Joyce, House Great Lakes Task Force Urges Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to Take Up Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chairs Dave Joyce (OH-14), Bill Huizenga (MI-4), Marcy Kaptur (OH-9), and Debbie Dingell (MI-6) sent a letter to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure urging consideration of H.R. 7257, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2024. 

On February 6^th, 2024, this bipartisan bill was introduced to reauthorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which is set to expire at the end of FY 2026, for another five years through FY 2031. It also increases the current authorization level from $475 million to $500 million in FY 2026. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funds critical programs that clean the lakes, stop the spread of invasive species, restore coastline, and prevent future contamination.

“The Great Lakes are an irreplaceable resource and an invaluable economic driver to our communities. These waters – Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Ontario, Lake Michigan, and Lake Superior – constitute the largest system of surface freshwater on Earth, provide drinking water for an estimated 33 million people, and support 25.8 million jobs generating over $1.3 trillion in wages… Since its inception in 2010, the GLRI has provided over $3.7 billion to 16 federal organizations to strategically target the biggest threats to the Great Lakes ecosystem, including invasive species, harmful algal blooms, and loss of fish and wildlife,” said the letter.

The letter continued, “A lapse in consistent authorization would risk reversing years of progress, dramatically reducing GLRI’s impact, and jeopardizing the environmental and economic health of the region of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and its federally recognized tribes for generations to come.”