Political Quotes

“Madam Chair, I rise today in support of my bipartisan amendment that would provide $1 million for the United States Geological Survey to eradicate grass carp in the Great Lakes. Grass carp are an invasive species, one of the four species of Asian carp that pose an immediate threat to the Great Lakes and its coastal wetlands. Since being introduced in Lake Erie, the grass carp population has been increasing, threatening our coastal wetlands and our region's economy that relies so heavily on the health of the Great Lakes. Our coastal wetlands are important to Michigan's environment and the wildlife they serve as a natural water filter and habitat for fish and waterfowl. Since 2010, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which has been supported by Democrats and Republicans in Congress, has helped to restore the wetlands the grass carp are now consuming. The immediate threat of grass carp in Lake Erie jeopardizes the investment and the goals of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. This amendment is simple. It empowers and funds the United States Geological Survey to track and monitor grass carp so that we can stop their spread in the Great Lakes. By passing this amendment, the United States Geological Survey would have additional resources to find out where grass carp are breeding so we can know how to stop their invasion and remove them from the Great Lakes.…”