Durbin Meets with Illinois Farm Bureau President Phil Nelson to Discuss Water Resources Development Act and Other Illinois Isues
DURBIN MEETS WITH ILLINOIS FARM BUREAU PRESIDENT PHIL NELSON TO DISCUSS WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT AND OTHER ILLINOIS ISSUES
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), who serves on the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, today met with the president of the Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB), Phil Nelson, to discuss the importance of the Water and Resources Development Act (WRDA). This bipartisan legislation includes Congressional authorization for locks and dam modernization on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers which is sponsored by Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) and cosponsored by fellow Midwest Senators Jim Talent (R-MO) and Tom Harkin (D-IA). Durbin also discussed issues important to Illinois farmers likely to be addressed in the 2007 Farm Bill.
"Passing WRDA will mean over 50,000 new jobs for the region, shorter shipping times, and improved business for Midwest producers along the River," said Durbin. "The Mississippi River transports $12 billion worth of products every year, affecting agriculture, commercial, and labor interests across the state. Phil Nelson and I discussed the need to quickly bring this bill to the floor for a vote."
WRDA authorizes specific projects for navigation, ecosystem restoration, and flood and storm damage reduction. The most significant provision in the bill would increase lock and dam capacity and improve the ecosystem of the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. Sixty percent of all U.S. corn exports are shipped to export markets on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers, including more than half of Illinois' annual corn crop. The legislation would authorize $2.3 billion for replacing and upgrading locks and dams and another $1.58 billion for ecosystem restoration.
At today's meeting, Durbin updated Nelson on the status of WRDA. In the first six months of this year, Durbin has repeatedly called for the bill be brought to the Senate floor for a vote. The legislation is now on the Senate legislative calendar, but is being held because of objections from some Senate Republicans. On February 16, Durbin joined a group of 80 senators from both political parties asking for floor time to debate WRDA. The House version of WRDA passed by a 406-14 margin in July of last year.
Durbin and Nelson also discussed the 2007 Farm Bill. The Farm Bill will likely contain a number of provisions important to Illinois farmers including improving protections for farmers in the event of natural disasters such as droughts and flooding, modifying the current commodity support programs, maintaining nutrition programs like Food Stamps and the Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) and increasing federal support for innovative renewable energy projects. House and Senate Agriculture Committees are currently holding hearings around the country to gather information from farmers and other stakeholders on a variety of topics, including crop insurance, commodity programs, rural development, renewable energy and others. The Agriculture Committee is expected to begin writing the Farm Bill next year.
Nelson is in Washington this week for the annual Farm Bureau State Presidents' meeting.
http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=258520&&