Bush Assministration won't pay for Great Lakes cleanup effort it cheered

[Algorem]

Great Lakes plan hits fiscal snag
White House rejects $20 billion tab for cleanup effort

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1133343158258910.xml&coll=2

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Washington -An ambitious plan to restore the Great Lakes, embraced in concept last year by President Bush, risks unraveling before work even starts because of federal money problems.

In less than two weeks, governors, mayors, Indian tribes and others along the lakes are to lay out a 15-year plan to clean up pollution, restore oxygen-depleted dead zones and reduce the risk of Asian carp devouring other aquatic life, among other things. It's the result of a yearlong public collaboration with environmentalists, maritime interests and others, and the White House had cheered the effort.

But with a final plan scheduled for release Dec. 12 in Chicago, the Bush administration is rejecting a request for up to $20 billion for the cleanup effort. Congress members, governors and others who dreamed of revitalizing the lakes say federal spending on Hurricane Katrina and other budget matters have made it difficult to convince the White House to find extra money...

DeWine and 40 other lawmakers, including fellow Ohio Sen. George Voinovich and Reps. Sherrod Brown of Avon, Dennis Kucinich of Cleveland, Steve LaTourette of Concord Township and Tim Ryan of Niles, wrote to Bush on Nov. 4 to state their disappointment...

[chalky]

1. "....and other budget matters..."

Funny how Katrina gets top billing while that sinkhole of a war and the tax cuts for the rich get minimized to the words, "other budget matters".

[jbnow]

2. Why would they matter, they're just the

largest fresh surface water system on earth. Who needs water?

bush administration and friends can drink salt water.

[Botany]

3. Ecological Restoration can be the biggest econ thrust to America ever but

short term thinking can kill the biggest sustainable economic uplift ever
until we hit rock bottom.