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Despite outcries for stricter gun-control laws after mass shooting events, Congress has been unable to debate or enact substantial gun-control legislation — largely because of resistance from Republicans. But a bipartisan proposal by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is gaining momentum following weekend mass shootings in Texas and Ohio that left 31 people dead. The em... Read more »

Members of Michigan’s congressional delegation in Washington introduced the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2019 on Friday, July 26. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, D-Michigan, along with Reps. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, and Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, and others in Michigan’s delegation introduced the act, which is co-sponsored by a litany of other senators and representatives on bo... Read more »

The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced a $2 million grant program to clean up the shorelines and waters of the Great Lakes. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler during an appearance Friday in Cleveland said the grants will be available to state and local governments, nonprofit groups, and universities for cleanup programs. He said removing trash from U.S. waterways is an EP... Read more »

Grand Rapids-based Bethany Christian Services didn’t wait to make its voice heard amid news that President Donald Trump’s administration might slash refugee admissions to zero next fiscal year. “It’s incredibly disappointing to hear of the possibility that our nation’s refugee resettlement program could be eliminated,” wrote Chris Palusky, BCS President and CEO, in a statement released to media Fr... Read more »

The U.S. House of Representatives on July 9 approved three bipartisan bills supported by U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) to bolster efforts at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to protect investors and strengthen markets. The House passed the Improving Investment Research for Small and Emerging Issuers Act, H.R. 2919, sponsored by Rep. Huizenga and cosponsor U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams (D-UT) ... Read more »

House Republicans today expressed willingness to partner with Democrats in advancing legislation that would overturn a Supreme Court decision and help the SEC collect cash from wrongdoers. At a House Financial Services hearing today, Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) said the SEC needs to be able recover ill-gotten gains and distribute those funds to harmed investors. "I am supportive in concept," Huiz... Read more »

As passengers boarded the SS Badger Friday morning, officials gathered beside the carferry for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the completion of the project that rebuilt the Lake Michigan Carferry (LMC) docks. The project overhauled the SS Badger’s docks in Ludington and Manitowoc, Wisconsin, enabling the carferry to continue its operations. Sections of the docks were more than 70 or 80 y... Read more »

The Rapid officially broke ground Monday on its new Laker Line. Work is already underway building platforms up and down Lake Michigan Drive and Fulton Street for the new bus route. The route will run between Grand Valley State University’s Allendale campus and downtown Grand Rapids. It will replace the current Route 50 buses, which currently connect GVUS’s Allendale campus with its downtown campus... Read more »

In the 115th Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed HR 477, the Small Business Mergers, Acquisitions, Sales, and Brokerage Simplification Act with a 426 – 0 recorded vote; but it failed to become law because time ran out in the U.S. Senate at the end of 2018. Later in the session, Hensarling and Waters - again in bipartisan fashion - added HR 477 to the JOBS and Investor C... Read more »