It's been an exciting week in Washington with a lot of First District-centered meetings and events. While the national news often takes up the conversation, I'm thankful to represent so many constituents that are engaged on policy issues affecting the Michigan communities we call home.

I met with Lt. Col. Turner and the team from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this week to discuss the work being done in the First District. The Soo Locks project is moving forward for the first time in three decades, marking historic progress as the contracts are awarded and the upstream channel deepening is set to begin this spring. I'm continuing to work with my colleagues, our partners at the Corps, and the President, to ensure this project moves forward and has the proper level of funding in the days and years ahead. Additionally, we discussed the stampsand dredging in the Keweenaw and erosion and property damage issues caused by rising lake levels. I'll continue working with local, state, and federal partners to address these problems going forward.

I had the opportunity to speak at the "Steel Caucus" hearing on Thursday. It's important that policies made in Washington put our American workers first. I appreciated the chance to once again hear directly from industry experts, including the Cleveland-Cliffs CEO, to hear about the future outlook and challenges facing our steel producers.  

From speaking at "Great Lakes Day" to discussing "Operation Northern Strike" with the Secretary of the Army, we have a lot of ground to cover in this week's Bergman Brief. I appreciate you taking the time to read this, and look forward to seeing you soon.

Rep. Bergman Meets With The Army Corps About First District Projects, Including The Soo Locks

"Jack Bergman has been working with USDA and USTR to try to figure out what is the next step for us. It’s a rare time of bipartisanship, because they’re both working hard to defend the cherry industry.”

Bilirakis would face competition from more junior lawmakers like Michigan’s Jack Bergman, a second-term congressman and the highest-ranking military officer ever elected to Congress.

“Yes, most positively yes,” he told CQ Roll Call when asked if he was running for the slot.

The former Marine Corps lieutenant general served nearly four decades — including as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam — before retiring in 2009. Bergman is the ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee and also is on the House Armed Services Committee.

Read more here

Bipartisan members of Michigan's delegation have been pressing the Air Force for swifter clean up of chemical contamination at Wurtsmith, Sawyer and other military installations.

"We need to keep the inertia behind the Department of Defense initiative, knowing the Department of Defense is not the EPA," which plans to regulate the chemicals, said Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet. 

"But it's a collaborative effort by all concerned to continue to test for and mitigate PFAS."

Congressman Bergman Votes in Favor of Spending Package to Fight the Coronavirus:

On Wednesday, Congressman Bergman voted in favor of H.R. 6074, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, when it was approved in the House of Representatives. This $8.3 billion emergency spending bill will provide much-needed funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) to prevent the further spread of COVID-19, provide states and localities with support, and develop safe and effective treatments and vaccines. The bill also includes measures ensuring any treatments will be made available at fair and reasonable prices and promoting the use of telehealth services to help limit further transmission. H.R. 6074 received wide bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate, and was signed into law by President Trump on Friday.

Congressman Bergman has also repeatedly supported full and reliable funding for our public health agencies prior to this outbreak. Most recently, he voted in favor of the Fiscal Year 2020 spending bills, which included boosts to the annual funding for both the NIH and CDC – helping these important public health agencies stay on guard for this and other potential disease outbreaks in the future.

You can read Congressman Bergman’s full statement on the passage of the emergency spending package here.

The Following Bills Supported by Congressman Bergman Were Also Approved This Week:

H.R. 5932 – Ensuring Chinese Debt Transparency Act of 2020

In recent years, China has increasingly provided loans to developing countries – often putting these countries in severe debt and imposing harsh conditions that ultimately hurt development. H.R. 5932 will use the authority and voting power of the U.S. in international financial institutions like the IMF and World Bank to promote greater transparency regarding the terms and conditions of loans provided by China to other member states.

H.R. 5003 – Fair Debt Collection Practices for Servicemembers Act

Many of our servicemembers face unique and abusive debt collection practices that, while misleading and harmful, remain legal due to a loophole in federal law. These can include debt collectors contacting the servicemember’s commanding officer, claiming the servicemember will be demoted, or threating punishment through the Uniform Code of Military Justice. H.R. 5003 will put a stop to these practices and protect our men and women in uniform.

S. 1678 – Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act of 2019

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), announced a request for proposals under the 2020 National Coastal Resilience Fund.

This year the fund will invest approximately $31 million in grants to create, expand, and restore natural systems to protect communities from coastal storms, sea- and lake-level changes, inundation, and coastal erosion. These efforts will also improve valuable habitats for fish and wildlife species. 

The initiative continues to advance regionally identified priorities and innovative approaches, and demand for this grant program remains high. In 2019, over 170 eligible pre-proposals requested nearly $100 million, and NFWF and NOAA invested $30 million in 44 projects across 23 states and U.S. territories. 

For 2020, pre-proposals are due on April 8, and invited full proposals are due on June 25. NFWF will administer the funding in partnership with NOAA, as authorized by the National Oceans and Coastal Security Act (Section 906(c) of Title IX of Public Law 114–113). The complete request for proposals can be found here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------VA Legacy Appeals Reach Another Milestone

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Veterans Benefits Administration’s (VBA) disability compensation appeals dropped below 75,000, Feb. 11.

Notices of Disagreement (NODs) and substantive appeals filed in the “legacy” system decreased from 292,452 in March 2016 to 74,439 despite VBA receiving 779,720 new legacy appeals.

Both inventories represent appeals within the initial stages of the appeals process, in place prior to the department’s February 2019 implementation of the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 (AMA), which Rep. Bergman helped introduce and pass into law.

“VBA is on track to eliminate its NODs and substantive appeals inventory by July.” said VA Secretary Robert Wilke. “Our progress on reducing the number of legacy appeals is proof of the modernization efforts we’ve undertaken.”

The AMA modernizes the current claims and appeals process by:

·       Including three review options for disagreements with decisions.

·       Requiring improved notification of VA decisions.

·       Providing earlier claim resolution.

·       Ensuring Veterans receive the earliest effective date possible.

Visit Appeals Modernization for more information.
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USDA Seeks Applications to Increase Access to Clean, Reliable Water for Rural Households 

USDA is making grants available through the Household Water Well System Grants program. These grants help qualified intermediaries create revolving loan funds to construct, refurbish, or service household water well systems. USDA does not provide funding directly to individuals under this program. Terms for the loans include a one percent fixed interest rate, 20-year maximum term, and an $11,000 maximum loan per household. Nonprofit organizations in rural areas of 50,000 or less are eligible to apply.

Applications must be submitted to grants.gov or mailed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service, Water and Environmental Programs, STOP 1570, Room 2233-S, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-1570 by May 31, 2020. Additional information is available on grants.gov.
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Bergman Joins Letter in Support of the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) Efforts to Modernize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
 
“In our districts across the country, we constantly hear about the opportunities lost when projects are stalled by NEPA’s increasingly time consuming and unnecessary red tape,” the letter reads. “As we travel throughout our communities, we experience these failures as we encounter crumbling roads and closed-off bridges that may wait years for repair. We all want better roads, stronger bridges, and improved infrastructure, but without NEPA reform that reality is years away.”
 
The letter, spearheaded by Whip Scalise and Rep. Newhouse, is an effort on behalf of the House Energy Action Team and Congressional Western Caucus to encourage and support the Trump Administration’s efforts to streamline and modernize NEPA in order to encourage environmental leadership while eliminating the negative effects of permitting delays for critical infrastructure projects in communities across the United States. 

You can read the letter here
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Reminder: Cormorant Public Comment Period Open Until March 9th. 

You can find more information on this process in the Department of Interior's (DOI) press release.

To submit comments electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: Follow the instructions for submitting comments to Docket No. FWS-HQ-MB-2019-0103.

To submit comments via hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS–HQ–MB–2019–0103; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS: JAO/1N, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041–3803

Rep. Bergman Participates in a Steel Caucus Hearing

On March 3rd, Members received testimony from the Secretary of Army and the Chief of Staff of the Army on the Department’s FY21 budget priorities. During the hearing, Rep. Bergman illustrated the necessity of large-scale exercises like Northern Strike, which takes place at Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center and Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center in Northern Michigan. In highlighting the optimal training environment and international partnerships associated with Northern Strike, he extended an invite to Secretary McCarthy to attend the next iteration this summer.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------On March 3rd, Rep. Bergman and members of the Readiness Subcommittee heard from the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and, Vice Commander, Headquarters, United States Space Force on their efforts to maintain a capable and ready force through divestiture, procurement, and force structuring.

Rep. Bergman engaged the Space Force on its need to evaluate both private sector capabilities and alternative defense locations for potential Space Force integration. In discussing the growth of hypersonic research, telemetry, and horizontal launch testing, he noted the potential strategic advantages of a northern tier Space Force presence.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------On March 4th, Rep. Bergman attended a Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee hearing entitled “Department of the Navy Fiscal Year 2021 Budget Request for Seapower and Projection Forces.” During the hearing, Rep. Bergman questioned the Navy’s decision to decommission several Littoral Combat Ships with years of hull life left, amid a struggle to reach a 355-ship Navy. He challenged the Navy to be honest brokers when assessing ship goals and to ensure an intense focus on readiness and lethality. 

The Congressman also noted the importance of Marine Corps integration with the Navy and emphasized the need for collaborative development of the 30-year shipbuilding plan.