President Trump Aims (Again) To Slash 90% Of Great Lakes Environmental Funding
Here we go again. For the third time in as many years, President Donald Trump is aiming to cut 90 percent of environmental funding for the Great Lakes. According to the Detroit Free Press, details were released Monday regarding the Trump administration's 2020 budget proposal. Among those was a $270 million slashing of the $300 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
Almost immediately, Michigan's U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters promised to fight the proposed cuts.
“The Trump Administration just doesn’t get it and is once again gutting funding for the Great Lakes. Just like last year, and the year before, the people of Michigan will make their voices heard and I will lead the bipartisan fight to restore every penny," - U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D)
"President Trump’s budget yet again severely slashes funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. This can't happen. Our lakes need to be protected." Gary Peters (D)
Even some Republicans are not on board with the President's plan. U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Zeeland), who is also co-chair of the congressional Great Lakes Task Force, said although he is supportive of many of Trump's proposals, he's not on board with this one.
"This budget fails to properly fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. I will continue to work with both Republicans and Democrats to fully fund the GLRI and protect both the economy and the ecology of the Great Lakes."
Trump has previously attempted to cut funding to the GLRI in previous budgets, but both were not approved by Congress. And it's possible he might already consider it a lost cause. In past years, the Trump administration has tried to make the case for the deep cuts in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, but did not do so on Monday. The cut was buried in a budget release by the Environmental Protection Agency.