Hearings

Task Force Tells US House Budget Committee To Restore the Lakes

Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) who heads up the Great Lakes task force appeared before the US House Budget Committee yesterday to urge them to support President Obama’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

“I commend President Barack Obama for recognizing the urgent need to restore the Great Lakes and the tremendous economic benefit healthy lakes will bring to communities, businesses and industries. I applaud him for including $475 million to restore the Lakes in his proposed fiscal year 2010 budget,” said Rep. Slaughter before adding, “These federal dollars represent the most serious commitment to Great Lakes restoration ever by a President.”

Slaughter explained to Read More » »

Nothing Is Impossible

This Wednesday at 2pm House Members from the Great Lakes will have an opportunity to tell the House Budget Committee how important it is to keep President Obama’s $475 million Great Lakes Initiative in the FY2010 budget. So far, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-Mich) and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich) have told HOW that they will either testify or submit written testimony supporting the Great Lakes initiative. How about the rest of the House delegation? It would be a real show of force if every member of the House from Great Lakes states would provide Read More » »

We’d Like To Thank You, President Obama

Talk about showing us the way; President Barack Obama is the first president to set aside money in his budget specifically for Great Lakes restoration. We can’t thank him enough for this historic $475 million commitment. Now, we must urge our members of Congress to include this budget line in their budget resolution. The Senate Budget Committee is holding a hearing today on the President’s Budget so the process is already underway. It is time to show this country’s political representatives that our region speaks with one voice when it comes to our Great Lakes and restoration cannot be put Read More » »

This Talk Isn’t So Cheap

HOW is asking Reps. Vern Ehlers (R-Mich), Mark Kirk (R-Ill), John Dingell (D-Mich.) and Louise Slaughter (D-NY) to tell the House Budget Committee that we need the $475 million President Obama has set aside for the Great Lakes in his 2010 budget. This is a big priority for those of us working on Great Lakes restoration and we really hope our delegation steps up to testify before their colleagues at the Budget hearing on Wednesday. If you have a minute, please send them an email repeating our request. Thanks!

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 » »

Political Will Power

Something unusual happened on Capitol Hill Wednesday. At a time when the nation is geared to immerse itself in consternation over who the next US President will be and the business of governing grinds to a halt in deference to the quadrennial worship season of the gods of politics – progress was made?! The House Judiciary Committee voted to approve the Great Lakes St. Lawrence River Compact with the hope of bringing it to the floor perhaps before summer recess and definitely before the end of the year. The Senate Judiciary Committee spent nearly an hour politely Read More » »

Momentum Builds in Washington to Pass Great Lakes Water Protections

The U.S. Congress is getting closer to protecting the Great Lakes from depletion.

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee is marking up the Water Compact today, followed by a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Read our testimony here.

The action on the Hill comes days after President Bush voiced his support for the water agreement— which you can read about in the Detroit Free Press, Detroit News and Stateline.org.

Presidential contenders Barack Read More » »

Coalition to Testify at U.S. Senate Hearing, Will Urge Congress to Pass Great Lakes Protections

U.S. House Committee Expected to Approve Compact Today

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 30, 2008)—At a Senate Judiciary Committee today, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition will urge the U.S. Congress to act quickly to pass a water management agreement to protect the Great Lakes from depletion.

The call for action comes on the same day that the U.S. House Judiciary Committee prepares to mark up the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Compact, a regional water management agreement to protect the Great Lakes from depletion and promote water conservation within the region.

“[The Great Lakes] are one of America’s most revered national jewels, and Read More » »

By and By

Finally, President G.W. Bush is seeing some progress being made on his 2004 Executive Order to come up with a strategy to restore the Great Lakes, and he is enthusiastically urging an apparently willing Congress to push the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Compact through the ratification process. On the eve of the House and Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the Compact, the US President released a congratulatory statement to the eight states for the enormous cooperative effort shown in approving the compact.

“Made in the spirit of cooperative conservation, this Compact is the result of many years of close coordination Read More » »

They Asked For It and They Got It!

Visibly frustrated Members of Congress held a hearing today to discuss ways to improve the Great Lakes Legacy Act. They are frustrated because of the snail-like pace of progress being made cleaning up the remaining toxic sediments lining the Great Lakes and her tributaries after decades of industrialization and farming.

The Members greedily sought out impediments in the Legacy Act to cleaning up the 30 US Areas of Concern from panelists. What will it take to accelerate the process? Do you need more money? How about $150 million a year? That sounded good to Rep. John Hall (D-NY) who wasn’t shocked Read More » »