Congress has stalled a bill that would continue the cleanup of the Great Lakes for at least 5 more years.

The extension of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was approved last week by the House, but the Senate adjourned session Tuesday without looking at the bill.  This means that the issue will have to wait until the next session begins in January.

President Barack Obama began the program in 2010 and Congress has spent more than $1.6 billion on the program.  The initiative provided money for cleaning up rivers and harbors that had been plagued with toxic waste, studying and battling invasive species, reduction of pollution that has caused blue green algae and beach closings.

Ohio Congressman David Joyce sponsored the bill.  If it had been authorized $300 million dollars per year for the next five years would have gone towards cleaning up the Great Lakes.

The program is funded through 2015, Congress had appropriated $300 million for 2015.

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