It is supremely disappointing to me that the President's egregious circumvention of Congress has shifted the conversation away from where it ought to be.

I come here after serving 25 years as a prosecutor, and unfortunately, this is the three-year anniversary of a school shooting in which three kids were killed and many more kids wounded, so it is something near and dear to me.

I think the Great Lakes should be the number one priority. I do not think of it as a lake or a series of lakes. I think of it as a national treasure that we need to take care of.

the GLRI is a tremendous bipartisan initiative.

I have been a beneficiary of it because my primary care physician has come from that program.

Given that the EPA is the lead Federal agency implementing and administering the GLRI, how is this proposed $50 million decrease expected to impact the EPA's efforts to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Great Lakes Basin ecosystem?

Last year he proposed funding it at $275 million, and this year he proposed funding it at $250 million.

The GLRI has provided approximately $1.96 billion toward restoration efforts since its initial year of funding in FY 2010.

First, please maintain support for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

Legislation like Representative David Joyce's will create greater certainty for the program and allow everyone to focus on getting the job done.

It is all about community and economic development.