Peters to Introduce Amendment to Increase Funding for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
Amendment Would Increase Funding for Great Lakes Clean-Up Program to $320 Million
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) today announced that he will file an amendment to a government funding bill to increase funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). The amendment, which will be filed to appropriations legislation the Senate is set to consider this week, would increase GLRI funding for Fiscal Year 2020 from the current proposed level of $301 million to $320 million. A similar bill that included the funding increase for the GLRI already passed the House of Representatives.
“I’ve seen firsthand just how crucial the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is in communities across Michigan,” said Senator Peters. “The Great Lakes are more than an ecological treasure or economic engine: they are simply part of who we are as Michiganders. We need to do everything we can to protect the Great Lakes for future generations, and this amendment reflects the importance of that mission.”
Earlier this year, Peters helped introduce bipartisan legislation that would reauthorize the GLRI, which is set to expire at the end of Fiscal Year 2021, for another five years and increase the current authorization level to $375 million in Fiscal Year 2022. It would increase funding by $25 million per year until it reaches $475 million in Fiscal Year 2026. Since its inception in 2010, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has provided more than $762 million for 880 projects across Michigan.
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