President Obama quietly signs landmark Great Lakes clean-up bill

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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Without fanfare, President Barack Obama has okayed a large cash infusion to help clean up the Great Lakes, quietly signing a bill that was years in the making and marks a rare bipartisan milestone.

The former senator from Illinois, which borders Lake Michigan, did it on Friday. Few people knew about it until Monday.

That’s because the measure with $475 million for the Great Lakes was part of a broader spending bill that included money for other projects, including $4 million with which to buy additional property for the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. And attached to that Interior and Environmental Appropriations Act was a more urgent matter, namely, temporary legislation, called a continuing resolution, to keep agencies within the United States government operating until late December.

It had to be signed by the end of last week or the government would not be able to pay its bills, since Congress has not yet approved all the spending for the current fiscal year and the old resolution was expiring. So Obama signed it, barely 24 hours after the Senate took the last legislative step. While senators, environmental groups and reporters were expecting word from the White House on a signing ceremony or Great Lakes kickoff event, the president’s signature was already dry. (more)

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2009/11/president_obama_quietly_signs.html

[truedelphi]

1. Very good news,hearing about this. Thanks. n/t

[semillama]

2. Kick! n/t