Asian Carp and our Great Lakes
Asian Carp and our Great Lakes
The newest threat to the Great Lakes ecosystem is a potential invasion of Asian carp. Silver and Bighead carp are voracious eaters, capable of displacing native fish and wreaking havoc on Lake Erie's $1 billion fishing industry. Both species have caused serious damage to ecosystems in other American waterways, and both are making their way up the Mississippi toward the access points on or near the Great Lakes. Of special concern is the most viable pathway, the man-made Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.
Representative Kaptur has joined other Great Lakes leaders in calling for the restoration of the natural divide between the Chicago waterway system and Lake Michigan. She co-sponsored the Stop Invasive Species Act in 2012, which requires the Army Corps of Engineers to submit to Congress an expedited action plan for addressing invasive species threatening the Great Lakes. She also cosponsored the Stop Asian Carp Now Act, which pushed the Army Corps of Engineers to release the Brandon Road Study which lays out a plan to keep Asian Carp from entering our Great Lakes.
More on Asian Carp and our Great Lakes
Washington, D.C. – Today, Co-Chairs of the House Great Lakes Task Force Representatives Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), David Joyce (R-OH), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), and Bill Huizenga (R-MI) led a bipartisan letter to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee urging the Committee to include support for the Great Lakes in this year’s Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) as it moves to conference the legislation with the Senate.
Washington, D.C. – Today, Co-Chairs of the House Great Lakes Task Force Representatives Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), David Joyce (R-OH), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), and Bill Huizenga (R-MI) released the following statement after the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed legislation authorizing the construction of a multilayered system to prevent the spread of invasive species at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam.
Washington, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), released the following statement after the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure voted to pass out of committee her legislation to rename the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation as the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Co-Chairs of the House Great Lakes Task Force Representatives Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), David Joyce (R-OH), Debbie Dingell (D-OH), and Bill Huizenga (R-MI) released the following statement applauding the House passage of the bipartisan Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2019, introduced by Reps. Kaptur and Joyce to reauthorize and expand funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI).
Washington, D.C. — Today, Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), led 41 Members of the Congressional Great Lakes Task Force, in sending a letter to Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Rickey "R.D." James regarding the Task Force’s priorities for the Great Lakes region as the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) develops its fiscal year (FY) 2020 work plan.
WASHINGTON – Today, Representatives Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) and David Joyce (OH-14) applauded the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s passage of their bill, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Act of 2019. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation would reauthorize the GLRI for another five years and increase authorized funding for the program from $300 million annually to $475 million annually by fiscal year 2026.
WASHINGTON — Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) and Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-5) released the following statement after their bipartisan amendment adding $500,000 for the International Fisheries Commissions to combat Grass Carp in the Great Lakes passed the House of Representatives in the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. The bill, now containing $1,000,000 for Grass Carp control in the Great Lakes, goes to the U.S. Senate where it is expected to be adopted.
Washington, D.C. — Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, released the following statement in response to President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Request, which includes an 11% reduction to the Department of Energy and a $270 million dollar, 90 % cut to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
Kaptur Secures $29,400,000 in Federal Funding for Great Lakes Conservation in Bipartisan Budget Deal
Washington, D.C. — Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), the longest serving woman in the United States Congress and Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, today announced $29,400,000 in federal funds to expand conservation efforts across the Great Lakes region and improve the health of communities along Lake Erie.
WASHINGTON, DC – Today Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) issued a statement applauding a letter from Congressman Brad Schneider (D-IL), Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI) and a group of 24 bipartisan colleagues, urging a prompt and on-time completion of the Brandon Road Study, a critical milestone for a project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to prevent invasive Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes.