Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the opportunity to offer this amendment and to speak in support of a program that is important to my constituents and to all of those around the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes Fishery and Ecosystem Restoration, also known as ``GLFER,'' is responsible for the planning, design, and construction of projects to protect and restore the fisheries and aquatic habitat of the Great Lakes. These projects include the restoration of riverside and wetland habitats, the construction of fish passages, and improving spawning and nursery habitats. A critical part of this program is that it requires a 35 percent cost share from a local sponsor. So it is not just Federal money. It is local money as well to fund this project.

GLFER is widely supported by those with a stake in the Great Lakes, including the Great Lakes Commission, the Alliance for the Great Lakes, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, and the Great Lakes fishing community.

Al House of Washburn, Wisconsin, one of my constituents and a board member of the Apostle Islands Sport Fisherman's Association, recently shared with me the importance of this program. He recounted: ``In recent discussions with groups in Lake Superior's basin, sport fishermen are in unanimous agreement that the GLFER program offers invaluable support to fishery habitat and ecosystem restoration projects that maintain and restore the health of our Great Lakes.''

This program has broad bipartisan support and the backing of environmental, industry, and recreational groups. Not often in this House do we see this kind of support across the spectrum.

It is authorized under WRRDA, similar to other regional restoration programs in south Florida and the Louisiana coastline, which are funded by the Army Corps of Engineers in this bill. Unfortunately, for the past several years, the Corps has chosen to include no funding for this program in the budget request. This is despite the calls from Congress to do so. In fact, language in the final funding bill for fiscal year 2015 urged the Corps to ``budget for this aquatic habitat restoration program in future budget submissions as it is important to the overall Great Lakes Restoration effort.'' Again, they didn't include it in their budget.

This amendment is intended to ensure that the Army Corps actually provides the $10 million necessary for the GLFER program in this fiscal year. This program should not have to rely on funding from other Great Lakes programs or wait for the leftovers of the Corps' to fund this very important project. I would hope that the Corps would follow the advice of Congress and actually account for this program in next year's budget request--actually listen to us.

I want to thank Chair Simpson and Ranking Member Kaptur for their work on this legislation and for their support on this issue. I would urge my colleagues to support our Great Lakes, to support our fish, and to support this bipartisan effort.

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