The greatest loser

The greatest loser

Findlay Courier: One of the inevitable results of the nation’s current budget discussion is that the Great Lakes region is going to end up one of the big losers.

It didn’t start out that way. During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama pledged $5 billion over 10 years to help restore Lakes Erie, Superior, Michigan, Huron and Ontario.

After being elected, Obama kept his word. In the first year, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was granted $475 million. But the amount slipped to $350 million in this fiscal year, and to to $300 million in 2012.