Great Lakes

Stretching from Minnesota to New York, the Great Lakes are a national jewel. They’re not just beautiful, they are also an important economic engine responsible for thousands of jobs. Congresswoman Slaughter has been a tireless advocate for the Great Lakes. She knows that the lakes are a leading economic driver for communities across Upstate New York and part of what makes Rochester such a special place to call home. That’s why Congresswoman Slaughter is co-chair of the bipartisan Great Lakes Task Force and has led the multi-year effort to secure more than $1.2 billion for Great Lakes preservation and restoration.

Priorities

• Encouraging Commerce: Congresswoman Slaughter is committed to ensuring that the Great Lakes remain a force for economic growth in Rochester. Whether working to maintain our ports with consistent dredging or secure funding for job creating projects on the Great Lakes, Congresswoman Slaughter is focused on taking advantage of all the Great Lakes have to offer.
• Protecting the Environment: Congresswoman Slaughter understands that we must ensure future generations can enjoy the beauty and harness the economic potential of our natural resources. In particular, Congresswoman Slaughter is dedicated to working across party, state, and national lines to ensure that everyone is collaboratively preserving and protecting the Great Lakes. She will continue to defend these national treasures.
• Fighting Invasive Species: Congresswoman Slaughter is committed to protecting the environment and our economy from invasive species, which are non-native plants or animals that disrupt delicately balanced ecosystems. It is estimated that invasive species annually cost the Great Lakes region at least $200 million in damages. Congresswoman Slaughter is determined to prevent any additional damage from occurring.

Accomplishments

• Great Lakes Task Force: Congresswoman Slaughter is co-chair of the bipartisan Great Lakes Task Force. The task force advocates for policies and programs that restore and clean up the Great Lakes. In addition, the group also exercises agency oversight and advances laws and funding to benefit the Great Lakes. Congresswoman Slaughter is committed to working with all stakeholders to protect the Great Lakes.
• Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI): Congresswoman Slaughter is a longstanding supporter of the GLRI. She is an original co-sponsor of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act, which would authorize the GLRI program for five years at a funding level of $300 million per year. This critical program is the largest federal investment in the Great Lakes in decades and provides funding to fight invasive species, coordinate protection efforts, and bring together organizations with a shared interest in the Great Lakes. Each year the program’s inception in 2009, she has led her Great Lakes House colleagues in urging the Appropriations Committee to adequately fund the GLRI, resulting in over $1.9 billion in federal funding since Fiscal Year 2010. To read more about the Great Lakes, please click here.
• Dredging and Maintenance: Congresswoman Slaughter has worked tirelessly to ensure that the Port of Rochester and the Irondequoit Bay are properly maintained so that Rochester remains open for business. She recognizes that an important part of harbor maintenance is deepening channels by removing mud through the process of dredging. She has also vociferously advocated for Rochester’s dredging operations, and in 2013 secured $1.2 million for the Port of Rochester and $410,000 for the Irondequoit Bay to be dredged in 2014.
• Great Lakes Navigation System Sustainability Act: In the 113th Congress, Congresswoman Slaughter co-introduced the Great Lakes Navigation System Sustainability Act to ensure adequate funding for projects in the Great Lakes. By recognizing all of the individually authorized commercial and recreational navigation projects as a single entity, it is more likely they will receive proper funding. Language from this legislation was included in the final Water Resources Reform and Development Act that was signed into law in 2014.
• Stopping Invasive Species: Congresswoman Slaughter has consistently supported efforts to proactively protect the Great Lakes from dangerous invasive species. In the 112th Congress, Congresswoman Slaughter was the Democratic lead sponsor of the Stop Asian Carp Act. In 2012, the legislation was included in the final Surface Transportation bill and signed into law, requiring the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to expedite the Great Lakes Mississippi River Interbasin Study to determine options to permanently separate Lake Michigan from the Chicago Waterway System and ultimately prevent invasive fish from entering the Great Lakes. Congresswoman Slaughter is committed to ensuring that dangerous invasive species are prevented from reaching the Great Lakes and combating those that are already present.