U.S. House appropriators late Tuesday approved $300 million for Great Lakes restoration in a rebuke to the Trump administration that had proposed to eliminate all funding for the lakes.
The funding received bi-partisan support from Great Lakes committee members including Republican David Joyce of Ohio and Democrats Betsy McCollum of Minnesota and Marcy Kaptur of Ohio.
The committee rejected an amendment proposed by McCollum that would have dropped the authorization for the Clean Water Rule from the bill. Bi-partisan support was lacking as McCollum and Kaptur voted for the amendment while Ohio’s Joyce voted against it.
The Clean Water Rule was promoted by the Obama administration and defines water ways that come under the Clean Water Act. It was designed to be an effective tool to prevent pollution whereas the restoration funding focuses on pollution cleanup.
The bill now goes to the full House for consideration and must be reconciled with the Senate bill before going to the White House.
