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House bill would boost funding for Great Lakes cleanup program

Melissa Nann Burke, The Detroit News on

Published in Science & Technology News

WASHINGTON ― A bipartisan group of lawmakers from Great Lakes states introduced legislation Thursday to renew the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative for another five years through 2031.

The bill would also boost funding levels from $475 million this year to $500 million starting in 2026. Since 2010, the GLRI has provided more than $4.1 billion to fund 8,000 environmental projects throughout the Great Lakes region, the lawmakers said.

The public-private program has been popular among Great Lakes lawmakers who have long supported the program for its environmental restoration and cleanup work and efforts to combat invasive species.

The bill is being led in the House by the co-chairs of the Great Lakes Task Force: Reps. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich.; Debbie Dingell, D-Mich.; Dave Joyce, R-Ohio; and Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2024 passed the Senate in December but didn't get through the House. That bill similarly would have reauthorized the program for another five years through 2031.

Huizenga told The Detroit News this week that protecting the funding for the program is a top priority in the new Congress, noting that previous administrations including Obama's and Trump's initially tried to cut its funding.

 

He cited studies from Grand Valley State University and the University of Michigan showing the economic health of the Great Lakes is tied to their ecological well-being: UM found for every $1 invested in the Great Lakes through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, $3.35 of economic output is produced.

"The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is the leading federal program designed to clean up legacy pollution, restore habitats and combat invasive species across the basin," he said in a statement.

"I am proud to lead this bipartisan effort to fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and make preserving, protecting, and strengthening the Great Lakes a national priority.”

Dingell also emphasized the lakes' role as a "critical economic driver that supports communities, jobs, commerce, agriculture, transportation, and tourism for millions of people across the country."

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