Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of transferring $50 million in funding from EPA climate change programs to support the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. While I have serious concerns about the offsets used in Mr. LaTourette's amendment, I strongly believe that we need to continue to restore the Great Lakes to preserve its many rare environmental attributes and to strengthen the American economy. The Great Lakes are vitally important to the American manufacturing industry. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, nearly 200 million tons of cargo travel through the Great Lakes each year. The Corps reports that the Great Lakes saves manufacturers and other industries approximately $3.6 billion per year in transportation costs. Studies undertaken by the University of Michigan show that more than 1.5 million jobs are directly connected to the Great Lakes generating $62 billion in wages. The Great Lakes help provide nearly 1 million manufacturing jobs, over 200,000 jobs in tourism and recreation, nearly 120,000 jobs in shipping and more than 118,000 jobs in agriculture, fishing and food production. The University of Michigan study also states that the 83 million people living in the Great Lakes area helped produce 27 percent of the Nation's gross domestic product and 24 percent of the country's exports in 2009. The basin is home to 38 percent of Fortune 500 companies.…”