In an effort to halt wasteful government spending and protect the flow of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkmeyer (MO-9) today led an effort in Congress to convince federal budget writers to strike funding for a redundant $25 million Missouri River study that already has cost American taxpayers $7.6 million.

In two letters to key members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and the House and Senate committees with relevant jurisdiction over the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Luetkemeyer and other members of Missouri’s congressional delegation joined with members from Illinois and Iowa to call for the elimination of funding for the $25 million Missouri River Authorized Purposes Study (MRAPS). MRAPS follows in the wake of a comprehensive, 17-year, $35 million study completed by the Corps just seven years ago. Congress has already appropriated $7.6 million for MRAPS.

“It is wasteful to conduct another multi-year, multi-million dollar study at taxpayer expense, particularly given the dire state of our nation’s economy,” Luetkemeyer said in the letter to key House leaders including Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers of Kentucky and Ranking Member Norm Dicks of Washington, and Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman John Mica of Florida and Ranking Member Nick Rahall of West Virginia. “At a time when all Americans are being forced to curtail spending, the United States Congress should lead by example and terminate funding of this duplicative study.”

Luetkemeyer, a leading voice on river issues in Congress, pointed out in his letter that the Missouri River authorized uses study completed in 2004 involved hundreds of public meetings, a biological opinion, and extensive litigation. He also reinforced the importance of the current authorized purposes of the Missouri River, which provides water for navigation not only throughout the entire Missouri Basin but also on the Mississippi River.

Members of Missouri’s congressional delegation signing the Luetkemeyer letter are Sen. Roy Blunt, Sen. Claire McCaskill, Rep. Sam Graves, Rep. Todd Akin, Rep. Billy Long, and Rep. Vicky Hartzler. Also signing are Illinois Reps. Adam Kinzinger, Aaron Schock, John Shimkus, Bobby Schilling; and Iowa Reps. Leonard Boswell, Bruce Braley, Dave Loebsack and Steve King.

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