[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 36 (Wednesday, March 13, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H1364]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   GREAT LAKES RESTORATION INITIATIVE

  (Mr. HIGGINS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, the Buffalo River is identified by the 
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative as one of 43 areas of concern in the 
Great Lakes watershed. In 2011, a coalition of corporate and community 
partners teamed up with State and local governments to begin a 
multimillion-dollar cleanup of the Buffalo River. Unfortunately, 
sequestration and uncertainty about a new Federal budget threaten to 
delay this project.
  Mr. Speaker, the Great Lakes are a unique national treasure with 
global significance. They are the largest source of surface freshwater 
on Earth, containing 20 percent of the world's supply. They contain 95 
percent of America's freshwater, and they support 1.5 million jobs and 
$62 billion in wages in the shipping, recreation, and fishing 
industries.
  Preservation of our Great Lakes has both environmental and economic 
impacts and has always enjoyed bipartisan support. We cannot afford to 
allow sequestration to halt critical projects like the Buffalo River 
cleanup. I urge my colleagues to repeal the sequester and protect 
funding for the Great Lakes restoration.

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