Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 4031 would reauthorize Federal appropriations for EPA's Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Introduced by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Joyce), H.R. 4031 authorizes total appropriations of approximately $2.5 billion over the next 5 years for restoration efforts under EPA's GLRI program. The wide support for this bipartisan program is evidenced by the diversity of cosponsors of the bill, including many of the committee members, such as Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Carson, Mr. Katko, Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Gallagher, and Mr. Stauber. The Great Lakes region encompasses eight different States and is home to more than 30 million people. These waters are a national treasure and contain 84 percent of the fresh water of all North America. As a Representative of a State where the availability of water is always, always an issue, I recognize why the Great Lakes Members are so devoted to protecting the water supply. So are we. Congress needs to renew its commitment to these types of programs which protect and restore our Nation's water. We all know the current challenges facing our States to protect our water resource, including harmful effects of algal blooms. Many of our States are dealing with these challenges as we speak, and the Great Lakes are no exception. One such bloom in 2014 forced a drinking water ban that affected half a million people.…”