Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2019

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairwoman from California for yielding and for all of her hard work on this bill.

I rise in strong support of H.R. 4031, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative--or the GLRI, as we all call it--Act of 2019, which will reauthorize the GLRI for 5 years and increase authorized funding for the program to $475 million, annually, by fiscal year 2026.

Through the GLRI program, we have been able to clean up and delist environmental areas of concern. We have been able to restore coastal wetlands, as many of my colleagues have talked about, mitigate harmful algae blooms, combat invasive species, and do much more to help protect, restore, and maintain the Great Lakes ecosystems and strengthen our regional economy. And, as people have seen on the floor today, this issue has shared strong bipartisan support at all times.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for helping to educate the President on the importance of the GLRI.

The Great Lakes are not only a treasured natural resource, but a way of life that supports communities and jobs throughout the region. They are 21 percent of the world's freshwater supply.

Building on what my colleague from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore) was talking about, my colleague, Ms. Tlaib, and I were able to kayak on the Rouge River on the 50th anniversary of its having caught on fire. We were surrounded by industry, but we also saw bald eagles and herons, and she got the most beautiful picture of a painted turtle.

Mr. Speaker, as co-chair of the Great Lakes Task Force, I am proud to be an original cosponsor, and I thank my colleagues, Representatives David Joyce and Marcy Kaptur, for their great leadership on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this important bill to ensure our Great Lakes are protected for all future generations.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source