July 08, 2019
STATEMENT BY HOWARD A. LEARNER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & POLICY CENTER
ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner said in response to President Trump’s remarks today attempting to defend his environmental record at a White House gathering:
“President Trump’s damaging attacks on clean water stand in stark contrast to any claims of protecting the Great Lakes. The visible toxic algae blooms and green slime plaguing Lake Erie and other waterways in recent years are visual evidence that the Trump administration’s anti-environmental policies are moving the Midwest backwards not forwards. His administration tried to eliminate or slash the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative three times from the federal budget, but it was reinstated after bipartisan pushback from Great Lakes leaders in Congress.”
“The Midwest is experiencing the impacts of climate change now. The Trump administration’s rollbacks of protections necessary to address the climate crisis threaten Midwesterners and the Great Lakes which millions depend on for safe drinking water, recreation and tourism, and economic opportunities. President Trump’s desperate effort to tell a story about his environmental record at a White House gathering does not erase his ongoing war on the Great Lakes.”
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