Noem Succeeds in Making Additional Resources Available to Lewis & Clark Project in House-Passed Bill
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Congresswoman Kristi Noem today announced she has successfully led an effort to make additional resources available for rural water projects in the Fiscal Year 2016 Energy and Water appropriations bill without increasing total spending in the bill. The legislation, which passed the House today, would allocate a total of $28.75 million to a rural water project fund that the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System is eligible to draw from. Total funding in the Energy and Water appropriations bill as brought to the floor for debate was $633 million below the president’s funding request.
“It is imperative that the federal government meets the promises it has made to rural areas while still protecting hardworking taxpayers, and this bill helps accomplish that,” said Rep. Noem. “Our local communities have put in more than their share of the funding for Lewis and Clark, but the federal government has not kept its commitment. By not living up to its end of the deal, the federal government is costing taxpayers more money in the long run due to inflation and inaction on projects like Lewis & Clark. The bill passed today includes funding for a rural water account I previously was able to create which could help fund Lewis & Clark at a higher level than the president requested while also not increasing the bill’s overall spending.”
Troy Larson, executive director of the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System said, “It is terribly frustrating that the administration refuses to make rural water construction a priority in its annual budget. Thankfully the House today added another $28.75 million to the Bureau of Reclamation’s Rural Water Program, bringing the proposed total for the FY16 Budget to $47.3 million and matching last year’s total. We still have a long way to go to get overall funding for rural water construction to where it needs to be, but this is a huge improvement over the President’s proposal. We cannot thank Congresswoman Noem and the rest of the tri-state congressional delegation enough for once again going to bat for this critically needed water project. We greatly appreciate the strong support and leadership that she and the rest of the delegation continue to provide.”
The Fiscal Year 2016 Energy and Water appropriations bill specifically allocates $2.774 million in support of the Lewis and Clark project. Additionally, Rep. Noem led an effort with eight other Members to increase overall rural water funding, making an additional $28.75 million available to projects like Lewis and Clark. This brings overall funding for rural water projects to a level equal to what they received last year.
The rural water projects fund was originally created in 2013 as the result of an amendment offered by Rep. Noem to the FY2014 Energy and Water appropriations bill. Lewis and Clark received $5.2 million from that account in addition to the funding specifically allocated to the project in the bill. Rep Noem again offered an amendment in 2014 to the FY2015 Energy and Water appropriations bill, which resulted in an additional $31 million for rural water. Lewis and Clark received $6.6 million from that account in addition to the funding they were originally allocated for the project.
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