House
Delays WRDA Vote; NCGA Continues Legislative Alert (6-30-05)
The U.S. House
of Representatives has pushed back a vote on the Water Resources
and Development Act (WRDA), H.R. 2864, which contains legislation
authorizing upgrades to the locks and dams on the upper Mississippi
and Illinois rivers, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA)
notes. The House was expected to vote on the bill this week, but
it has postponed any action until the week of July 11.
To gain support
and continue the momentum for passage of WRDA, NCGA is calling corn
growers into action to urge their legislators to support the full
WRDA bill. The alert states that “Congress must commit to
reinvesting in this country’s inland waterway system. Farmers
will suffer dire consequences due to the increased transportation
costs, will find that export opportunities will decline, and prices
at the home market will fall.”
“With
the postponement of WRDA, the Fourth of July recess gives us another
opportunity to call our congressmen,” said Leon Corzine, president
of NCGA. “It’s extremely important to remind them once
again of the importance of WRDA and modernization of the locks and
dams to U.S. agriculture and our rural communities.”
NCGA staff has
been meeting with numerous congressional offices throughout the
week. Members of Congress and their staff all had the same thing
to say – “we’re just not hearing from our constituents
on why this issue is important to them.”
“As we
near a vote on WRDA, we must be aware that the opposition to the
bill is ramping up its actions,” Corzine said. “We need
to do the same. Even though we have the momentum, we cannot assume
this will pass. All of our members should contact their congressmen
immediately.”
Corn growers
can contact their legislators by calling the House switchboard at
the U.S. Capitol at 202.225.3121 and asking to be connected to their
elected official.