Congress is back today. The leadership in both the House and Senate will approach their desks and find a very persuasive letter written by their colleagues asking for an infusion of cash into Great Lakes restoration programs that will create jobs and stimulate the economy.
Twenty-four Great Lakes US House Members, led by Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) signed a letter that specifically recommends spending $194 million on the Great Lakes Legacy Act to clean up toxic hot spots, $10 billion for the State Revolving Fund to rebuild and update our sewer systems, and $140 million for Great Lakes fish and wildlife restoration. Not only will these dollars restore our drinking water and 95 percent of this nation’s surface freshwater, but such spending will put hundreds of thousands of people to work.
At the same time, four Great Lakes US Senators have used their signatures to implore their colleagues to invest in Great Lakes restoration as well. The Great Lakes Senators: Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich), Russ Feingold (D-Wisc), Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Evan Bayh (D-IN) ask for funding for the same projects as the House at roughly the same dollar amounts.
While every nonprofit, think tank and lobby group have spent the last two months bombarding Capitol Hill with their ideas on the best way to spend the promised economic recovery package, we are heartened – no thrilled – that so many in our delegation came together to propose new spending on Great Lakes programs.
HOW’s request and that of the GL Delegation differ slightly in dollar amounts but any significant infusion of cash promises to rev up the Midwest’s economic engine. We applaud the members who signed onto Rep. Slaughter’s request and we hope that before the economic recovery package hits the floor that every Great Lakes House Member will get behind this letter and support recovery funding. We are also grateful to the US Senators who are going to take our cause to the floor and fight for our lakes and our jobs.
Related posts:
- With a Little Bit of Blooming Luck
- Congress Fully Authorizes Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, but More Work Looms
- Landmark Great Lakes Bill Needs More Senate Support
- Winning Hearts and Minds
- First Things First