Peters Calls on President Trump to Restore Funding for National Sea Grant College Program

Press Release

U.S. Senator Gary Peters today joined a group of 22 other senators in calling on President Trump to reconsider his proposed elimination of the critical National Sea Grant College Program. In a letter to President Trump, the senators highlighted the important role Sea Grant Programs play in boosting local economies and preserving coastal communities, and urged him to fully fund the program in FY 2018.

"We represent senators from some of the 33 states with Sea Grant Programs and see firsthand how important these programs are to our states' economies and higher education communities. Zeroing out this funding would have a devastating impact and we strongly urge you to reconsider this decision," wrote the senators. "The National Sea Grant College Program is a federal-local partnership that…creat[es] and sustain[s] nearly 3,000 local businesses and over 20,000 jobs. Sea Grant Programs are vital to local businesses, a source of good jobs, and an important part of preserving our coastal communities for generations to come. We believe zeroing out the Sea Grant program is a mistake and urge you to provide robust support for the program in the final Fiscal Year 2018 budget."

The Sea Grant program works through its established network of 33 programs at top universities in every coastal and Great Lakes state, including Michigan. The Michigan Sea Grant operates a cooperative program through the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. Michigan Sea Grant builds resource partnerships, supports business and coastal communities, develops educational materials, and funds Great Lakes research. Forty-one Michigan coastal counties rely on the resources provided by the Sea Grant program to improve Michigan waterways.

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