Rep. Kaptur Successfully Defends Jobs-Critical Funding for St. Lawrence Seaway

The House Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment proposed by Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) to stop a devastating 10% budget cut and restore $3.642 million in funding for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway administration.

"Due to our firm actions today, the Great Lakes and the economic lifeline that is the St. Lawrence Seaway no longer face crippling budget cuts for the coming year," said Rep. Kaptur. "These cuts would have severely limited the important work being done to maintain the Seaway as an economic resource for our region. Thanks to bipartisan support from my colleagues, we were able to stop these damaging cuts in their tracks."

The Kaptur amendment maintains funding for the St. Lawrence Seaway with the expansion of global service and works with Canada to improve waterborne commerce, the most cost-effective and sustainable means for transporting cargo. Republican leadership on the committee had proposed cuts that would have reduced the Seaway budget to $28.4 million from its current level of $32 million.

The St. Lawrence Seaway supports more than 226,000 jobs and facilitates the transportation of more than 322 million metric tons of cargo every year. It also offers the fastest route for delivering cargo between the U.S. and Europe. The Great Lakes region accounts for an estimated one quarter of all U.S. exports.

Rep. Kaptur co-chairs the Great Lakes Task Force in the House of Representatives and is Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee.

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