NCGA
Issues Action Alert Supporting Expected WRDA Legislation that Includes
Lock Modernization (03-31-05)
Pending the expected introduction
by Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA)
of 2005 that includes lock modernization, the National Corn Growers
Association (NCGA) today sent out an action alert to its grower members
encouraging them to send letters to their senators supporting this
bill.
Legislation authorizing
new locks for the upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers is one of
NCGA’s top two priorities for 2005.
“Senator
Bond, a long-time champion of this issue, is expected to introduce
a WRDA bill next week,” said Lisa Kelley, NCGA director of public
policy. According to Kelley, the WRDA legislation will include authorization
for construction of seven 1,200-foot locks. The lock modernization
provisions in the 2005 WRDA bill are based on S. 2470 from the 108th
Congress, which NCGA fully supported. The committee is tentatively
scheduled to mark-up the bill April 13, which sets it up for possible
consideration on the Senate floor by early May.
“We’ve
been pushing for lock modernization now for more than 14 years, said
Illinois corn grower and NCGA President Leon Corzine. “With
the new Congress we have support building for a WRDA bill with the
locks provision included and we are moving closer to this bill becoming
a reality. Our members need to ensure their elected officials understand
the importance of this bill not only to their livelihood but to the
U.S. economy.”
During the 108th
Congress, reform of the Corps of Engineers was a point of contention.
Provisions developed last Congress by Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.)
and Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) are under consideration to be included
in the Senate WRDA bill. These provisions are supported by the entire
water community. The Cochran-Landrieu provisions are essential to
passage of WRDA and maintaining a robust water resources program in
the United States.
In their action alert letter,
NCGA is encouraging every state organization and corn grower to write
their senators asking them to support the WRDA bill that includes
lock modernization. The letter states that even though not all corn
growers ship to the Mississippi River, all growers are impacted by
it. Everyday, the price of grain a farmer receives at his home market
is based on the price of grain that moves on the Mississippi River
to the export markets.
If Congress does not reinvest
in the inland waterway system, all farmers suffer as transportation
costs will increase, export opportunities will decline and prices
at the home market will fall.
“With last year’s
bumper corn crop, it is even more essential that our waterways infrastructure
is updated to handle large production amounts,” said Corzine.
The letter goes on to say
that farmer’s international competitiveness hinges on the ability
to move crops to market and that investment in the inland waterway
system has not kept pace with current needs and is slowly being starved.
In the upper Mississippi
River Basin alone, more than 440,000 jobs are connected to the river.
Lock construction would generate 48 million man hours of work –
a generation of jobs for the Midwest. However, unless the locks are
modernized, this nation could lose more than 30,000 jobs.
Kelley noted that the introduction
of this Senate legislation is a major first step towards completion
of this long-awaited legislation, however, there is still much more
work to do to get it passed and signed by President Bush. The House
has yet to act on WRDA legislation so far, however, it is expected
that the House will introduce a similar bill this spring.
The letter is
available in its entirety on the NCGA
Legislative Action Center.
Last reviewed
March 31, 2005