Bipartisan Ohio Delegation Leads Bicameral Effort to Preserve the Great Lakes

Introduces bill to reauthorize and increase funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

WASHINGTON – This week, Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge joined a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers to introduce the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Act of 2019.  The group consisted of more than 50 Members of Congress, including the Ohio Delegation – Reps. Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11), Dave Joyce (OH-14), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Anthony Gonzalez (OH-16), Tim Ryan (OH-13), Steve Stivers (OH-15), Bob Gibbs (OH-07), and Mike Turner (OH-10), and Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH).  The legislation reauthorizes the GLRI for another five years and increases authorized funding for the program from $300 million annually to $475 million annually by fiscal year 2026.  

“We have a responsibility to pass on a healthy and sustainable environment to future generations,” said Rep. Fudge.  “The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is vital to northeast Ohio’s economy, providing the resources needed to clean up our greatest natural resource – Lake Erie.  This bill will help combat harmful algal blooms, protect against invasive species like Asian Carp, and avoid destruction of the Great Lakes ecosystem.  I’m proud to cosponsor legislation that protects our drinking water, fisheries, and farmland while putting the overall health of our communities first.” 

Since its inception in 2010, the GLRI has significantly contributed to the protection and preservation of the Great Lakes which provide more than 1.5 million jobs, supply 90% of our nation’s fresh surface water, support over 3,500 species of plants and animals, and generate $62 billion in wages every year.  Specifically, the program has helped triple the successful cleanup and delisting of Areas of Concern, restore 50,000 acres of coastal wetlands across the region, reduce phosphorus runoff and the threat of harmful algal blooms, control invasive species, and double farmland acres under nutrient conservation.  All of this progress has resulted in economic returns of more than 3-to-1 across the region.

For more information about the GLRI, visit https://www.glri.us.

To read the bill text, click here. 

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