[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 99 (Tuesday, June 29, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S5508]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       PROTECTING THE GREAT LAKES

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, one of the greatest assets in my part of 
the world would be Lake Michigan. If you ask the people of Chicago: 
What do you think is the greatest thing about the city of Chicago, in a 
recent survey they overwhelmingly responded it is Lake Michigan because 
it is so beautiful, and we are fortunate to be near it and take 
advantage of it, using beaches and being out on boats, and mainly 
looking out the window at this magnificent lake, which I get a chance 
to do when I go up to the city.
  So when the issue of the future of Lake Michigan and the question 
about whether it is going to be the victim of invasive species comes 
up, we take it seriously. I do not know how many years ago some people 
decided a very wise thing to do would be to import into the United 
States a fish called the Asian carp. So they brought in this Asian 
carp--and I believe it was in the State of Arkansas, though I do not 
want to pick on them; I think this is true--and they were going to 
raise these carp for some reason, and there was some flooding and the 
carp ended up in the Mississippi River. Now they are all over the 
Mississippi River and those tributaries leading to it.
  Well, if we follow the Mississippi River north from Arkansas and make 
a right-hand turn north of St. Louis and head up the Illinois River, we 
are on our way up Lake Michigan. That is the route the Asian carp have 
been following.
  Well, they are all over the Illinois River on their way up to Lake 
Michigan. These are fish which grow to enormous sizes and suck up 
everything in sight on which other fish would live. So they are an 
invasive species that is a danger to other species of fish, and there 
has been a great fear for a long time they would reach Lake Michigan 
and change its future as a fishery.
  So I joined with Republican Congresswoman Judy Biggert, and we 
started pouring in millions of dollars 10 years ago to stop this fish. 
This fish is insidious. It just grows by leaps and bounds and attacks 
people. Hard to imagine, isn't it? Boaters going down the Illinois 
River will see these fish jumping out of the river at the boaters. It 
is a danger. I have seen videos, and I know it is.
  This is an aggressive species of fish that can destroy Lake Michigan. 
So Congresswoman Biggert and I built electronic fences that create an 
electrical shock at points in the river to stop the fish from moving 
toward Lake Michigan. We have done that twice. We now think we have to 
do it more. There is a real concern not only in Chicago and Illinois 
but around Lake Michigan, the surrounding States, about how successful 
this effort is going to be.
  Last week, we continued to fish and look for these Asian carp, and we 
found one in Lake Calumet, just miles from Lake Michigan. From my point 
of view, that was a wake-up call. Somehow a fish had reached the other 
side of the electronic barrier. I do not know if it was dumped in Lake 
Calumet--we are doing some studies to find out--or whether it migrated 
there.
  Regardless, what I am doing with Senator Debbie Stabenow of the State 
of Michigan is introducing legislation today calling on the Army Corps 
of Engineers to take a serious, comprehensive look at ways to avoid any 
contamination of Lake Michigan from this fish.
  These studies usually take forever. Senator Stabenow and I are 
encouraging the corps to move on them very quickly.
  Secondly, I have written to the White House and have spoken with the 
President's Chief of Staff about appointing a coordinator who will try 
to bring together all the Federal agencies that are dealing with this 
invasive species, the State and local efforts, and coordinating them to 
be more effective and focus on stopping this fish moving forward.
  We are trying to also increase the amount of money being spent to 
build fences and more electronic barriers to stop these fish from their 
migration toward Lake Michigan.
  This is critical for us to do for the future of Lake Michigan and the 
Great Lakes. It is something we have worked on for years. We will 
continue to work on it. We take it very seriously.
  I thank Senator Stabenow for joining me in that effort, and I 
encourage all the Senators from the Great Lakes area, if they would 
consider it, to join us as cosponsors.
  Madam President, I see the Senator from Missouri has taken the floor 
on the Republican side. I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Missouri.

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