Congress OKs $16M for Great Lakes wildlife act
10/3/2006WASHINGTON - Congress reauthorized the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act at $16 million a year Saturday, twice the original $8 million annual spending cap. The bill has gone to President Bush to be signed into law.
The Senate had authorized up to $20 million a year in July. The House recently waived spending rules that limited increases to 10 percent, agreeing to a $16 million cap. The Senate concurred with the House figure just before the electoral recess.
The act, good for five years, first was authorized in 1990. It provides money for habitat projects that support the region's fish and wildlife. It was co-sponsored in the Senate by U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine (R., Ohio) and U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D., Mich.), and by Michigan and Illinois congressmen in the House.