U.S. Congressional committees have approved the Great Lakes Fisheries Research Reauthorization Act in both the House and the Senate, clearing them for full votes in both bodies.
“There are great threats from invasive species and other environmental threats to the fishery of the Great Lakes, and this will help make sure that we protect that wonderful resource,” U.S. Senator Jon Husted (R-Ohio) said following a 29 October vote to advance the legislation by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
The legislation would authorize funding for the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Great Lakes Science Center for another five years. The original legislation – passed in 2019 during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term in office – authorized USD 15 million (EUR 13.7 million) in funding for five years, but is set to expire. The renewal legislation would authorize the same level of funding for another five years.
The Center produces “research supporting sustainable fisheries management, like identifying and combating invasive species like the Asian carp and sea lamprey, conducting surveys for sport fish management, and monitoring impacts of harmful algae blooms on fisheries researchers,” U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle (D-Oregon) said during a House Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries hearing 8 April.
A House version of the legislation was approved by the Committee on Natural Resources in July.
The bills approval by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works comes shortly after the Trump administration’s plan to lay off 79 percent of the Great Lakes Science Center’s staff as part of a reduction in force at the U.S. Geological Survey. U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened that his government would lay off staff at “Democrat agencies” if a shutdown were to occur, and White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought said the administration could lay off as more than 10,000 federal employees through reduction-in-force (RIF) notices during the shutdown.
A federal judge has paused those reduction-in-force notices from going into effect, calling the Trump administration’s efforts to punish the opposing political party by firing civilian employees “unprecedented.”
“The administration has publicly announced that these RIFs are intended to punish the Democrats,” U.S. District Court Judge Susan Yvonne Illston said in a ruling. “If what plaintiffs allege is true, the agencies’ actions in laying off thousands of public employees – and in targeting those from a particular political party – during a government shutdown is the epitome of hasty, arbitrary, and capricious decision-making.”
In a release, U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-Michigan) said the planned layoffs at the Great Lakes Science Center only makes this legislation that much more essential.
“The Great Lakes Science Center helps protect the freshwater fisheries and habitats that are invaluable economic and ecological assets for Michigan and the entire Great Lakes Region,” Peters said in a statement. “The Trump Administration’s attempt to slash staffing at the Center is outrageous and recklessly endangers the health of our Great Lakes, which is why it’s more important than ever that we pass this bill and put this essential program on sound financial footing.”
Though the legislation has been approved by committees in both the House and Senate, it still needs to be voted on by both bodies before becoming law.
