Scholten Applauds Advancement Of Legislation To Reauthorize The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Representative Hillary Scholten voted alongside her colleagues to advance the American Water Stewardship Act, which includes the reauthorization of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), out of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee with unanimous, bipartisan support. During the committee's markup, she led the effort to increase GLRI's authorization level from $475 million to $675 million to keep pace with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's investments into the program. GLRI is a collaborative effort to address the most significant environmental concerns of the Great Lakes, including pollution, the degradation of habitats, and the proliferation of invasive species.

"The Great Lakes are vital to our culture and way of life in Michigan, and the GLRI does critical work preserving these waters and safeguarding public health," said Rep. Scholten. "Just 40 years ago, Muskegon Lake was a symbol of environmental degradation, serving as a dumping ground for industrial pollution, municipal wastewater, and sewer overflows. Following a $10 million investment through GLRI, the EPA removed Muskegon Lake from its list of Great Lakes Areas of Concern. This delisting is anticipated to produce more than $66 million in economic benefits - a 6 to 1 return on investment. This is the kind of good work EPA regional programs can do, and we cannot take our foot off the brake. I am proud to have voted to advance this bipartisan legislation, and I urge Speaker Johnson to move this bill to the floor as soon as possible."

The Great Lakes and their connecting channels form the largest fresh surface water system on Earth, constituting nearly one-fifth of the world's freshwater supply and nine-tenths of the U.S.'s supply. These lakes are also an economic powerhouse, creating $3.1 trillion in gross domestic product and employing 25.8 million people.

Representative Scholten is a longstanding advocate for the health of the Great Lakes. She is an original cosponsor of the GLRI Act of 2025, which would reauthorize the GLRI through 2031. Last year, she led a bipartisan letterurging the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure leadership to swiftly reauthorize GLRI. This year, she led another bipartisan letter- with the support of several Republican and Democratic Great Lakes members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee - urging the extension of GLRI.

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