Press Releases
Luetkemeyer, Graves Call on Budget Writers to Halt River Study that Wastes Taxpayer Dollars
Washington, DC,
May 6, 2010
U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-9) and U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (MO-6) today demanded that congressional budget writers halt a study about the Missouri River that is wasting millions of dollars of hard-earned taxpayer dollars.
U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-9) and U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (MO-6) today demanded that congressional budget writers halt a study about the Missouri River that is wasting millions of dollars of hard-earned taxpayer dollars. Luetkemeyer and Graves, both members of the House Agriculture Committee, sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee to cancel funding for the study in the next budget. The study, which has cost taxpayers $7.6 million in the last two fiscal years, is being conducted even though a similar 15-year study was completed in 2004 at a cost of $35 million. “For many communities in our districts, few things are as important as flood control, water supply, power and navigation. Nevertheless, we find the Missouri River Authorized Purposes Study to be wasteful and repetitive,” Luetkemeyer and Graves wrote to House Appropriations Chairman David Obey and Ranking Member Jerry Lewis. “To say that the study is redundant and counterproductive would be an understatement. Given the Federal budget deficit and current state of the U.S. economy, we encourage you to end future funding for this study.” The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans on holding about 30 public hearings to gather comments about the study, which is re-examining whether additional changes should be made in a nearly 70 year-old law defining the purposes for dams and reservoirs on the Missouri River including flood control, hydropower, water supply, irrigation, navigation, recreation, water quality, and fish and wildlife.
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