House Passes WRDA With Bipartisan Support, Including Key Components From Rep. Cleaver's Lower Missouri River Flood Prevention Program Act

Press Release

Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the final Water Resources Development Act of 2020 (WRDA), which authorizes $9.9 billion in federal funds for flood control, environmental restoration, coastal protection, and other water resources projects. Major components of the Lower Missouri River Flood Prevention Program Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by United States Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) in the House of Representatives and Senator Roy Blunt in the Senate, were kept in this year's WRDA legislation.

"In recent years, Missouri farmers and ranchers in my congressional district have been faced with increasingly frequent and powerful floods that have wreaked devastation on numerous communities," said Congressman Cleaver. "As these communities have been forced to rebuild their lives and livelihoods time and time again, it is important for Congress to enact a proactive approach that gives flexibility to the Army Corps of Engineers so they can immediately bring relief and protect those along the Lower Missouri River. That was precisely the goal of my bipartisan proposal to address this reoccurring issue, and I'm extremely proud we were able to keep it in this year's WRDA bill, which I hope will be signed into law before the new year."

A major provision from Rep. Cleaver's Lower Missouri River Flood Prevention Program Act that was included in WRDA is the expansion in scope of the Lower Missouri Basin Flood Risk & Resiliency Study, which would:

Identify specific flood risk reduction solutions in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska;
Free the study from traditional cost and duration limitations;
Allow approved projects to proceed directly to preconstruction planning, engineering, and design;
Require additional consultation measures for any recommended actions, including solicitation of public comments;
Provide $24 million over six years to help with technical assistance for disadvantaged communities with populations less than 15,000; and
Mandate the submission of a report to Congress with additional recommendations within the next 3 years.
"With passage of this legislation, communities up and down the Missouri River will have greater adaptability and control of efforts to address the destabilizing floods we continue to see year after year," said Congressman Cleaver. "I believe that's the right approach in this circumstance, and I will continue to advocate for it until this legislation is the law of the land."

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