news

WASHINGTON – This week, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12), as Co-Chair of the House Great Lakes Task Force, co-led a bipartisan letter to House leaders calling for passage of the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 that will invest in critical Great Lakes priorities.

WRDA is comprehensive legislation passed by Congress every two years authorizing federal investments in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) activities across the country, including in the Great Lakes region. WRDA supports critical Corps missions, including restoration of threatened environmental ecosystems; construction and maintenance of supply chain infrastructure such as ports, locks, and dams; strengthening of regional boating, fishing, and tourism industries; and implementation of flood control and coastal system risk management strategies.

“WRDA includes important provisions for the Great Lakes region, including: language expediting work on the Great Lakes Coastal Resiliency Study; language revising the cost share for modifications to the Brandon Road Lock and Dam; language authorizing the study of the economic benefits of recreational boating on the Great Lakes; and language updating the authorization for the Soo Lock project to ensure that construction of this critical navigation infrastructure can proceed on schedule,” wrote Rep. Dingell and her colleagues to House leaders. “Each of these priorities will have a broad benefit on the Great Lakes region and the nation. We urge that a final conference agreement be brought to the floor for enactment prior to the end of this Congress.”

The full letter can be found here.

Joining Rep. Dingell in the letter were Representatives Marcy Kaptur, (D-OH-09) David Joyce (R-OH-14), Bill Huizenga (R-MI-02), Shontel Brown (D-OH-11), Jack Bergman (R-MI-01), Sean Casten (D-IL-06), Danny Davis (D-IL-7), Jesús “Chuy” García (D-IL-04), Bob Gibbs (R-OH-07), Brian Higgins (D-NY-26), John Katko (R-NY-24), Mike Kelly (R-PA-16), Robin Kelly (D-IL-02), Dan Kildee (D-MI-05), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI-14), Lisa McClain (R-MI-10), Peter Meijer (R-MI-03), John Moolenaar (R-MI-04), Gwen Moore (D-WI-04), Joseph Morelle (D-NY-25), Mike Quigley (D-IL-05), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09), Brad Schneider (D-IL-10), Haley Stevens (D-MI-11), Claudia Tenney (R-NY-22), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13), Paul Tonko (D-NY-20), Fred Upton (R-MI-06), and Tim Walberg (R-MI-07).