Politics

Bipartisan Outcry from Mich. as Trump Targets Great Lakes restoration funding by 90%

March 11, 2019, 4:41 PM

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Lake Superior (Photo: DepositPhotos)

Another budget proposal, another chance for Donald Trump to float his unpopular plan to severely cut funding to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

Trump's draft budget, unveiled Monday, would slash $270 million of the roughly $300 million devoted to cleaning up the lake system each year.

The proposal likely won't go anywhere, as Democrats and some Republicans have opposed it the past two years.

Michigan's Democratic senators blast the move on Twitter, as do two state Republicans in the U.S. House.

"The Trump Administration just doesn’t get it and is once again gutting funding for the Great Lakes," wrote Sen. Debbie Stabenow. "Just like last year, and the year before, the people of Michigan will make their voices heard and I will lead the bipartisan fight to restore every penny."

"The GLRI needs full funding to help protect our Great Lakes which are integral to our economy and provide drinking water to millions of Michiganders and folks across the Midwest," tweets Sen. Gary Peters. "I’ll work with both parties to ensure these cuts never see the light of day."

These Republicans also speak out, Michigan Advance reports:

► Rep. Fred Upton of St. Joseph: "For the third year in a row, I will join colleagues on both sides of the aisle to fight the administration’s proposed budget cuts to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. We have fought tooth and nail to stop these cuts before.
​"You can expect a strong, bipartisan, Michigan-led effort to once again protect every penny of this critical program, and we will prevail. Putting funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative on the chopping block is a terrible idea and will not stand."

Rep. Bill Huizenga of Zeeland: "It is vital that protecting and preserving the Great Lakes remains a national priority. While there are several improvements in the president’s budget proposal from last year, it fails to properly fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
"This critical program has helped clean up legacy pollution, restore habitat, and prevent the spread of invasive species. As the Republican chair of the Great Lakes Task Force, I will continue to work with both Republicans and Democrats to fully fund the GLRI and protect both the economy and the ecology of the Great Lakes."



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