{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.klobuchar.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=E46A7167-97E9-4C9E-8A62-2A1D7210E789", "Klobuchar Priorities Pass Senate in Bipartisan Water Infrastructure Bill, Heads to President\u2019s Desk for Signature", "2016-12-12", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "MN", "Amy Klobuchar", "K000367", "www.klobuchar.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Bipartisan bill includes Klobuchar\u2019s priorities to provide critical resources and funding to conserve and restore fish and wildlife populations in the Great Lakes; allocates priority funding from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for the Great Lakes Navigation System; and authorizes critical infrastructure assistance to address lead contamination of drinking water \r\nWASHINGTON, DC \u2013 U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced that several of her key priorities have passed the Senate as part of the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act. The bipartisan bill, which now heads to the President\u2019s desk for his signature, includes Klobuchar\u2019s provision to provide critical resources and funding to conserve fish and wildlife populations in the Great Lakes, as well as allocating priority funding from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for the Great Lakes Navigation System, and authorizing critical infrastructure assistance to address lead contamination of drinking water, among others.\u201cOur 21st century economy demands 21st century infrastructure, and that requires investments in our waterways, like the all-important Great Lakes,\u201d Klobuchar said. \u201cThis bill supports water infrastructure projects that will boost our economy, restoration projects that will benefit our wildlife, and helps make sure that our children\u2019s drinking water is safe and free of lead. There\u2019s a lot that was good about this bill, but it wasn\u2019t perfect. I\u2019ll keep fighting to make sure we have a permanent extension of provisions to prioritize American workers when rebuilding our country\u2019s infrastructure.\u201dKlobuchar\u2019s priorities in the bipartisan water infrastructure bill agreement include:\r\n\u2022 Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act: The legislation, which Klobuchar introduced along with Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Mark Kirk (R-IL), reauthorizes the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act. Reforms in the bill will allow grant recipients to use the value of donated land and conservation easements as part of their non-federal cost share to improve fish and wildlife habitat in the Great Lakes region.\r\n\u2022 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative: Klobuchar\u2019s provision reauthorizes the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at $300 million a year for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021, for a total of $1.5 billion.\r\n\u2022 Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) for Great Lakes Ports: Klobuchar\u2019s provision makes permanent the allocation of 10 percent of priority funding from the HMTF for Great Lakes ports.\r\n\u2022 Lead Testing in School and Child Care Drinking Water Grant Program: Authorizes $20 million a year for fiscal years 2017 through 2021, totaling $100 million, for grants to carry out a voluntary school and child care lead testing program.\r\nAs one of the vice-chairs of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, Klobuchar is a leading advocate for the protection of the Great Lakes. She has worked to bolster pollution clean-up efforts in the Great Lakes, prevent diversions of Great Lakes water out of the region, and establish new water conservation and environmental protection standards in the Great Lakes area. She has also fought to keep aquatic invasive species out of Minnesota\u2019s river and lakes, including authoring legislation to help fight the spread of invasive carp that was signed into law in 2014.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://www.klobuchar.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=E46A7167-97E9-4C9E-8A62-2A1D7210E789"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.9469819962978363, "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"}