To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the exclusion equivalent of the unified credit allowed against the estate tax to $7,500,000 and to establish a flat estate tax rate.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce comprehensive legislation to protect and restore the Great Lakes. I am pleased to be joined by Rep. Mark Kirk and 17 bipartisan original cosponsors.

The Great Lakes are a national treasure, providing drinking water to millions of people and supporting billions of dollars in trade, fishing, and recreation. While we have taken steps to improve environmental conditions in the basin, the Great Lakes still suffer from pollution from contaminated sediments, storm water and agricultural runoff, and wetlands and coastal habitat loss.

As its name indicates, the Great Lakes Environmental Protection and Restoration Programs Reauthorization Act reauthorizes several federal Great Lakes environmental programs in one comprehensive package. The bill also provides a mechanism for coordinating activities among the various federal agencies that carry out these programs, along with a process for coordination and future planning among federal, state and local program managers and the private sector. Finally, the bill reauthorizes the State Revolving Loan Fund under the Clean Water Act, in order to address wastewater infrastructure needs.

The bill provides about $4 billion over 6 years by increasing the authorization levels for current major environmental programs operating in the Great Lakes Basin. Mr. Speaker, I believe that the most effective way to undertake a major restoration initiative is to do so

within the context of current programs, through higher funding and improved coordination among federal, state, and local agencies and cooperation with interested stakeholders. The bill includes federal programs at the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Agriculture, the Fish & Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The bill is specifically targeted to address the costly big-ticket items that will have a dramatic impact on improving the health of the Lakes. This includes $1.65 billion for cleaning up Areas of Concern, a total that is consistent with recent low-end estimates from site experts on AOC sediment remediation needs. It also provides $640 million for fisheries, wildlife, ecosystem and habitat restoration programs.

The bill provides about $900 million for research and monitoring programs at the EPA, the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC) within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The bill also authorizes extramural grants to public universities and private institutions to conduct this important work. These activities are critical to the successful planning, implementation and oversight of restoration efforts.

The bill also reauthorizes the national State Revolving Loan Fund and provides $20 billion over 5 years to assist communities with the critical task of upgrading and improving their wastewater infrastructure. This piece is taken from H.R. 1560, passed by the Water Resources Subcommittee in the 108th Congress. Sewer system needs are a critical component of keeping the Great Lakes and their tributaries clean, and the State Revolving Loan Fund has been a successful program for helping cities and towns undertake these very expensive upgrades.

Finally, the bill codifies Executive Order #13340, signed by the President in May 2004, and codifies the regional collaboration process outlined in conjunction with the E.O. on December 3, 2004, by the Administrator of the EPA, the Great Lakes governors, tribal leaders, several Members of Congress, and others. This will continue to improve collaboration among the many projects and programs operating in the Basin and ensure long-term stability to the preparation and oversight of the comprehensive restoration action plan currently under development.

Mr. Speaker, we have a responsibility to clean up and to protect this precious resource. My bill provides the funding and the coordination necessary to implement the programs we have in place and to accomplish the shared goals of the region. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.