{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://kaptur.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/kaptur-bill-create-great-lakes-authority-passes-congress-will-be-signed", "Kaptur Bill to Create Great Lakes Authority Passes Congress, Will Be Signed Into Law", "2022-12-23", "2022", "2022-12", "Democrat", "House", "OH", "Marcy Kaptur", "K000009", "kaptur.house.gov", "kaptur", "https://kaptur.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Today, Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-09) \u2013 Chair of the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee and Co-Chair of the bipartisan House Great Lakes Task Force \u2013 released the following statement after the House and Senate passed omnibus appropriations legislation that includes her bill to create the Great Lakes Authority. The legislation will now be sent to the President to be signed into law.\n\nToday, an amended version of Rep. Kaptur\u2019s bill to create the Great Lakes Authority was passed by the House and Senate as a part of omnibus appropriations legislation to fund the federal government for fiscal year 2023.\n\nConceived by Rep. Kaptur as a federal authority with a structure and mission similar to the Appalachian Regional Commission, the newly established Great Lakes Authority will operate as a federal regional commission dedicated to identifying and advancing solutions to the economic and environmental challenges facing the eight states of the Great Lakes region: Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and New York. Together, these eight states contain the core of the United States\u2019 commercial and defense industrial base and border the largest system of accessible surface freshwater in the world.\n\nIn March 2022, Rep. Kaptur introduced H.R. 7131 \u2013 the Great Lakes Authority Act \u2013 with the support of eleven Great Lakes colleagues in the House. In December, Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced a companion to Rep. Kaptur\u2019s bill in the Senate.\n\nThe Great Lakes Authority will be empowered to:\n\nGrow the capacity for successful community economic development by deploying grants to programs focused on workforce skills training, employment-related education, entrepreneurship, technology, and business development as well as for transportation, telecommunications, and public infrastructure projects\n\nPromote the development of renewable and alternative energy sources as well as resource conservation, tourism, recreation, and preservation of open spaces in a manner consistent with economic development goals\n\nProvide assistance to severely economically distressed and underdeveloped areas that lack financial resources for improving basic healthcare and other public services\n\nThe omnibus appropriations legislation authorizes the Great Lakes Authority to receive \u2013 beginning in fiscal year 2024 \u2013 the same funding levels as the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission, the Southwest Border Regional Commission, and the Northern Border Regional Commission. Currently, these three Regional Commissions are each authorized to receive $33 million annually through fiscal year 2023. The fiscal year 2024 funding levels for the three Regional Commissions and the Great Lakes Authority will be determined by the 118th Congress.\n\n\u201cThe Great Lakes Authority represents a new vision for how to harness existing assets and focus attention and resources to the corner of our nation that makes, builds, and grows America,\u201d said Rep. Kaptur. \u201cAs the home of a highly-skilled workforce, North America\u2019s freshwater kingdom, and a growing, innovative hub of manufacturing, energy, agriculture, and defense \u2013 the Great Lakes region is poised and ready to capture the future. Through the collaborative work of Republicans and Democrats, our new Great Lakes Authority will serve as a powerful catalyst to strengthen America\u2019s heartland and move us ahead for the 21st century.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe need to make sure Michigan and other Great Lakes states have the resources and funding to promote economic growth, job training opportunities, and community development just like other regions across the country do,\u201d said Sen. Stabenow. \u201cThis bipartisan bill will create an important partnership to give state and local governments the tools they need to create jobs, boost their economy, and transform communities.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Great Lakes region is not only a treasured environmental watershed, but a uniquely positioned powerhouse for American industry, agriculture, and manufacturing,\u201d said Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI-12). \u201cBut for decades, communities like the ones I represent have borne the brunt of job loss and economic downturn as the result of disastrous trade policies, underinvestment, and deindustrialization. The Great Lakes Authority will help reverse these losses and create a strategic partnership to strengthen the Great Lakes economy, as well as the nation, by boosting investments in long-term economic development projects across the manufacturing, defense, infrastructure, and clean energy sectors.\u201d\n\n\"Ohio has always been proud to be home to industries that form the backbone of our nation's economy \u2013 and the Great Lakes Authority will help ensure that continues,\" said Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH-11). \"For decades, the Great Lakes region has lacked a proper federal Regional Commission. With the creation of the Great Lakes Authority in the FY23 government funding bill, this disparity is addressed, and the region will be able to explore unique opportunities and respond to complex challenges in the coming years while continuing to support the American economy.\u201d\n\nThe legislative text outlining the establishment of the Great Lakes Authority can be found here.\n\n###\n\nFor more information, contact Chris Dalton at chris.dalton@mail.house.gov.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:32:05Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://kaptur.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/kaptur-bill-create-great-lakes-authority-passes-congress-will-be-signed"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4117578975856304, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}