Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) will be chairing the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday on the Great Lakes Compact. Business leaders, environmentalists, and even the President are backing the agreement. He says state lawmakers have been proactive in approving the measure designed to protect the lakes. The Wisconsin Democrat wants to keep the momentum going and get Congressional approval before the year ends.
Feingold is concerned the compact may get caught up in other issues such as political infighting.
“Sometimes things get dragged in and people say, 'well I'm not going to let anything through.”
He calls the agreement a “rare example” of governments working together and “looking ahead”, rather than waiting for large diversions of water.
The Great Lakes make up 95 percent of the country's fresh water.