After reducing it by 90 percent in his latest budget proposal, President Trump told a crowd of thousands in Michigan Thursday that he’ll fully fund federal cleanup and restoration of the Great Lakes.
“I support the Great Lakes. Always have. They’re beautiful. They’re big. Very deep. Record deepness. And I’m going to get, in honor of my friends, full funding of $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative,” he said.
As he’s done twice before, the President practically eliminated the Great Lakes initiative — which provides federal dollars to clean up toxic pollution and combat invasive species — from his budget proposal. He asked for just $30 million for Great Lakes clean up in 2020.
Earlier this month, a White House official told the Blade that protection efforts at places such as Lake Erie are best left to local groups.
“The budget retains funding for the continuation of long-term federal monitoring efforts in the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay watersheds, including monitoring for algal blooms and invasive species, while eliminating funding for local ecosystem protection activities,” the official said.
In a statement after Mr. Trump’s remarks, Toledo Rep. Marcy Kaptur said: “As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, which approves funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, I would have never allowed Trump’s gutting of GLRI to make it through Congress without a fight. The GLRI is critical for containing invasive species such as Asian Carp, and for restoring the Great Lakes economic and ecological vitality. The program has enjoyed broad bipartisan support, which put his proposal even more out of touch with the mainstream. It’s an insult to the 30 million people who rely on the Great Lakes that he would even put such a disastrous proposal on the table.”
Mr. Trump delivered the remarks at a rally his Grand Rapids, his first since special counsel Robert Mueller completed his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
“The collusion delusion is over. The special counsel has completed its report and found no collusion and no obstruction. I could have told you that two and a half years ago, very easily. Total exoneration. Complete vindication,” he said.
First Published March 29, 2019, 12:59 a.m.
