Water Resources Development Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Chairman, I thank my friend from Michigan, and I rise to support his amendment which establishes a permanent use of priority funds for the Great Lakes navigation system.

Mr. Chairman, the 2014 WRRDA bill included a temporary provision to set aside these funds for the Great Lakes to address the maintenance backlog. The Huizenga amendment continues this effort and ensures the 140 federally maintained ports and harbors on the Great Lakes, including the Port of Monroe in my district, have dependable funding as they continue to move over 200 million tons of cargo each year, and, I would add, Mr. Chairman, without producing any potholes, needing no guardrails or bridges.

They sustain good jobs and drive economic growth in Michigan and across the country. I urge support of this amendment and the adoption of the amendment.

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Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank Mr. Joyce for his leadership on this amendment and his bipartisan efforts to ensure resources to protect and restore the Great Lakes ecosystem. In April, the House joined together to unanimously pass Mr. Joyce's amendment to formally authorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative program, the same goal as his amendment today.

The Great Lakes are a vast, strategic resource, and a source of pride for the State of Michigan and all surrounding States, and our country, as well, as a whole, with this massive, very special resource. I encourage my colleagues to vote in support of this amendment and help protect and preserve the Great Lakes for the benefit of our environment and the economy for generations to come.

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