Great Lakes Bill Advances out of Senate Committee

Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition

Contact: Lindsey Bacigal, BacigalL@nwf.org, (734) 887-7113
Jordan Lubetkin, Lubetkin@nwf.org, (734) 904-1589

Great Lakes Bill Advances out of Senate Committee

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (May 1, 2024)—New bipartisan federal legislation boosting investments in Great Lakes restoration and protection advanced out of a U.S. Senate committee today, paving the way for the full chamber to vote on legislation authorizing $500 million to be spent annually to clean up toxic pollution, curb farm and urban runoff, restore habitat, and confront invasive species.

The bill, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Act of 2024, was passed out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee by voice vote. The next step is for the full Senate to vote on the bill, which is sponsored by Great Lakes Taskforce co-chairs, U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).

Passage of the bill is a top priority for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, which sent letters of support to Senate and House leadership today in anticipation of the committee’s vote.

“We thank U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) for their bipartisan leadership and standing up for the 42 million people who depend on the Great Lakes for their drinking water,” said Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “We also thank Committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) for making Great Lakes restoration and protection a national issue and for moving this bill out of committee. Federal investments to restore the Great Lakes have been producing results for our drinking water, public health, jobs, and quality of life. But serious threats remain. We look forward to working with the Great Lakes congressional delegation to pass this bipartisan bill to tackle serious threats to our waters, before the problems get worse and more expensive to solve.”

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2024 reauthorizes the successful federal program for five more years, from fiscal years 2027 through 2031, to invest up to $500 million annually to restore and protect the Great Lakes and the streams, rivers and wetlands that feed them, by restoring habitat, cleaning up toxic pollution, reducing urban and farm runoff, and managing invasive species, with an increased focus on reaching those most impacted by pollution and addressing the growing threats of climate change.

Senate co-sponsors of the bill, in addition to Sens. Stabenow and Vance, include Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Robert Casey (D-Pa.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.).       

Companion legislation in the U.S. House has been put forward by Great Lakes Taskforce co-chairs, Reps. David Joyce (R-Ohio), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), and Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio). 

Since 2004, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition has been harnessing the collective power of more than 180 groups representing millions of people, whose common goal is to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Learn more at HealthyLakes.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads @HealthyLakes.