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Great Lakes Today was created to highlight issues affecting the lakes. The main partners are WBFO (Buffalo), ideastream (Cleveland) and WXXI (Rochester).Browse more coverage here. Major funding for Great Lakes Today is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American People. Additional funding comes from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.

Senators Ask EPA Administrator to Support Great Lakes

By Elizabeth Miller

Published March 10, 2017 at 10:08 PM EST

Rob Portman in 2016 [Nick Castele/ideastream]

Expressing concern about reported funding cuts, U-S Senators sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt Friday.

Ohio Senator Rob Portman and Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow serve as co-chairs of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, the group who penned the letter to Pruitt. The letter advises Pruitt to support the Initiative’s full funding, reminding him of the support he promised the Great Lakes during his Senate confirmation hearing.

In the last two weeks, leaked budgets for the EPA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have raised red flags to environmental advocates, politicians, and researchers. Together, the two agencies provide millions of dollars to projects including the College Sea Grant program and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. A recently leaked EPA budget included a 97% cut to the Initiative’s annual budget, from $300 million to $10 million.

The Trump administration is expected to unveil the federal budget sometime this week. Several Great Lakes groups will be on the Hill throughout the week as well to meet with Congress.