WASHINGTON DC (February 11, 2025) — Today, Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) and Senator Todd Young (R-IN) reintroduced in the U.S. Senate the bipartisan Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Act of 2025, a bill intended to reauthorize the GLRI program for a five-year period at $500 million per year. GLRI funding assists states, tribes and local communities in implementing crucial on-the-ground projects, including habitat restoration, helping farmers do more to combat non-point source agrichemical run-off, cleaning up legacy pollution and toxic sediments, and preventing the establishment or spread of destructive invasive species. It is a well-established program that helps protect 22% of the world’s source of freshwater.
“The Alliance would like to thank Senator Gary Peters and Senator Todd Young in sponsoring this bipartisan legislation to continue this important program that directly benefits the tens of millions of Americans living in the Great Lakes region,” said Don Jodrey, Alliance for the Great Lakes Director of Federal Government Relations.
“As co-chairs of the Greak Lakes Task Force in the Senate, Senators Peters and Young have tirelessly advocated for the GLRI and the Alliance thanks them for their great work on this issue,” said Jodrey.
To date, the GLRI program has funded more than 7,563 individual projects totaling $3.7 billion, greatly improving the quality of life throughout the region. The GLRI also provides major economic benefits, as it is estimated that for every dollar spent, an additional three dollars of value is added to the regional economy.
Cosponsors of the bill are Senator Klobuchar (D-MN), Senator Moreno (R-OH), Senator Baldwin (D-WI), Senator Durbin (D-IL), Senator Smith (D-MN), Senator Gillibrand (D-NY), Senator Fetterman (D-PA), Senator Slotkin (D-MI), Senator Schumer (D-NY), Senator Duckworth (D-IL), and Senator Husted (R-OH).
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Contact: Don Carr, Media Director, Alliance for the Great Lakes dcarr@greatlakes.org