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Congressional leaders introduce Great Lakes Compact bill
Published July 23, 2008 - BizTimes Daily
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Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle today joined Congressional leaders representing Great Lakes states in unveiling bipartisan, bicameral legislation to give Congressional consent to the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact.
Joining Doyle, who is chairman of the Council of Great Lakes Governors, at a press conference on Capitol Hill today were the six lead sponsors of the legislation: Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Senator George Voinovich (R-Ohio), Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-Ohio) and Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.).
"I applaud the members of Congress for their leadership in protecting the Great Lakes," Doyle said. "It is gratifying to see the consensus that we have built in our region reflected in the bipartisan Congressional support for this historic measure. We must now do all that we can to work with our Congressional partners to turn these protections into law."
Doyle is in Washington meeting with Congressional leaders to urge them to pass the Compact.
The Great Lakes Compact has been approved by the eight state legislatures and now must be consented to by the U.S. Congress to achieve full force and effect as an interstate compact.
Once implemented, the compact would create unprecedented protections for the Great Lakes and ensure their continued availability for regional economic growth. It will ban long-distance diversions and provide a framework for ensuring sustainable water use in the Great Lakes basin.
The compact has attracted the support of key members of Congress, mayors and local government officials as well as more than 150 diverse groups of stakeholders who depend on the Great Lakes. More than 1,300 state legislators have voted to approve the compact—about 95 percent of all legislators who have cast a vote on it.
The Great Lakes generate $55 billion in tourism for the region and create nearly $377 million in personal income from wages and salaries. Wisconsin's harbors handle more than 40 million metric tons of cargo that support 11,000 jobs and are worth more than $7 billion a year.
The Small Business Times Commercial Real Estate & Development Conference will examine "The Fresh Coast Advantage" of living and doing business in the Great Lakes region. For more information about the conference, visit BizTimes.com.
