Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker opposes Trump's Great Lakes cuts

Gov. Scott Walker, environmental groups and lawmakers of both parties are seeking to scale back President Donald Trump's proposed cuts to Great Lakes funding.

The Republican governor opposes a provision in Trump's budget bill to cut federal funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which has funneled billions of federal tax dollars into the region to protect what Walker called "one of the greatest assets of fresh water anywhere in the world."

The GOP president's budget has been praised by defense advocates for upping military spending, but has also taken widespread criticism for a series of cuts being proposed for many other programs to pay for that.

"The Great Lakes are an incredible asset," Walker told reporters in Milwaukee this week. "It’s an asset from a commercial standpoint in terms of fishing and tourism, but also in general in terms of quality of life."

Walker said he would be contacting the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress to "protect funding that’s prudent" for the Great Lakes.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has reported on the series of threats facing the Great Lakes, from invasive species hitching rides on overseas freighters to toxic algae blooms and jumbo carp in the Chicago canal system.

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U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) also called for restoring the Great Lakes funding along with a bipartisan group of other members of Congress and also criticized the cuts in a letter to Walker.

Other cuts being proposed by Trump include eliminating all federal funding for the low-income home energy assistance program widely used in Milwaukee County.

Since this winter's seasonal enrollment opened on Oct. 1, the county has served 46,000 families with 30,000 more expected to get help by May 15, officials said.

Milwaukee County officials also are assessing effects of federal budget cuts on job training and workforce development programs, the Meals on Wheels program for home-bound senior citizens and efforts to end chronic homelessness.

"It's a direct frontal attack on many programs that are critical not only to cities but to states, and most importantly to people who rely on the federal government to be there to help them at a time of need," Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said.

Barrett ripped cuts to block grants for economic development and TIGER program transportation grants.

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The $9 billion in cuts to the U.S. Department of Education, and cuts to other programs that support schoolchildren, drew sharp criticism from Wisconsin educators who said they would harm low-income students, make it harder to close achievement gaps and hinder teacher recruitment efforts.

“Eliminating programs that help train and improve our educators, provide after-school opportunities for kids and assist first-generation college students will have a direct impact on the lives of Wisconsin families,” said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers.

DPI spokesman Tom McCarthy said many other areas would be at risk: hundreds of before- and after-school programs for needy students throughout the state, including dozens in Milwaukee; programs to prepare poor students for college; and $190 million in cuts to a reading program for students who have disabilities or who don't speak English well.

Glenn Schilling, superintendent of the Hartland-Lakeside School District in Waukesha County, said he would have to lay off staff if the reading cuts are approved.

The president's budget does include a $1.4 billion increase in funding for charter and vouchers nationwide.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters Don Behm, Mary Spicuzza and Brittany Carloni contributed to this article.