Senators Stabenow, Kirk Announce Senator Klobuchar as Vice-Chair of Great Lakes Task Force

U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), Co-Chairs of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, announced today that Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) will join Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) as Vice-Chair of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force. The Task Force is a bipartisan working group that advocates for the protection of our Great Lakes. As Vice-Chair, Senator Klobuchar will assist in leading efforts to provide agency oversight and advance legislative initiatives and funding priorities.

"It is my pleasure to welcome Senator Klobuchar as the new Co-Vice Chair of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force," said Senator Stabenow. "Amy is a close friend and colleague and an effective leader who works hard to make sure our way of life in the Great Lakes basin is protected. I look forward to working with her and advancing priorities critical to keeping our Lakes safe."

"In order to end sewage dumping in the Great Lakes, the nation's greatest ecosystem and the lifeblood of the Chicagoland area, a bipartisan, united effort from Congress is needed," said Senator Kirk. "I look forward to working with my colleagues and new Task Force Co-Vice Chair Senator Klobuchar in order to protect the Lakes for generations to come."

"The Great Lakes are national treasures that are vital to the economy and environment in Minnesota and our entire country," Senator Klobuchar said. "We need to continue enhancing the health of the Great Lakes, and that means supporting our shipping and fishing industries while pursuing policies that keep our water clean and clear. As Vice-Chair of the Great Lakes Task Force, I'm looking forward to continuing my work with Senator Stabenow and Senator Kirk to help protect the Great Lakes for generations to come."

The Senate Great Lakes Task Force was founded in the mid-1980s and is associated with the Northeast-Midwest Institute.