George Voinovich: “I make it clear I am a supporter of this Florida restoration plan. Second, I point out there is this representation that…”

“I make it clear I am a supporter of this Florida restoration plan. Second, I point out there is this representation that we have all of these Federal resources in Florida that are going to benefit from this bill. And the answer to that, yes, they are. On the other hand, as a former Governor of Ohio, the Everglades are not only a tremendous resource for the United States, but they are also a tremendous resource for the State of Florida because they bring tremendous numbers of people to Florida from which the State benefits. We don't talk about that, but that is the other side of the coin. Senator Graham from Florida mentioned page 118 of the restoration projects. I point out that none of the restoration projects mentioned include municipal water supply. This proposal benefits the municipal water supply to the extent of 20 percent of the overall cost of the project. In my State, the municipal water supply is paid for 100 percent by the people in the community. If we look at the numbers on this project and subtract the benefit to the State of Florida for the cost of paying for this public water supply that they would have to pay for entirely themselves, they are benefiting to the tune of $1.6 billion.”