The Water Resources Development Act would authorize money to repair leaky locks such as the one above at Lock No. 15 near Quad Cities, Iowa. The National Corn Growers Association (WRDA) is asking growers to call Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist’s (R-Tenn.) office and their state’s senators on April 26 to ask them to bring WRDA to the Senate floor for a vote. Growers should call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121.

Corn Growers Call on Grassroots to ‘Push from the Planter’ April 26 and Phone in for WRDA (4-21-06)

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is asking all corn growers to take a few minutes from their planting and call Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist on April 26, urging him to bring the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) to the floor immediately. NCGA recently issued a legislative call alert to its grassroots in an effort to get the Senate to act on the bill.

The “Push from the Planter” is an all-out grassroots effort by state corn grower organizations and NCGA, the carpenters union, the National Waterway Alliance, the Midwest Area River Coalition 2000 and other groups to bring national attention to the importance of this infrastructure legislation.

“We need everyone who is impacted by the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers to ask the Senate Majority Leader to bring this legislation to the floor for debate and, hopefully, passage,” said NCGA President Gerald Tumbleson. “We have a limited amount of legislative days left, and there is a lot on the agenda for the Senate – appropriations, immigration reform, lobbying reform. It’s also an election year. WRDA must be done now.”

WRDA authorizes the construction of seven 1,200-foot locks on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers and an expansive ecosystem restoration program for the Mississippi River basin area. The bill also includes immediate implementation of small-scale measures, such as guide-wall extensions and helper boats, to help alleviate congestion.

Last year’s devastating effects from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita resulted in negative impacts on grain producers and grain transportation. Gasoline and oil prices increased and transportation rates by railcar and truck increased, causing producers’ farm operation costs to skyrocket.

Tumbleson said those effects are still on the minds of producers and they turn to Congress to make restoration of the nation’s infrastructure system a priority.

“Restoration of the crumbling and inefficient infrastructure along the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, along with updating the levees in the Gulf areas, will aid in ensuring inland waterways and port systems are ready for the future challenges,” he said. “But right now, we are seeing politics playing out, and the constituents are the losers.”

According to a report card released recently by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the nation’s transportation infrastructure was given a D+ or lower. The report card pointed out that by 2020 usage of navigable waterways will double, but 80 percent of today’s waterways will be obsolete. This statistic should scare all producers and companies that rely on competitive and reliable transportation on the river system, Tumbleson said.

“At all costs, we need our grassroots to make the maximum effort and make calls to the Senate Majority Leader and to their own senator’s offices calling for quick action for this bill,” he said. “Overwhelming the Senate with calls will send a very clear message: this legislation is important and vital to the nation’s economic well being whether you are an agriculture producer, a laborer or a consumer.”

NCGA also noted it needs to have assurance from Frist that he will bring WRDA to the Senate floor before the Memorial Day recess.

The House of Representatives passed its WRDA bill, H.R. 2864, last July by a vote of 406-14.  The national scope of WRDA has led 81 U.S. senators to call for action on S. 728 immediately.

The Capitol Hill switchboard number is 202-224-3121. Growers are encouraged to contact both Frist and their state’s senators on April 26. To go to NCGA’s Legislative Action Center to view the call in alert, click here.

To access the ASCE Report Card, click on www.asce.org/reportcard/2005/index.cfm.