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Floor Speech

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Mr. REED. Mr. President today I am introducing the Southeast New England Program Authorization Act, along with Senators Whitehouse, Markey, and Warren. Our bill would formally authorize the EPA's Southeast New England Program, or SNEP, to ensure that it can continue to benefit the region for years to come.

In 2012, as chair of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, I created SNEP to fund local, community-based projects that contribute to the restoration and protection of Narragansett Bay and other watersheds and tributaries in southeast New England. Since then, SNEP has invested over $70 million to support over 100 projects in the region. From improving stormwater management infrastructure, to creating urban greenways, to removing invasive species from local watersheds and more, SNEP projects have brought lasting solutions to communities across Rhode Island and southeast Massachusetts.

SNEP supports three main objectives: creating a resilient ecosystem of safe and healthy waters, supporting thriving watersheds and natural lands, and building sustainable communities. In carrying out these goals, SNEP has empowered more than 150 organizations to undertake projects that contribute to the protection of critical habitat and environmental resources that are important to public health and the local economy. Along the way, the program leverages non-Federal investments in communities that are often overlooked, supporting local construction and engineering businesses, tourism. and recreation.

Since its inception, SNEP has made great progress in protecting our region's natural resources, helping to mitigate the impacts of development and reverse the impact of decades of pollution on our waterways. The projects and partnerships that SNEP supports are also helping coastal communities throughout southeast New England meet new challenges, such as rising sea levels, more frequent and volatile storms, and catastrophic flooding caused by climate change.

I applaud the work of the local SNEP partner organizations, including Save the Bay, the Nature Conservancy, Restore America's Estuaries, the Audubon Society, and many others. Together, they have worked with the States and localities to identify and implement successful projects in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. They are making a huge difference in improving the health of our estuaries and coastal ecosystems, and I am pleased that they have endorsed this bill.

I urge my colleagues to join Senators Whitehouse, Warren, Markey, and me in supporting this commonsense legislation.

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