Roskam helps lead charge to protect Chicago-area economy

U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) succeeded Wednesday in blocking an attempt to add wording to a federal spending bill that would have cut Chicago-area waterways off from Lake Michigan in order to prevent infestation by Asian carp.

“We must continue to fight the spread of Asian carp into Lake Michigan, which threatens our waterways and the health of our Great Lakes,” Roskam said. “However, some members in Congress attempted to slip language into the federal spending bill that would restrict commercial barge traffic through Illinois’ waterways, which would do long-term damage to our local economy and environment. Fortunately, Congressman Lipinski and I were able to successfully block this harmful proposal and ensure our waterways stay up and running.”

Roskam and fellow U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) crafted a bipartisan letter to House Speaker John Boehner in which they explained the impact of the added language, both economically and environmentally. In response to the letter, the final version of the bill did not include the proposed addition.

“Asian carp are a real threat to our ecosystem,” Roskam said. “But we should ensure that measures to stem the tide of this invasive species are vetted, effective and not detrimental to our local economy.”