Luetkemeyer's Missouri River Amendments Save Taxpayer Dollars, Help Communities

Interview

In an effort to save taxpayer dollars and help communities along the Missouri River who faced severe flooding last year, U.S. Rep Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-9) today successfully led efforts to pass two critical amendments prohibiting funding of the Missouri River Ecosystem Restoration Plan (MRERP) and the Missouri River Authorized Purposes Study (MRAPS).

The Luetkemeyer amendments passed as part of the Energy and Water Appropriations Act Fiscal Year 2013. Luetkemeyer successfully sought to halt the funding for both MRERP and MRAPS in the Fiscal 2012 budget.

"MRERP and MRAPS are not the solutions to the needs of Missourians living along the river. We don't need a multi-year study to tell us that flood control is important, and the residents and businesses deserve meaningful action that does more than waste taxpayer resources," Luetkemeyer said. "I am pleased that my colleagues in the House joined with me to halt funding for these programs and as we move forward I will continue to support other wasteful spending programs that reins in government spending."

MRERP was created to study potential habitat loss. The prohibition of MRERP would not put the Army Corps of Engineers in jeopardy of violating requirements in the Endangered Species Act. Instead, this amendment would eliminate one of the many ecosystem studies along the Missouri River. MRAPS was first created as an earmark in order to study the authorized purposes of the Missouri River, including flood control, navigation, fish and wildlife and recreation. MRAPS has already cost American taxpayers $7.6 million.

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