[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 199 (Wednesday, December 21, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9762-S9763]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


     
     
                                  LAKE CHAMPLAIN
     
       Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, thank you for the opportunity to say a 
     few words about why protecting and restoring Lake Champlain has been so 
     important to me throughout my years in the U.S. Senate.
       Lake Champlain, shared by Vermont, New York, and Quebec is a gem. It 
     is one of the largest and cleanest lakes in the United States, ringed 
     by the Adirondack Mountains on the west and the Green Mountains on the 
     east. Marcelle and I visited Lake Champlain together before we were 
     married and have returned there often to walk her shores, swim, and 
     scuba dive. The lake is at the center of the culture and economy for 
     much of Vermont.
       I took office just 2 years after the 1972 passage of the Clean Water 
     Act, and Lake Champlain was in decline. Sea lamprey were devastating 
     the fishery of the lake, municipal waste water was barely treated 
     before discharge, and we were just beginning to understand the problems 
     caused by stormwater runoff. I immediately began working on funding for 
     Lake Champlain cleanup and am proud that at least $360 million has been 
     directed through annual appropriations to protect the lake as the 
     result of my efforts. My leadership of the Senate Appropriations 
     Committee has helped in this work, with about $50 million in FY2022 
     funding going for Lake Champlain.
       I leave office secure in the knowledge that although I will no longer 
     be directing Federal funds, I have been able authorize several programs 
     that are now well established and will continue the work to protect the 
     waters and wildlife of Lake Champlain and support the communities which 
     line its shores for years to come. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration Lake Champlain Sea Grant Program became possible when I 
     arranged for Champlain to be declared a Great Lake. While the 
     declaration was brief, the Sea Grant Program is now well established, 
     funded at more than $1 million each year and has made a tremendous 
     difference for a multitude of Lake Champlain programs.
       I led legislation in 1991 and reauthorizing bills in 2002 and 2022 to 
     establish and grow the EPA Lake Champlain Basin Program. The LCBP 
     brings together Vermont, New York, Quebec, and all relevant Federal 
     Agencies, with a budget in FY23 of $33 million to lead the protection 
     and restoration of Lake Champlain. And I am so proud that the FY23 
     omnibus includes the $35 million reauthorization of the LCBP for the 
     next 5 years.
     
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       I was able to help address the sea lamprey problem in Lake Champlain 
     by bringing NOAA and Great Lakes Fishery Commission funding to the U.S. 
     Fish and Wildlife Service to implement sea lamprey control. The program 
     is an unmitigated success, with sea lamprey control goals being met and 
     more importantly, with a spectacular rebound in the number, size, and 
     health of salmon, lake trout, and other large fish species. Over the 
     past decade, I have brought the funds needed to build the GLFC Lake 
     Champlain program to $10 million each year, supporting research, 
     education, and implementation work in New York and Vermont.
       The U.S. Army Corps Lake Champlain Ecosystem Restoration Program, 
     more commonly known as the 542 program, was put in place at my request 
     in legislation in 2000. That program has been reauthorized with 
     expanded funding authorization this year and should continue to benefit 
     the lake for many years to come.
       My exploration of Lake Champlain shipwrecks as a diver sparked an 
     interest in the history and heritage of the Champlain basin that led to 
     my cosponsoring the bill that created the Champlain Valley National 
     Heritage Partnership in 2006. That program continues to provide funding 
     and technical support through the National Park Service around cultural 
     heritage in Vermont and New York.
       I also supported the construction of the new UVM research vessel 
     which I was proud to see named for Marcelle. The boat will begin 
     service in 2023 and is sure to carry generations of students and lake 
     researchers across the water for years to come. The Patrick and 
     Marcelle Leahy Center for Lake Champlain is also in an excellent 
     position to educate students of all ages, from 2 to 92 years old, about 
     science and Lake Champlain.
       In conclusion, I am pleased to have been able to bring Federal 
     support to the restoration and protection of Lake Champlain throughout 
     my career and even more proud that measures I have helped put in place 
     should keep multiple Lake Champlain programs operating for many years 
     after I return to Vermont to live near the shore of this Great Lake.
     
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