Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act's reauthorization.

As has been mentioned before, I think, the Great Lakes represent 21 percent of the world's surface freshwater.

I am glad to see so many of my colleagues from the Great Lakes region here, but, really, all of us and the rest of the world have a stake in this.

The Great Lakes provide drinking water for 45 million Americans.

The lakes support one of the world's largest regional economies through agriculture, industry, fishing, and recreation.

For thousands of plants and animal species and millions of Americans, the Great Lakes are vital for life, and are our national treasure.

I wanted to say, this is really personal for me. The eastern border of my district, running from Chicago to the northern suburbs, is Lake Michigan. I live just a few blocks from the lake myself and have spent every summer of my childhood on the beach in Indiana enjoying the lake.

But we are threatened right now by climate change and pollution. Last year, the Midwest saw record flooding, worsening storms, harmful runoff, and toxic algae blooms that threaten drinking water and infrastructure.

Actually, we saw thousands of Americans who couldn't drink the water because of that algae bloom. And in my hometown of Evanston, beaches are closing or actually disappearing entirely because the levels of the lake are at record highs right now.

Just last month, these record water levels destroyed lakefront paths, and I was getting calls from condominium owners who were worried about their buildings getting--not demolished--but certainly damaged because of the high lake waters.

New estimates from the Army Corps of Engineers state that the lake levels could get even higher next year, and we are watching for that with great distress.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is absolutely essential to restoring the health and unpolluting the lake and protecting the grandeur of our lakes.

This is a bipartisan piece of legislation. People on both sides of the aisle are down here speaking eloquently about the meaning of the Great Lakes to them, and it is really refreshing, I think, for all of us to be able to join hands together asking for the reauthorization of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act.

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