Washington, D.C.-The U.S. House of Representatives on April 9 passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which authorizes nearly $16 billion in funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to modernize locks and dams in key areas such as the upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers. H.R. 1495, sponsored by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), passed by a vote of 394 to 25, and the Senate is expected to take up similar legislation in May. According to the Agricultural Retailers Association, which strongly supports the measure through its affiliation with the National Waterways Coalition, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget issued a statement opposing the legislation, however, citing budgetary reasons. ARA said the legislation “will help improve the nation’s water transportation system and make it more efficient to move agricultural commodities and other agricultural products to market. Enactment of WRDA is essential if the U.S. agricultural industry expects to remain competitive in the global marketplace.”
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