Peters and Slotkin Bipartisan Bill to Extend Federal Funding and Protections for the Great Lakes Advances in the Senate

WASHINGTON, DC - The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee unanimously voted to advance the bipartisan Water Resources Development Act of 2026. The comprehensive bill includes a provision championed by U.S. Senators Gary Peters (MI) and Elissa Slotkin (MI), based on their bipartisan Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2025. The Water Resources Development Act of 2026 would authorize $475 million in annual funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) through 2030.

"The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is the most significant investment ever made to restore and protect our Great Lakes, and now more than ever, we need to ensure this vital program has the resources necessary to keep our treasured waterways healthy and vibrant," said Senator Peters. "I'll keep working in a bipartisan way to get this commonsense bill passed into law and help protect the Great Lakes for future generations."

"The Great Lakes are a huge part of who we are as Michiganders and our way of life, but they're also the backbone of our state economy," said Senator Slotkin. "This crucial funding program helps keep it that way. I'll keep fighting alongside both Republicans and Democrats to fully fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and get this bill signed into law."

The GLRI combines federal and nonfederal efforts to stop the spread of carp and other invasive species, restore coastline and habitats connecting our streams and rivers, clean up environmentally damaged Areas of Concern, and prevent future contamination. While providing vital support for these efforts, the GLRI also helps ensure we can address new and emerging threats to the Great Lakes.

Since its inception, the GLRI has spurred tremendous progress in Michigan and throughout the Great Lakes region including nearly half of a million acres of habitat protected, restored, or enhanced, a five-fold increase in the successful cleanup and delisting of Areas of Concern, a ten-fold increase in the remediation of environmental and public health impairments, and reducing the threat of harmful algal blooms. The GLRI's efforts have also resulted in economic returns of more than 3 to 1 across the region.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2025 is supported by the League of Conservation Voters, National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, National Parks Conservation Association, Council of Great Lakes Governors, Great Lakes Fishery Commission, American Great Lakes Ports Association, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, American Rivers, American Sportfishing Association, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, National Audubon Society - Great Lakes, Environmental Law & Policy Center, and other key stakeholders in Great Lakes protection.

Peters and Slotkin have been steadfast supporters of the Great Lakes, including by enacting the single-largest-ever investment in the GLRI through the bipartisan infrastructure law to accelerate the restoration of nine high-priority areas in Michigan whose lakes, rivers, and watersheds flow into the Great Lakes.

As Co-Chair of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, Peters plays a key role in uniting Great Lakes Basin states to coordinate legislative initiatives, funding priorities, and oversight efforts to address the most important issues facing the Great Lakes, such as invasive species, environmental contamination, shoreline erosion, water quality, infrastructure needs, and more.

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