SCHUMER FIGHTS TO BLOCK SENATE AMENDMENT THAT WOULD ELIMINATE FUNDING FOR THE ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY, A CRITICAL LINK TO LAKES ERIE & ONTARIO, AND CRIPPLE THE ROCHESTER-AREA ECONOMY
The St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) Operates & Maintains Critical Infrastructure Throughout the Great Lakes – Including Lake Erie & Lake Ontario – and St. Lawrence Seaway System – Schumer Argues Cuts to SLSDC Funding Will Put Regional Economy and Local Jobs at Risk
Schumer Vows to Block Attempt To Defund SLSDC
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced he is fighting to block an amendment on the Senate floor to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Funding Bill that would defund the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC). Schumer explained that the SLSDC is an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) that was created to construct, operate and maintain the part of the St. Lawrence Seaway that runs between the Port of Montreal and Lake Erie, passing through Lake Ontario.
The proposed amendment, which was introduced yesterday by Senator Lee of Utah, strips more than $36 million from the SLSDC that is now included in the Senate funding bill. The funds are used to maintain infrastructure throughout the seaway, which, in turn, supports many local jobs and much economic activity. This amendment, which Schumer has vowed to fight, threatens the healthy functioning of the Great Lakes maritime commerce system and the nearly 100,000 direct jobs supported by it.
“The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation sustains thousands of good-paying jobs to the region, generates many millions in business revenue and sparks numerous economic development opportunities. The attempt to defund this vital entity is severely misguided; it will hurt our economy and cost us jobs; and I will fight overtime to defeat it. Defunding the St. Lawrence Seaway would threaten local jobs, revenue and the ability to operate our waters and maintain our maritime infrastructure, so I am making it crystal clear to my colleagues in the Senate that the SLSDC is here to stay, and I will work to make sure that any attempt to eliminate it is dead-on-arrival in the Senate.” – U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer
The SLSDC operates and maintains the waters and infrastructure of the Great Lakes/Saint Lawrence Seaway system, between the Port of Montreal and Lake Erie. Maritime commerce on the Great Lakes Seaway System annually sustains more than 225,000 U.S. and Canadian jobs. In addition, this waterway helps spur $14.1 billion in personal income, $33.6 billion in transportation-related business revenue, $6.4 billion in local purchases and $4.6 billion in federal, state, provincial, and local taxes.
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