Congressional Winners and Losers

Razor-Thin Victory For Climate Change; 50/50 split among Great Lakes Fencesitters

In a narrow victory, the US House passed the first ever bill to deal with the affects of climate change on the Great Lakes. It will also provide future dollars toward protection and restoration efforts. In the end, eight republicans joined in the “yes” vote (two from the Great Lakes districts we asked you to call!) as well as several of the Great Lakes fencesitters. The final vote was 219 to 212.

The day of the vote, we asked you to contact twelve of the Great Lakes lawmakers that had not made up their mind yet and remind them that the Read More » »

Do you live in Marcy Kaptur’s district?

Great Lakes Rep. Marcy Kaptur is reported to be leaning toward voting “no” tomorrow on the America’s Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), but she remains officially undecided. Ohio has been the focus for opponents of the legislation that would do much to help contain climate change in the Great Lakes and pay for restoration projects while providing new jobs. Perhaps, Rep. Kaptur has not heard how the bill would help the lakes and therefore her very district.

Rep. Kaptur was one of the ten Ohio lawmakers called into a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to discuss the bill. Read More » »

Espirit de corps

Republicans and Democratic lawmakers from the Great Lakes region have joined together in one voice to implore their colleagues to fully fund President Obama’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. In a strongly worded letter, the Great Lakes Congressional Task Force explained the importance of this funding to our region and entire nation as the need for fresh drinking water shrinks around the globe. The letter is a rallying cry, evidence that our lawmakers will not back down because regardless of their politics they think this initiative is necessary for the nation.

The new money would address the problems of invasive species and Read More » »

And Then There Were Seven…

In the end, Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich), George Voinovich (R-OH), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich), Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) were joined by Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Karen Gillibrand (D-NY) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) as original cosponsors of the new and improved Great Lakes Legacy Act.

Senators Levin and Voinovich – co-chairs of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, introduced the reauthorization yesterday. “While we’ve made progress on cleaning up the contaminated sites in the lakes, much work remains. This legislation will bring us closer to our goal of restoration,” Levin stated.

The United States promised Canada in the Great Lakes Water Quality Read More » »

Courting Disaster

It would be difficult to argue that Boyer Lake and Bah Lakes - two of Minnesota’s 10,0000 lakes – are, in reality, a pond or puddle, don’t laugh, those opposed the Clean Water Restoration Act make that very argument. They say that by passing this bill we would be regulating pollution in every watering hole, small pond and rain puddle in America.

Oh, you thought the clean water act (CWA) already did that? Once upon a time it did, but that was before several court decisions that rolled the regulations, back leaving over 60 percent of this nation’s rivers, streams Read More » »

It’s Not Easy Being a Green Elephant, Or Is It?

Illinois Congressman Mark Kirk (R), a past recipient of the Great Laker award and consistent champion of Great Lakes issues in the House has just received the “Greenest Republican” award from the Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP).

“He (Mark Kirk) has been a steadfast champion of protecting the Great Lakes, and as a resident of Michigan, I can tell you that means a great deal to me personally. He has worked hard to clean up air pollution, expand use of cleaner energy resources, and protect our country’s parks and wilderness lands,” REP President Rob Sisson said.

This is the fourth Read More » »

First Things First

We’d like to thank you Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Patty Murray (D-WA) for offering an amendment to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that will increase the amount of money our nation spends to update our anachronistic sewer and drinking water infrastructure from $6 billion (current House and Senate bill) to $13 billion.

What does that $7 billion translate into? It means another 1,935 sewers in disrepair will be fixed and another 385 drinking water projects will get underway. It means an additional 154,000 people will be employed in an array of jobs – American jobs – jobs Read More » »

Be Careful What You Wish For…

It didn’t take long for our Great Lakes Congressional Task Force to drop the gauntlet before President Elect-Barack Obama. Just days before the new President is to be sworn in, US Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.), George Voinovich (R-OH) and Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-Mich.) introduced the Great Lakes Collaboration Implementation Act, begging the question, did Obama really mean it when he signed the campaign pledge to usher in Great Lakes restoration during his tenure in the White House?

“With a partner in the White House who understands the great need to restore the Great Lakes ecosystem, I’m hopeful Read More » »

Great Lakes Topic at EPA Confirmation

Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) came through for the Great Lakes toady, pressing Environmental Protection Agency Administrator nominee Lisa Jackson about the importance of the Great Lakes during her confirmation hearing.

During his opening comments, Sen. Voinovich said, “I am particularly interested in hearing their thoughts on vital issues such as increased funding and assistance to local communities to deal with water infrastructure needs, restoration of the Great Lakes and balancing applications of the Clean Air Act and any future policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Voinovich did not stop there either, during the questioning, he explained to Jackson that those Read More » »

It’s a Fact

It is a fact that recreational boating is responsible for supporting 60,000 Great Lakes jobs – that is a $9 billion impact on the economy, according to a recent bipartisan report issued by the Army Corps of Engineers.

These are hard, cold facts so who could argue with supporting an infusion of cash into the Great Lakes via the economic recovery package being debated in Washington, DC.

“This study clearly demonstrates that hundreds of thousands of recreational boaters come to the Great Lakes every year because the lakes are such a treasure, and they bring with them billions of dollars in Read More » »