President Donald Trump has proposed massive spending cuts, some of which could impact the Great Lakes.
Trump announced Monday his proposal for a $4.7 trillion spending budget. If passed, the proposed budget would slash $270 million of the $300 million allocated to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. This is the third consecutive year that Trump has proposed budget cuts to Great Lakes cleanup and restoration projects.
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is a bipartisan campaign intent on cleaning beaches, waterways, and protecting the Great Lakes from invasive species. It is estimated that 700,000 jobs (or approximately one out of every five Michigan jobs) are linked to water.
“The Trump Administration just doesn’t get it and is once again gutting funding for the Great Lakes," Senator Debbie Stabenow said in a statement. "Just like last year, and the year before, the people of Michigan will make their voices heard and I will lead the bipartisan fight to restore every penny.”
The proposed budget also calls for a 5 percent increase in military spending, 7.4 percent budget increase for Homeland
The spending budget is unlikely to carry much weight with legislators, however. Trump's two previous budget proposals were largely ignored by the Republican-controlled Congress. Now with Democrats in control of the House, the proposed budget is likely to be met with a strong pushback from both sides of the aisle.
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