Source: United States Senator for Michigan Gary Peters
Peters Secured Support for STORM Act to Address Shoreline Erosion, Flooding, Rising Water Levels that will Soon Become Law
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) applauded the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act today that will make vital investments in Michigan infrastructure, including in our roads and bridges, high-speed internet, the elimination of lead service lines, electric vehicles and the Great Lakes, all of which will strengthen our economy. Peters helped passed this bill that boosts our economic competitiveness out of the Senate in August, and it now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law.
“The passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill is a win for Michigan and the country as we deliver on our promise to build back better, rebuild our crumbling infrastructure the right way – so that it cuts costs for taxpayers – and strengthen our economy and the Great Lakes,” said Senator Peters, a member of the Senate, Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. “I look forward to President Biden signing this critical bill into law swiftly to create good-paying jobs, repair our roads and bridges, expand access to high-speed internet, eliminate lead service lines and pipes in Michigan and help communities address rising water levels, shoreline erosion and flooding with funding from my STORM Act. This urgently needed investment is decades overdue, and I’m proud to have helped make it a reality to improve the way Michiganders move, live and work for decades to come.”
Included in the package is $500 million in funding for Peters’ bipartisan STORM Act that was signed into law earlier this year. This funding will help communities address and mitigate shoreline erosion, flooding and rising water levels. Peters has made protecting the Great Lakes one of his top priorities in the U.S. Senate. In 2019, Peters secured a bipartisan provision that was signed into law as part of the year-end funding bill to provide the first increase in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) funding since the program was established a decade ago. To build on that progress, the package includes $1 billion for the GLRI, which is the largest amount of funding provided for the program to date. Prior to helping the bill pass the Senate, Peters held roundtable discussions with communities across Michigan to hear from local, business and labor leaders on infrastructure needs and improvements.
To read more priorities Peters successfully included or supported in the bill click here, and to read more about what community leaders across Michigan are saying about the bill click here.
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