WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today welcomed the Senate’s overwhelmingly bipartisan passage of the Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (WRDA), a legislative package that reauthorizes key infrastructure projects to improve ports and harbors, inland waterways navigation and flood and storm protection in Iowa and across the country. The bill now heads to the president’s desk to be signed into law.

“Iowa is blessed with mighty waterways that help move our world-class goods to market and feed the world. It’s vital that we protect our natural water resources while ensuring sound infrastructure to keep Iowans safe from inclement weather and flooding,” Grassley said. “Passing WRDA is one of the best ways Congress can do this. This authorization will deliver regional and national economic benefits, strengthen Iowa’s global competitiveness and supply chains, and directly benefit local communities.”

Grassley secured the following water resources for Iowa:

  • Updates to the Cedar River flood risk management project to protect Cedar Rapids from future flooding.
  • Expanded protections for levee districts and navigators on the Missouri River to safeguard flood control measures and ease navigation.
  • Authorization of an Upper Mississippi River Flood Risk and Resiliency Study to improve community flood protection.
  • Improvements to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permitting process to ensure project efficiency.

This year’s WRDA also included the Economic Development Reauthorization Act, which marks the first reauthorization of Economic Development Act (EDA) programs in twenty years. EDA programs in 2024 provided federal funding to several Iowa communities, including:

  • $175,000 to drive local economic recovery efforts following severe storms in Southern Iowa;
  • $681,000 to bolster regional manufacturing in Story City;
  • $1.3 million to support infrastructure improvements and workforce growth in Cedar Rapids.

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