Press Releases

Last week, Congressman Bill Huizenga (MI-02), Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY-25), and a bipartisan coalition of 32 of their colleagues sent a letter to the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) Conference Committee thanking them for advancing legislation that will improve water infrastructure across America and encouraging them to make the Great Lakes a priority in the final legislation:

"While the House passed version of WRRDA is a significant step in the right direction, I believe it is important to remind the Conference Committee that the Great Lakes Navigation System (GLNS) is the backbone of our nation's manufacturing and agricultural economies, supporting 145 million tons of commodities annually. For too long, harbors across the Great Lakes have not been dredged to their authorized width and depth, while 50% of the funds paid into the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund have been spent on projects unrelated to maintaining our nation's ports and harbors.

"WRRDA creates the opportunity to implement policies that will help clear the 18 million cubic yards of sediment that currently clog ports and waterways throughout the Great Lakes. By classifying the entire GLNS as a unified body, focusing resources on the Great Lakes, and instructing harbor maintenance funding to be in line with revenues collected into the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, Congress can ensure the Great Lakes not only maintain their economic impact, but allow for economic expansion that will make the region even stronger."

Congressman Huizenga's letter to the WRRDA Conference Committee is available HERE.