Stabenow Announces Full Restoration of Great Lakes Funding and Actions to Combat Asian Carp in Federal Budget Bill

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), co-Chair of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, today announced that the proposed Fiscal Year 2018 budget bill restores full funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take near- and long-term actions to combat Asian carp. The budget now goes before the full House and Senate.

“This budget bill includes important priorities for Michigan,” said Senator Stabenow. “It restores full funding for the Great Lakes and expedites action to combat Asian carp.” 

In spite of President Trump’s 2018 budget request that zeroed out funding for the Great Lakes, this year’s budget bill provides $300 million in federal funds for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which Senator Stabenow authored in 2010. This program, which has provided more than $600 million in funding to Michigan, is critical to cleaning up the Great Lakes, beaches, and waterways and fighting Asian carp. More than 700,000 Michigan jobs, or one in five in the state, are tied to water.    

Following calls from Senator Stabenow to speed up efforts to combat Asian carp, the Fiscal Year 2018 budget bill will require the Army Corps to make all reasonable effort to finalize the Brandon Road study by February 2019, the original deadline before the Trump Administration delayed the report. The bill also requires the Army Corps to take immediate steps that would reduce the chances of vessels in the Illinois River inadvertently transporting invasive species like Asian carp through the electric barrier.