WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Sam Graves (MO-06) led nearly a dozen of their colleagues in sending a letter to Michael Connor, Assistant Secretary for Civil Works, urging him to prioritize funding for flood mitigation and prevention projects along the lower Missouri River.
 
Specifically, Grassley and his colleagues are pushing Connor to utilize funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) – the bipartisan infrastructure bill that Grassley supported – to invest in flood-related projects for the Lower Missouri River Basin, including the Navigation and Flood Control Studies and the Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project (BSNP). The letter comes as the Department of the Army begins to allocate funding from the IIJA for the Army Civil Works Program in Fiscal Year 2022.
 
“Flooding in the Lower Missouri River Basin is a danger to Iowans and severely disrupts Iowa’s agriculture, manufacturing and shipping industries. When I voted for the bipartisan infrastructure bill, I was voting for exactly this type of federal support for critical infrastructure that Iowans depend on. That’s why I’ll continue pushing for funding from this bill to be utilized for projects that support Iowans and Iowa’s economy, including several much-needed projects along the lower Missouri River,” Grassley said.
 
As the letter states, the IIJA also provides funding to complete site-specific studies to address immediate needs along the river – including at the mouth of the Platte River in southwest Iowa. Additionally, the opening of the Port Blencoe shipping facility will further increase demand for reliable navigation along the Missouri River.  Grassley and his colleagues are calling on the department to continue supporting the Lower Missouri Navigation Study to ensure shipping needs are met.
 
Lawmakers joining Grassley and Graves on the letter include Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Reps. Sharice Davids (KS-03), Vicky Hartzler (MO-04), Jake LaTurner (KS-02), Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03) and Adrian Smith (NE-03).
 
Grassley was one of 19 Republicans to back the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which continues to boost critical infrastructure projects across Iowa. Earlier today, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced an $829.1 million investment in lock and dam modernization projects along the upper Mississippi River. The investment will be made using funding from the Grassley-backed infrastructure bill.
 
Read the full letter by clicking HERE.
 

 

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