Political Quotes

“While I stand here today as I offer my amendment, residents across the Great Lakes are facing imminent threats to their property, their infrastructure, and the shorelines themselves due to historically high water levels. Great Lakes communities, including many in my own district along the shores of Lake Michigan, are in critical need of shoreline projects to protect against devastating erosion. For those of us who call the region home, the Great Lakes forever shape our way of life. It is where we recreate. It is where we do business. It is where we pass along the heritage of our region. The Great Lakes form the largest fresh surface water system on the Earth, holding nearly 20 percent of the world's freshwater supply. They directly generate more than 1.5 million jobs, provide the backbone of a $5 trillion regional economy, and are the home for more than 3,500 different plants and species. As I often say, we can and should protect and promote both the economy and the ecology of the Great Lakes. However, our communities are facing devastating consequences if we don't act to protect our shorelines now. The high water levels, combined with the effect of recent storms that brought even higher waves and strong winds, are threatening our communities. Public infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and docks, have been battered and, in some cases, actually lost. Recreational beaches have disappeared, and others are covered with dangerous debris now.…”