Congressman Dan Kildee: Congress Must Do “Everything We Can” to Protect Great Lakes

Kildee Supports Funding Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05) today spoke on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in support of H.R. 223, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2016, which would authorize and fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Below is a transcript of Congressman Kildee's remarks, as delivered: REP. DAN KILDEE: "Thank you and I thank my friend, the ranking member, for yielding. And I also want to thank the folks on both sides of the aisle for their great work on this Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Particularly my colleague from Michigan, Congresswoman Miller, who just spoke and who will be leaving Congress at the end of this year, she's been a defender of the Great Lakes for her entire time here and I think it's a fitting part of her legacy that this legislation hopefully today will pass this House of Representatives. "Being from Michigan and being a part of the Great Lakes, really growing up around the Lakes and in the Lakes, gives us a lot of pride in my home state. It's the greatest fresh water source on the planet, providing drinking water to over 30 million Americans. A great economic resource as well, great benefits to our entire nation, supports millions of jobs, billions of income every year derived from the dependence that we have on this great resource. It supports commerce, agriculture, transportation, tourism. It is home to over 3,500 species of plants and animals. It is an incredible ecosystem. "But we know that the threat to the Lakes – the multiple threats to the Lakes – are real. From invasive species like Asian Carp, to chemical contamination, to habitat loss, we have to do everything we can within our power to protect the Great Lakes and combat these really clear, present threats. "So I am really proud, in a very bipartisan fashion, to support full funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. To protect and restore that which we have lost in the largest system of fresh water in the world. In the short time that the GLRI has been in place, we have made progress, and we know this is an affective program addressing longstanding environmental problems confronting the Lakes. Over 2,500 projects have already been implemented to improve water quality, to clean up contaminated shorelines, to protect and restore native habitats and species, and to control invasive species. But we are here because we know we have to do more. "I join my colleagues in urging Congress to join us in supporting the economic and environmental health of the Great Lakes, and making this a permanent part of American law."

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