By Brendan Scanland
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WZMQ 19 News) — Advocates for the Great Lakes Region are on Capitol Hill this week for the 2025 Great Lakes Commission Semiannual Meeting.
Officials and advocates from Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, other Great Lake states and Canada met with lawmakers to push for federal funds to help with local improvements.
The Great Lakes make up 95% of America’s fresh surface water and provide drinking water to nearly 48 million people in the U.S. and Canada.
“It’s our natural gem. As they say, Lake Erie is a riviera,” said Julie Slomski, the Executive Director at the Erie-Western PA Port Authority.
The lakes are also major economic drivers for both the U.S. and Canada. The maritime system across the lakes contributes nearly $51 billion to the U.S. and Canadian economies.
“We’re here to really lock arms from the binational side as well with our friends in Canada, to make sure we’re here talking about the importance of the Great Lakes,” said Slomski.
A top priority is funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), the multi-agency initiative helping the Great Lakes ecosystem achieve long term goals like cleaner water, defense against invasive species and reduction in harmful algal blooms.
The Great Lakes Commission is calling for $475 million for the GLRI in Fiscal Year 2026, as authorized by the Great Lakes Restoration Act of 2019. Additionally, they’re calling for a reauthorization of the GLRI for the next five years at $500 million per year.
U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D- MI) and Todd Young (R- IN) have introduced the bipartisan Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2025 to reauthorize the GLRI through 2031 and increase the program’s annual authorized funding levels from $475 million to $500 million.
“The Great Lakes are a national treasure and central to our economy, environment, and way of life in Michigan. Since its creation, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has made significant headway in cleaning up Areas of Concern, protecting vital habitats, and restoring coastlines around the Great Lakes Basin,” said Sen. Peters.
“It’s not political. Again, it’s a gift from God. We have a tremendous responsibility,” said Rep. Mike Kelly (R- PA), referring to Presque Isle and Lake Erie.
“It is an incredible driver of revenue for Erie in the summertime,” said Kelly. “It’s our responsibility to make sure it stays the way it’s supposed to be, and pristine.”
Kelly believes funding for the Great Lakes is an investment worth making.
“There is a return on it, it’s not like this money that just floats out into the lake and nobody sees it,” said Kelly. “All 50 states share some type of federal funding. This is one that we think has a great return on that investment, not just dollars and cents, but just for what it’s actually worth.”
