Senator Tammy Duckworth is awaiting the president’s signature on a key piece of waterway legislation that will help infrastructure on the Illinois and Mississippi River. Duckworth, who is a member on the Environment and Public Works Committee as well as the Fisheries, Wildllife and Water Subcommittee, is awaiting President Donald Trump’s signature on the 2020 reauthorization of the Water Resources and Development Act. The legislation will help advance modernization of the Illinois lock & dam system and provided approximately $65 million to modernize pump stations on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River.
The 2020 WRDA includes modification and improvements to inland waterway cost-sharing to expedite lock and dam modernizations on the Illinois and Upper Mississippi Rivers. The $65 million provision for pump stations will go towards places like the Sny Levee District and pump stations in Alton to repair or replace degraded pump station equipment by providing the Army Corps of Engineers more resources for construction and improvements. It also provides $25 million for Upper Mississippi dredging efforts to mitigate future flooding problems throughout the water system.
House Resolution 7575 passed the Senate on Monday, and now heads to the President’s desk. Congress has passed the WRDA 4 times in a row, making it one of the most bi-partisan pieces of legislation every two years.