Congressman Tom Suozzi (D – Long Island, Queens) has hailed the bipartisan passage of H.R. 5441, a bill that reauthorizes Long Island Sound Programs until 2028. The bipartisan bill, passed by a vote of 333 to 51, was cosponsored by Suozzi and reauthorizes the Environmental Protection Agency’s Long Island Sound programs through 2028. The programs, which include a stewardship grant program, focus on conserving the Sound.
Suozzi, a member of the Congressional Long Island Sound Caucus, has always taken an intense interest in the Sound, which borders the North Shore of his district. Since arriving in Congress in 2017, Suozzi has helped increase federal funding to protect and preserve the Long Island Sound by one thousand percent.
“The Long Island Sound is our national park. I’ve always loved fishing and swimming in the Long Island Sound, I raised my kids on the Long Island Sound,” said Suozzi. “We’ve got to do everything we can to preserve and protect it.”
“And the good news is, we’ve actually passed a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the funding to help improve the Sound. Democrats and Republicans came together to reauthorize the funding for the EPA to invest money in fixing up the Sound.”
In 1985, Congress created the Long Island Sound Study (LISS) to identify and address the significant environmental problems affecting the Long Island Sound. The LISS brings together the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), New York State, Connecticut, non-profit organizations, and educational institutions.
“I have worked on restoring shellfishing beds, reseeding our harbors, cutting nitrogen from sewage treatment plants and stormwater runoff, and cleaning up pollution in the Sound,” added Suozzi, citing his 25 years in public service, first as Mayor of Glen Cove in 1994, then as Nassau County Executive in 2022. When Suozzi first arrived in Congress in 2016, funding for the Long Island Sound stood at $4 million. That number hit $40 million in 2022 and reached $62.8 million in 2023.
Information provided by the Office of Congressman Tom Suozzi.
