The 111th Congress was on its summer recess in August, two- thirds of the way through an active first session which saw a lot accomplished—notably $787 billion in stimulus funding—and several contentious issues, such as climate change, make progress even as they navigated congressional minefields.

For many members, the summer break was a time to check in back home, via town hall meetings and other events, to hear from constituents and key local groups. As such, the following is intended to give you some sense, from a brownfields perspective, of what’s up on Capitol Hill, what might happen, and what you should know as you discuss these important issues. Show me the money The appropriations process continues to move forward, and Congress remains hopeful of completing action by the end of the fiscal year on September 30. From a brownfields perspective, both House and Senate appropriations subcommittees have approved small increases ($3 million in the House, and $4 million in the Senate) for fiscal year 2010 in the basic EPA brownfield “bricks and mortar” programs, which would bring the program total to at least $100 million; both subcommittees also included $49.5 million for states to support their brownfield program efforts, about the same level as this year. ...

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