[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 12 (Tuesday, January 21, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H252]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       PROTECTING OUR GREAT LAKES

  (Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, freshwater is life. I rise to highlight the 
importance of the first piece of legislation introduced this year, the 
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative by our bipartisan Great Lakes 
champions, the GLRI Act of 2025.
  This Act was introduced earlier this month alongside my congressional 
Great Lakes co-chairs   David Joyce, Debbie Dingell, and Bill Huizenga. 
This bill is among our highest priorities for the Great Lakes region.
  The district we represent traces much of the entire Great Lakes 
region, but mine alone, the southern rim of Lake Erie, is the largest 
watershed in the entire Great Lakes. It is the largest body of 
freshwater on Earth.
  We all know how important protecting our Great Lakes is for the 
generations to come. The GLRI provides instrumental funding to meet an 
enormous unmet need for our region and the millions of people who 
depend on the Great Lakes for their drinking water, livelihoods, and 
leisure.
  Our legislation would provide an annual authorization level of $500 
million beginning in FY27. By the way, that is half as much as the West 
receives for the Bureau of Reclamation. They get well over $1 billion.
  In 2020, the GLRI contributed $3.1 trillion to our economy. Mr. 
Speaker, there is nothing more important that our colleagues say than, 
let's protect the Great Lakes and turn it over to future generations in 
better condition than we found it.

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