Press Releases

Today, Congressman Bill Huizenga (MI-02) released the following statement after voting is support of H.R. 5985, the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act of 2019.

“Our veterans deserve the best care available. This important legislation takes another significant step forward by prioritizing our veterans, strengthening oversight and accountability at the VA, and increasing resources for mental health care services, suicide prevention, rural health, and other critical programs.

“This legislative package also makes enormous progress in providing critical water infrastructure improvements across the Great Lakes and right here in West Michigan. When I started the bipartisan effort to restore the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, only 47% of the funding was actually used for harbor maintenance. Under this legislation, 95% of the funds collected in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund will be used for dredging and harbor maintenance.

“Having properly dredged ports & harbors is vital to economic growth and job creation in Muskegon, Holland, Grand Haven, and Ludington as well as dozens of lakeshore communities here in Michigan and hundreds more across the nation. I look forward to continuing to lead this bipartisan effort to hold Washington accountable and significantly increase our ability to export more “Made in Michigan” and “Made in America” products.”