Democrats pitch $5B Great Lakes cleanup fund
Last Updated: Tuesday, September 16, 2008 | 2:29 PM ET
CBC News
The U.S. Democrats are proposing a $5-billion trust fund to clean up and restore the Great Lakes if Barack Obama is elected president in November.
The party announced the proposed trust fund Tuesday in the northern state of Michigan which borders three of the five Great Lakes — Michigan, Huron and Erie.
The $5 billion would pay for a plan that includes designating a Great Lakes co-ordinator to oversee the programs and stepping up the fight against invasive species.
Obama's campaign announced the plan in a telephone conference featuring Democratic senators Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Amy Klobucharb of Minnesota, and Gov. Jim Doyle of Wisconsin.
The trust fund would be paid for by rolling back tax breaks for oil companies, they said.
Since Obama comes from Illinois, which also borders Lake Michigan, he is more familiar with issues affecting the lakes than Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, who is from Arizona, they said.
With files from the Associated Press
