By Dave Rosenthal
This story originally appeared on Great Lakes Today and is republished here with permission.
President Trump pushed Monday to slash funding for the Great Lakes — repeating a move he made last year.
President Donald Trump
Trump released a budget proposal that would slash funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative from $300 million annually to $30 million.
Some officials, including members of Trump’s Republican party, vowed to boost funding for the Great Lakes.
Rep. Bill Huizenga, a Michigan Republican, said he would work on a bipartisan effort to fully fund the restoration initiative. It “plays a leading role in preserving and restoring the Great Lakes ecology while strengthening the Great Lakes economy,” Huizenga, co-chair of the Great Lakes Task Force, told the Detroit News.
Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican, said, “I’ve successfully helped lead the effort to restore full funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative after both Republican and Democratic administrations have proposed cuts to the program, and I will do so again this year.”
Todd Ambs, campaign director for a regional coalition of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, called the proposal budget is a non-starter.
“The 30 million people who depend on the Great Lakes for their drinking water, health, jobs, and way of life deserve solutions to curb toxic algal outbreaks, halt invasive species like Asian carp, restore lost habitat, and clean up toxic contamination,” he said in a prepared statement. “It will once again be up to Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Congress to support Great Lakes restoration efforts that are producing results for our environment and economy in communities across the region. “