Peters Leads Successful Bipartisan Effort to Secure Additional $
TRAVERSE CITY, MI – The Senate passed U.S. Senator Gary Peters’ (MI) bipartisan measure yesterday to increase funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative by $9 million for the coming year as part of a government funding bill. Peters worked with Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) to secure the additional funding, boosting GLRI funding from $301 million to $310 million. The GLRI program helps restore habitats, combat invasive species, clean up waterways and prevent pollution. It is also vital to Michigan’s economy. According to a University of Michigan study, every GLRI dollar spent from 2010 to 2016 will produce $3.35 in additional economic activity in the Great Lakes through 2036.
“U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, led an effort increasing Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding to $310 million through a government appropriations bill passed in the Senate Thursday.…
“‘For the Great Lakes Restoration fund, this is the first time that we’ve actually appropriated more money than is authorized,’ Peters said. ‘This is a really, really big step to make sure that we can continue to get funding in years forward.’”
“Senator Gary Peters announced today that he has worked with a coalition of Senators to ensure more money for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Peters said that the $9 million increase in funding, which passed through the Senate earlier today, would bring the total amount of funding for the GLRI up to $310 million. The GLRI funding goes to different projects around the Great Lakes, covering a wide range of different focuses to keep them thriving and environmentally safe.
"‘This is critical money to help make sure that the Great Lakes [are] vibrant for years to come. There’s no question that the Great Lakes are part of the very essence of Michigan and who we are as Michiganders. The Great Lakes provide drinking water to nearly 40 million people, provide an incredible recreational resource and really, I believe, lies in the DNA of every Michigander.’”
