Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Ms. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

I am so very pleased to rise in support of this bipartisan legislation to reauthorize and strengthen the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the GLRI.

Twenty percent of the world's freshwater resides in the Great Lakes. It is a national treasure and a regional economic engine.

I remember when I was first elected in 2004. On election night, I was so excited because I said now I get to represent Lake Michigan. It is one of my favorite constituents.

In its mere one decade of existence, the GLRI has not only generated environmental benefits, but it is helping to generate economic development as waterways that were once polluted, unusable, and off- limits to the public have become attractive to not only recreational users but to businesses that are able to open their doors to the public.

GLRI investments have been used in over 4,000 projects across almost 300,000 square miles of the Great Lakes Basin. It is truly a win-win.

Mr. Speaker, this bill takes the next step to support the ongoing efforts and partnerships that are making this program so successful in Great Lakes communities.

While I don't have much time, I want to highlight a couple of efforts that my constituents who are hard at work to make use of the funds that protect Lake Michigan. Here is one story of a small business owner.

Beth Handle is the owner and operator of Milwaukee Kayak Company, located right on the Milwaukee River in downtown Milwaukee. She came to my office to share how cleaning up this river has benefited her business. Cleaning up the river changed the river from a place that people didn't want to go.

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Ms. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, cleaning up the river changed the river from a place that people didn't want to go, and now it is where families go to paddle board, swim, and explore the river and our city. Of course, Milwaukee is A Great Place on a Great Lake.

The Milwaukee Water Commons, while not directly funded by the GLRI, has been working with grantees and others to make sure that communities that have been historically disengaged are in those conversations.

Our Metropolitan Sewerage District is using it to clean up the Milwaukee Estuary, where there is a gathering of three rivers: the Kinnickinnic, the Milwaukee, and the Menomonee Rivers. This estuary is one of 30 areas of pollution concerns in the Great Lakes. The GLRI would fund 65 percent of these projects.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this bill, and I am so delighted that we are debating it here on the floor in this bipartisan manner.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

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