Sen. Debbie Stabenow Slams Trump’s Great Lakes Plan, Russian Links
“We are seeing unfold the inability of this administration to act to protect American interests.”
President Donald Trump recently unveiled his spending plan for the nation, and it was a bitter pill for a lot of groups and states. That’s especially true for Great Lakes states, as Trump cut funding for restoration of these vital bodies of fresh water.
But many in the U.S. Senate, including members of the president’s own party, have said Trump’s budget proposal is a non starter — dead on arrival — and will be changed dramatically before it receives any sort of final approval.
Detroit Today host Stephen Henderson speaks to Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) at the Mackinac Policy Conference about Trump’s plan, its implications, and other issues facing our state and country. Early in the conversation, Stabenow talks specifically about cuts to the Great Lakes.
“I don’t think people are doing better if we’re not constantly keeping an eye on what we need to do to protect the Great Lakes… wiping out all the funding for our water, which means we’re not cleaning up beaches, we’re not protecting from Asian carp…and 40 million people get their drinking water from the Great Lakes, and so protecting our water is a big deal.”
Henderson and Stabenow also discuss other components of the plan, including a decrease in spending on voluntary conservation programs, cuts to federal food assistance and agriculture, and tax cuts for the wealthy.
When asked about the controversy over Trump’s first 100 days, particularly the potential harm of the Trump Administration’s connection to Russia, Stabenow says that it’s not just Democrats who are and who should be concerned.
“It’s not partisan as much as it is a deep concern and growing concern about the relationship with Russia and what that means to us,” says Stabenow.
“Because of their financial interests and business dealings with the Trump businesses, unfortunately we’re in a situation where we are seeing unfold the inability of this administration to act to protect American interests because of their own financial interests, and that’s when it gets very serious.”
Stabenow also discusses her 2018 plans to run for Senate reelection.
To hear the full conversation, click the audio player above.
