Letter to Shaun Donovan, Director of the Office of Management and Budget - Efforts to Protect and Restore the Great Lakes

Letter

The Honorable Shaun Donovan

Director
Office of Management and Budget
725 17th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20503

Dear Director Donovan:

We are writing to express our strong support for efforts to protect and restore the Great Lakes. As you finalize the President's budget for Fiscal Year 2016, we respectfully request that you include at least $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI).

The Great Lakes are a unique national treasure. They are the world's largest system of fresh surface water, providing drinking water for nearly 40 million people. The Lakes are also an economic driver, supporting 1.5 million jobs and generating $62 billion in wages annually. The Great Lakes fishery alone is valued at $7 billion a year. The Lakes also support commerce, agriculture, transportation, and tourism. For all these reasons, we believe Great Lakes restoration must remain a priority.

In the short time that the GLRI has been in place, it has made significant progress in addressing the longstanding environmental challenges confronting the Lakes, particularly in the areas of combating invasive species like the Asian carp, protecting and restoring thousands of acres of habitat, and cleaning up toxics and Areas of Concern.

But there is still work to do. Especially considering the clear and present threat posed by harmful algal blooms in the Lakes, as well as other ongoing water quality concerns, now is not the time to reduce funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. In developing the FY 2016 budget request, we hope you and the President will continue to support this important effort.

Thank you for your consideration of this important matter.