Sen. Roy Blunt (Getty Images photo via DayLife)
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Due to a continuing moratorium in Congress, lawmakers may have a tougher time directing funds to their districts. Some lawmakers fear the biggest funding challenge will be appropriating money for projects by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, like the ones along the Missouri river following flooding last year.
“Funding is going to be a problem,” said U.S. Rep. Blaine Leuktemeyer, R-Columbia, to a group of Missouri River and levee stakeholders in Columbia.
Before the ban, if a lawmaker wanted to direct funds to a Corps project, like several needing to happen along the Missouri river, they could simply add an amendment to an appropriations bill to do so. But now, under an extended ban on earmarks, the ability to fund projects is based on a competitive process.
“Our inland ports have never been dredged unless somebody put in the bill, ‘this money is to dredge the port at Brothersville,’ or some other port. That’s just the way the Corp has worked,” said Sen. Roy Blunt, R. “The very people that began to direct the Corp that way were in some cases the people who had written the Constitution.”
U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D., disagrees that earmarks should be needed to fund river projects. McCaskill, who has recently led the fight in Congress to ban earmarks permanently, said she feels the state will be better served in competing for federal funds, instead of the fund going to other states home to powerful appropriators.
“Here’s the dirty little secret: If we did projects along the river based on need, last time I looked, Missouri had more than its share of rivers,” she said in an interview. “Missouri is going to be just fine getting funding for our water projects if we do it on need, and we’ll quit funding projects that aren’t needed.”
Last year, due to significant flooding along the river, and serious tornado damage in Joplin, Missouri has, in fact, needed and benefited from significant federal funds. Millions of federal dollars and grants have gone to Joplin and flooding recovery through the normal, competitive appropriations process.
Gov. Jay Nixon said he feels Missouri has been served well by Congress.
“It wasn’t by any stretch an earmark, but I thought the effort done by congress to put an additional $300 million because of natural disasters across the country this year was important,” Nixon said Saturday, after speaking to the levee group. “It just put additional dollars in to the budgets that can now be drawn down under the formulas and the processes that are there.”
While the group is split on earmarks, they are in agreement about what they feel the number one priority of the corp should be. Each lawmaker, in speeches to the association, said the corp should prioritize flood control in their efforts moving forward.
McCaskill and Blunt established the Missouri River Working Group in congress, and are joined by every lawmaker from Missouri. Nixon has repeatedly met with a group of governors from river states. Both groups have reiterated their hope that the corps will focus on flood control.
email: eli [at] politicmo.com | phone: 417.597.3873 | twitter: @eyokley 
