi River, Lower Mississippi River, Missouri River and Great Lakes basins.  Legislation that has been recently introduced in the U.S. House and Senate was also addressed by several Symposium speakers, including two sponsors of one of those bills, who stressed that the legislation would assist Asian carp control efforts.

Speakers from the Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Association (or ""MICRA") represented and highlighted the extent of Asian carp infiltration in each of the above Mississippi River subwatersheds.  Each MICRA speaker also provided an overview of coordinated efforts to manage that infiltration, emphasizing the current management blueprint of combining various technologies and approaches in an attempt to hold the Asian carp advance at bay.  This attempt to forestall Asian carp upstream movement is designed to provide time for ongoing research to develop new techniques that might more ably control the quickly-spreading carp.  The primary mode of  Asian carp management that Symposium speakers indicated might prove to be fruitful in the short-term is commercial fishing, and its potential - yet untested on a large scale - to manage carp population sizes at the leading edge of their advance up the various Basin streams.

U.S. Representatives Mike Kelly (R-PA-3) and Betty  McCollum (D-MN-4) addressed Symposium attendees regarding the recently reintroduced Strategic Response to Asian Carp Invasion Act (H.R.358), and stressed its importance in marshaling a collaborative and efficient Federal effort to combat the spread of Asian carp nationally, and in particular in the Mississippi River Basin.  That bill would direct to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to lead and coordinate with the Army Corps of Engineers, National Park Service, and U.S. Geological Survey in a multiagency effort to slow the spread of Asian carp in the Upper Mississippi and Ohio River basins.  The House bill has eleven original co-sponsors (including Kelly and McCollum), and a total of 14 sponsors.  A companion bill (S. 125) has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH).  That measure currently counts six sponsors, including Brown.  The two bills have been respectively referred to the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Background

Asian Carp

Large numbers of several species of non-native, Asian carp have been progressively making their way upstream in the Mississippi River Basin for decades, since their release in the 1970s into the Lower Mississippi River from fish farming operations. Since then, bighead, silver and grass carp (and less extensively  black carp) have been captured throughout much of the Mississippi River watershed from Louisiana to South Dakota, Minnesota and Ohio.

Aquatic Nuisance Species

Each year the number of introduced nonnative aquatic plant and animal species invading the Mississippi River increases.  Once established, these invasive species (“aquatic nuisance species” or “ANS”) are nearly impossible to control, and then only at great expense.  They threaten the sustainability and very existence of the River Valley’s built and natural resources.  Adverse economic, social and environmental impacts include reduced game fish, and native plant and animal populations, ruined boat engines and steering equipment, rivers and lakes made unusable to boaters and swimmers, dramatically increased costs of operating drinking water and power plants, locks, dams and industrial processes, degraded ecosystems, compromised human health and lowered property values.  All of these impacts collectively significantly distress the economy of the region’s many River-dependent communities. The Mississippi River and its principal tributaries provide a highway for ANS to travel from areas as geographically remote as the Gulf Coast and the Great Lakes to the interior of the North American continent.  Because of the ability of many nonnative fish species, such as Asian carp, to compete with and displace native species, invasive fish will remain a principal threat to native biodiversity and the economy into the foreseeable future in the Mississippi River drainage.

Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Association

Mississippi River Basin Congressional Districts
(click to enlarge)

Started in 1991, MICRA is an organization of 28 state natural resource departments that cooperate to improve fish and other aquatic resource management in the Mississippi River Basin among the member states. MICRA seeks to accomplish that goal through the development of  regional partnerships; one focused on each of the River Basin's subbasins. MICRA's mission is "to improve the conservation, management, development and utilization of interjurisdictional fishery resources  in the Mississippi River Basin through improved coordination and communication among the responsible management entities."

MICRA has developed an "Action Plan to Minimize Ecological Impacts of Aquatic Invasive Species in the Mississippi River Basin," including within the plan, the goal of implementating a "well structured and funded integrated management program (IPM) for AIS in the Basin," "(i)ncluding, and especially, implementation of the Management and Control Plan for Bighead, Black, Grass, and Silver Carps in the United States (Asian Carp Working Group 2007)."

Dubuque Brings It's Mississippi River-Focused Agenda to Washington, DC

Representatives of City of Dubuque, Iowa and the Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism visited Washington, DC this week for their annual trip to bring the Mississippi River city's and region's business "voice . . . to Iowa's federal legislative delegation in Washington."  The Chamber's message to federal lawmakers, as well as the strategic policy recommendations underlying that message, reflect on the city's Mississippi River heritage, and was one advocating for federal policies that assist with economic development while assuring long-term sustainability.

Each year, the Chamber develops its legislative agenda; one that typically includes a notable list of priorities focused on environmental sustainability and the importance of the region's Mississippi River-based economy.     Historically, those agendas have been supportive of local, state and federal initiatives that provide the basis for environmentally responsible development.  The 2013 Legislative Agenda (see it here as a PDF file), for example, includes the following high-profile Chamber concerns:

• Providing adequate funding for the Clean Water Act, and the Drinking Water Act
• Developing incentive programs and tax credits for environmentally responsible development practices
• Assisting in the development of water transportation systems, such as a water taxis and ferry boats to promote tourism
• Adequately funding hiking and biking trails
• Promoting the tourism potential of the natural-resources-rich Driftless region
• Creating a funding mechanism for the federal Superfund cleanup program

At the state level, the Chamber advocates for adequate funding for the Iowa Grayfield and Brownfield Redevelopment Program, and for the River Enhancement Community Attraction Tourism (RECAT) grant, a program that supports projects to promote and enhance recreational opportunities on and near rivers or lakes within Iowa's cities.

Dubuque has developed its riverfront with the history and natural resources of the Mississippi River in mind.  The city's riverfront is home to the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, William Woodward Mississippi River Center, Diamond Jo National River Center, the National Rivers Hall of Fame and the Fred W. Woodward Riverboat Museum

Dubuque Mayor Roy Buol is one of the initial group of Mississippi River mayors who recently launched the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, designed to create an influential voice on behalf the Mississippi River and its cities and towns, and to increase demand for effective River protection, restoration and management in Washington, DC. 

Who Are the Federal Agency Sequestration "Winners" and "Losers?" - To Be Determined

Based upon the "no shutdown" rhetoric coming out of last Friday's White House meeting among Congressional leaders and the President, the potential for an end-of-March, Federal government shutdown is practically nil (especially since the President has also told Democratic leaders in the Senate not to threaten a shutdown). The main question remaining, then, is whether the inevitable spending bill, or Continuing Resolution, will replace the sequestration cuts (that went into effect late last week) with some other budget numbers, for what amounts and for which agencies. Some Federal agencies may end up with more money to spend through the remainder of the 2013 fiscal year, and some less. Picking the "winners" and "losers" will be the crux of the congressional debate between now and March 27: the last date for any spending legislation before the current spending authority lapses. In reality, since March 22 is the last date that Congress is scheduled to be in session prior to a two-week-long spring recess, the next spending deal will likely be hashed out by then.

Earlier today, the House Appropriations Committee unveiled a GOP spending bill to extend the current Continuing Resolution through September 30 for all Federal agencies except those covered by the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs appropriations subcommittees (a copy of the bill can be viewed here as a PDF file). The Defense and Veterans Affairs spending bills were previously drafted, negotiated and agreed upon among House and Senate appropriators last year, and have been included in whole along with the new Continuing Resolution language. Rep. Eric Cantor (in his House Leader’s weekly schedule) has scheduled the new Continuing Resolution and the two agreed-upon appropriations' bills (“Department of Defense, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 (Subject to a Rule)”) for consideration by the full House this Wednesday and Thursday.