U.S. House Pushes Back to Restore Great Lakes Funding, In Wake of Proposed Trump Administration Cuts

Ann Arbor, Mich. (March 30, 2017) – In the wake of President Trump’s budget outline released earlier this month that would eliminate Great Lakes restoration programs, 63 Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives today sent a letter to House appropriators, asking that Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding be restored to $300 million in fiscal year 2018. The Trump Administration’s budget outline proposed complete cuts to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, from $300 million annually to zero. Read the letter here. “The overwhelming bi-partisan Congressional support for federal Great Lakes restoration investments underscores how important the lakes are to the millions of people who depend on them for their drinking water, jobs, and way of life,” said Todd Ambs, campaign director for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “We agree with our Great Lakes congressional champions who have been standing up strongly and pushing back on the Trump Administration’s deeply flawed and misguided budget. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is producing results for the region, but we have more work to do. Now is not the time to cut funding as projects will only get harder and more expensive the longer we wait. We look forward to working with Republicans and Democrats to restore funding and keep federal restoration efforts on track.” The 63 signatories come from the eight Great Lakes states of Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, as well as California, New Hampshire, and Washington, D.C. Signatories include:Minnesota: U.S. Reps. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.), Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Tim Walz (D-Minn.), and Collin Peterson (D-Minn.).Wisconsin: U.S. Reps. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), Ron Kind (D-Wis.), James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), and Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.)Illinois: U.S. Reps. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), Bill Foster (D-Ill.), Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.), Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), Pete Roskam (R-Ill.), Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.).Indiana: U.S. Reps. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) and André Carson (D-Ind.).Michigan: U.S. Reps. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.), Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Jack Bergman (R-Mich.), Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich.), Mike Bishop (R-Mich.), John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Dave Trott (R-Mich.), Paul Mitchell (R-Mich.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.), and Tim Walberg (R-Mich.).Ohio: U.S. Reps. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio), Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio), Jim Renacci (R-Ohio), Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), Michael Turner (R-Ohio), and Steve Stivers (R-Ohio).Pennsylvania: U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.).New York: U.S .Reps. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Elise Stefanik (D-N.Y.), Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), Thomas Suozzi (D-N.Y.), John Katko (R-N.Y.), and Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.).Other states: U.S. Reps. Ann McLane Kuster (D-N.H.), Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.), Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC). The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition consists of more than 140 environmental, conservation, outdoor recreation organizations, zoos, aquariums and museums representing millions of people, whose common goal is to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Learn more at www.healthylakes.org or follow us on Twitter @healthylakes.