As the Representative of the 3rd Congressional District of Missouri, Blaine is committed to representing the interests of hard-working people by being a strong voice for them in Congress.
Representing the 13 counties that make up the 3rd Congressional District of Missouri, Blaine is a native of St. Elizabeth, MO where his family has lived for four generations.
Along with his strong agriculture background, Blaine is a small businessman, having been in the banking and insurance industry for over 30 years. He also served as a bank regulator for the state of Missouri earlier in his career.
As a farmer, I am proud to bring real-world experience and perspective to Congress. For the heartland to succeed in our global economy, we must lessen government regulation of American agriculture and encourage the expansion of markets for Missouri goods. Our farmers work hard to put food on our tables and in our grocery stores. I strongly support polices that support family farms, reduce barriers to entry, and promote U.S. agriculture exports. Additionally, I will continue working with my colleagues in congress to ensure that Americans continue to enjoy the most safe, affordable, and abundant food supply in the world.
FY22 COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING REQUESTS
Project Name: Upper Mississippi River – Illinois WW System, IL, IA, MN, MO & WI program
Request Amount: $22.5 million
Intended Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District
Address: 1500 Rock Island Drive, Rock Island, IL 61201
Explanation of request: The Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP) has widespread bipartisan support from the five states on the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) and the support of industry, America’s building trades, and environmental groups. Unfortunately, delays in construction continue to threaten the reliability of the overall productivity of the waterway. Shippers have legitimate concerns about the age of this structure and increases in planned and emergency lock outages. According to a study prepared for the National Waterways Foundation and the U.S. Maritime Administration, estimated costs of an unplanned closure of Lock 25 alone, which is located near Winfield, Missouri, would result in a $1.57 billion loss to the economy, impacting 132 counties in 17 states. Many farmers and businesses in MO-03 rely on the Upper Mississippi River to ship crops or goods to market, but America’s competitiveness in foreign markets shrinks each year without a new start. With 60 percent of our nation’s grain exports traveling on the UMRS, we cannot afford to let this situation worsen. NESP provides the opportunity to address these reliability issues, protect this infrastructure from catastrophic failure and provide roughly 10,000 construction jobs over the lifetime of the program, which is about 20 years of construction.
--
Project Name: Upper Mississippi River Comprehensive Plan
Request Amount: $1 million
Intended Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District
Address: 1500 Rock Island Drive, Rock Island, IL 61201
Explanation of request: The planning efforts for this project will address flood-related bottlenecks, prepare for long-duration drought events, and develop more strategies for more effectively managing sediment. As a result, the project will improve flood resiliency, navigation, and habitat restoration efforts. This project will protect lives, livelihoods, homes, businesses, and public infrastructure from dangerous flood events along the Upper Mississippi River.
--
Project Name: Osage River Ecosystem Restoration, Brockman Springs Road
Request Amount: $275,000
Intended Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District
Address: 601 East 12th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106
Explanation of request: The project will protect Brockman Springs Road, farmland and environmental degradation, specifically streambank erosion, loss of aquatic/riparian habitats, sedimentation, impacts to T&E mussel species, degraded navigation dike structures, and long-term impacts to surrounding agriculture/infrastructure. The 1135 project would look at reach-specific needs and problems within the Brockman Springs Road area and identify restoration techniques that could also be used and applied in the broader Lower Osage River GI Study, resulting in a systemic approach to address overall Lower Osage river problems.
--
Project Name: Lower Missouri Jefferson City L-142
Request Amount: $1.5 million
Intended Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District
Address: 601 East 12th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106
Explanation of request: The project is to prepare a plan for a levee system that will greatly reduce recurring flooding and flood damages on the north bank of the Missouri River at Jefferson City, MO, including the Airport and numerous medium and large sized businesses, and a large agricultural area. The area has been impacted by damaging flooding in 1993, 1995, 2007 and in 2019 which has serious economic and infrastructure impacts to the region.
--
Project Name: Jefferson City Memorial Airport Air Traffic Control Tower Reconstruction
Request Amount: $3,400,000
Intended Recipient: City of Jefferson
Address: 500 Airport Road, Jefferson City, Missouri 65101
Explanation of request: The existing Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) at Jefferson City Memorial Airport was originally constructed in 1973 as a temporary structure and has served approximately two million operations during its 48-year history. The equipment and infrastructure of the ATCT is outdated and beyond repair and needs to be updated. Additionally, the current size of the tower does not meet current FAA standards and does not meet airfield line of sight recommendations. The reconstruction will help the ATCT meet current FAA standards and recommendations while also enhancing the safety and operations of the airport.
--
Project Name: Centertown Wastewater Collection System
Request Amount: $8,686,000
Intended Recipient: Village of Centertown
Address: 1227 Broadway Street, Centertown, Missouri 65023
Explanation of request: The age and condition of the many septic tanks currently within the Village of Centertown pose a threat to the local community and nearby rivers. A central wastewater system will help correct problems that have arisen from the aging and undersize septic system and provide a safer and more long-term solution for the community.
--
Project Name: Center for Agricultural Animal Genetic Engineering and Health
Request Amount: $4 million
Intended Recipient: University of Missouri - Columbia
Address: 2-64 Agriculture Building, Columbia, Missouri 65201
Explanation of Request: A new Agriculture Research Service (ARS) Research Lab at the Center for Agricultural Animal Genetic Engineering and Health would meet the need for producing genetic variant animals for research and act as a hub for animal genetic research to improve animal health and yields that will benefit the livestock industry in Missouri and across the country.
--
FY23 COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING REQUESTS
Project Name: Co-Mo Connect: Tantara Broadband Expansion Project
Request Amount: $960,150
Intended Recipient: Co-Mo Connect
Address: 29868 MO-5, Tipton, MO 65081
Explanation of Request: This project would deploy a massive fiber-to-the-home project at the Lake of the Ozarks to expand their growing network and connect the heart of Mid-Missouri to a high-speed broadband network. Specifically, it will deliver broadband to 801 homes and businesses in the region.
--
Project Name: Gasconade County Sheriff's Office Expansion
Request Amount: $30,000
Intended Recipient: Gasconade County Sheriff’s Office
Address: 119 1st St. Room 22, Hermann, MO 65041
Explanation of Request: This project would utilize funds to develop plans to construct a new office for the Sheriff's Department in Gasconade County, MO. As the principal law enforcement agency in the county the citizens and those who visit the county would benefit tremendously from an up to date, modern facility in which to operate, maintain records and store evidence.
--
Project Name: Center for Agricultural Animal Genetic Engineering and Health
Request Amount: $6 million
Intended Recipient: University of Missouri - Columbia
Address: 2-64 Agriculture Building, Columbia, Missouri 65201
Explanation of Request: A new Agriculture Research Service (ARS) Research Lab at the Center for Agricultural Animal Genetic Engineering and Health would meet the need for producing genetic variant animals for research and act as a hub for animal genetic research to improve animal health and yields that will benefit the livestock industry in Missouri and across the country.
--
Project Name: Aspire Partnership Vocational Skills Training/Certificate Program
Request Amount: $40,000
Intended Recipient: North East Community Action Corporation
Address: 11 Woodcrest Drive, Troy, MO 63379
Explanation of Request: The overall objective off this program is to reduce recidivism, which studies have shown that immediate access to employment reduces recidivism. The funds would be spent for a vocational skills training/certificate program that allow the participants to hone important technical skills. The on-the-job vocational skills program would make them eligible to earn the necessary certifications to immediately qualify for an apprenticeship with the carpenter’s union signatory contractors upon release. This skills training will help formerly incarcerated participants effectively transition back into their communities.
--
Project Name: Next Generation University of Missouri Research Reactor (NextGen MURR)
Request Amount: $20 million
Intended Recipient: University of Missouri - Columbia
Address: 1513 Research Park Drive, Columbia, MO 65211
Explanation of Request: This funding would be used to begin the design and planning work necessary for the eventual construction of a 20-megawatt research reactor specifically designed and built to produce critical short-lived medical radioisotopes for use in diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals that are needed by cancer patients across the nation. This expanded capability will compliment and strengthen the life-saving medical research being conducted at the MU NextGen Precision Health facility by adding world-class capabilities in medical radioisotopes, nuclear medicine, and molecular imaging as well as creating a national cluster for innovation in drug discovery.
--
Project Name: Lake Area Counties Against Human Trafficking and Organized Crime Program
Request Amount: $505,000
Intended Recipient: Camden County Prosecutor’s Office
Address: 1 Ct Cir NW Ste. 10, Camdenton, MO 65020
Explanation of Request: This project would help support local law enforcement in identifying, disrupting, and prosecuting criminal networks that are engaging in human trafficking, drug trafficking, financial crimes and other criminal activity traveling to, and operating in, the Lake of the Ozarks region.
--
Project Name: Lower Missouri Jefferson City L-142
Request Amount: $1.2 million
Intended Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District
Address: 601 East 12th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106
Explanation of Request: The project would utilize funding to prepare a plan for a levee system that will greatly reduce recurring flooding and flood damages on the north bank of the Missouri River at Jefferson City, MO, including the Airport and numerous medium and large sized businesses, and a large agricultural area. The project will protect over 1,000 jobs. The area has been impacted by damaging flooding in 1993, 1995, 2007 and in 2019 which has serious economic and infrastructure impacts to the region. The City of Jefferson City, the State of Missouri, and the business community have formed a partnership intent on moving forward with a project to protect critical investment and lives from future flooding.
--
Project Name: St. Louis Riverfront, Meramec River Basin, Missouri & Illinois.
Request Amount: $500,000
Intended Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District
Address: 1222 Spruce Street, St. Louis, MO 63103
Explanation of Request: Prepare and execute a Design Agreement with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, initiate and complete design of a bank stabilization and sediment capture basin project on the Big River in Jefferson County, Missouri. This bank stabilization design will include the use of weirs and stream barbs, biotechnical stabilization of the upper bank, tree plantings, and grade control of a tributary stream. This package will allow for complete Plans and Specifications to be on the shelf and ready for construction.
--
Project Name: Upper Mississippi River – Illinois WW System, IL, IA, MN, MO & WI
Request Amount: $25 million
Intended Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District
Address: 1500 Rock Island Drive, Rock Island, IL 61201
Explanation of Request: NESP will address improvements to roughly the busiest one-fifth of UMR-IWW locks in the system of 1,175 miles of commercially navigable waters. NESP’s authorization includes constructing new lock chambers of 1,200-feet in length at Lock & Dam 20, 21, 22, 24, and 25 on the Upper Mississippi River, and at LaGrange Lock and Peoria Lock on the Illinois Waterway. Other navigation efficiencies include construction of mooring facilities, lock guidewalls, switchboats to aid lockages and mitigation projects.
--
Project Name: East Central College Streaming Technology
Request Amount: $1 million
Intended Recipient: East Central College
Address: 1964 Prairie Dell Road, Union, Mo 63084
Explanation of Request: The funding will allow the campus to be able to enhance and fully equip 78 classrooms and lab spaces across East Central College's Union campus with technology that will enhance distance learning as well as streaming/web conferencing abilities to expand student and faculty communication and engagement.
--
Project Name: Compass Health, Inc. Eldon, MO Clinic
Request Amount: $1 million
Intended Recipient: Compass Health, Inc.
Address: 111 Mexico Court, St. Peters, MO 63376
Explanation of Request: This funding will be used to support the overall cost of a new healthcare clinic in Eldon, MO. Through this facility expansion, Compass Health will be able to increase the availability of services and treatment programs as well as our professional workforce for a rural community and meet the growing demand of the local community for clinically effective, accessible, and affordable mental health and substance use disorder treatment services.
--
Project Name: Centertown Wastewater System
Request Amount: $6 million
Intended Recipient: Village of Centertown
Address: 1227 Broadway Street, Centertown, Missouri 65023
Explanation of Request: The age and condition of the many septic tanks currently within the Village of Centertown pose a threat to the local community and nearby rivers. A central wastewater system will help correct problems that have arisen from the aging and undersize septic system and provide a safer and more long-term solution for the community.
--
Project Name: Washington Regional Airport Runway Extension and Expansion
Request Amount: $6.174 million
Intended Recipient: City of Washington
Address: 12958 State Hwy 47, Marthasville, MO 63357
Explanation of Request: The current airfield is designed to B-II standards which are based upon slower moving turbine powered aircraft. The runway extension and widening will upgrade the facility to C-II standards which is designed to accommodate faster moving jet powered aircraft. While the current facility is designed around the B-II standard there are several C class aircraft that operate at the airport on a regular basis. Additionally, by upgrading the airport will improve the ability of community to attract businesses and users that fly larger and faster aircrafts.
--
Project Name: Rock Island Trail State Park Development
Request Amount: $5 million
Intended Recipient: Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Address: 1101 Riverside Drive, Jefferson City, MO 65201
Explanation of Request: The Rock Island Corridor is a 144.3-mile section of the former Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad that runs from Windsor, MO to Beaufort, MO. Owned by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, this trail will further enhance Missouri as a destination for outdoor activities and help foster further economic development in 22 rural towns along the corridor. The requested funding will be used to further develop the trail, specifically to construct trail surface, convert bridges and tunnels for trail use, and develop trailheads in communities along the trail corridor.
--
Project Name: Interchange Improvements at I-70, Kingdom City, Missouri
Request Amount: $8.739 million
Intended Recipient: Missouri Department of Transportation
Address: Kingdom City, MO
Explanation of Request: This project will make much needed improvements to the intersection located at I-70 in Kingdom City, Missouri and help enhance the flow of traffic.
Due to reckless federal spending, the federal budget has ballooned to an unsustainable level. I have supported numerous measures to freeze funding for, and often cut, numerous federal programs. I remain firm in the belief that the nation's fiscal crisis cannot be left for the next generation to solve and that a balance budget is the only real solution to reining in our ballooning deficits, living within our means and paying down the national debt. Every day, Missouri families and businesses make tough choices to balance their own budgets, and the federal government should do the same.
Service members who have selflessly sacrificed for our country deserve the best we have to offer. Our superiority of land, air, sea, and space is critical to preserving our way of life and being a stabilizing force in the world. Providing for the common defense is the federal government's number one responsibility. I will continue working with my colleagues in Congress to ensure our troops have the resources and state-of-the-art equipment necessary to complete their missions and return home safely to a grateful nation. Our national security is my top priority and I will continue supporting legislation that puts America and its people first.
As a former student of the public school system and son of a schoolteacher, I understand the importance of quality education. I believe every child should have the same access to educational opportunities to learn and grow, and those opportunities are produced through local control. Parents and local educators know the best way to provide for the unique needs of their students, not bureaucrats in Washington.
In order to create the most effective and sustainable education programs, we must move away from a one-size-fits-all education system. Missouri’s third district is home to a range of higher education institutions including community colleges, career and technical educational institutions, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Specifically, career and technical education programs must be utilized to provide the skills training necessary to fill jobs in our communities and meet the demands of our expanding workforce. I will continue working with my colleagues in Congress to advance policies that support continuing and higher education institutions in providing for our nation’s students.
Ever-increasing energy costs are making it more difficult for Missouri families to make ends meet, for local businesses to stay competitive, and for you to purchase affordable goods. I support an all-of-the-above energy plan that develops our own domestic resources, including oil from Alaska and the Gulf, natural gas, coal, nuclear power, along with alternative sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, and hydropower. This comprehensive strategy will lower prices, create new American jobs, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, strengthen our national security, and generate revenue to help tackle our out of control national debt.
Before serving in Congress, I spent more than 30 years in the financial services industry. I have seen firsthand the important role local financial institutions play in helping families realize the American dream. We live in a world where banking is becoming more concentrated and lending is constrained.
Touching on my wide-ranging experience as a bank examiner, small businessman, insurance agent, and community banker, I serve on the House Financial Services Committee. In addition, I serve as Ranking Member of the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee and a member of the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee.
One of my goals in Congress has been to provide an environment where American families can succeed thanks to economic freedom and hard work. I have seen firsthand the hardships Missourians encounter when they have lost access to credit, experienced increased costs and fewer services, and have faced a restricted ability to get a mortgage, buy a new car or grow a business. I will continue to be an advocate for main street Missouri and work to ensure that taxpayers are not left on the hook for any failings of our financial system.
Congress must work to improve the quality of American health care through conservative solutions that put families, doctors, and states back in charge. I remain committed to overturning Obamacare and fulfilling our promise to the American people to lower premiums, preserve the doctor-patient relationship, incentivize individuals to purchase coverage, and reduce the overall tax burden on Americans.
We must also work to improve access to care for vulnerable populations, including rural communities and our seniors. I have long voiced the need to address the critical healthcare shortages in rural communities and will continue supporting innovative policies that ensure access to emergency care and respond to rural hospital and primary care clinic closures. Additionally, I support protecting Medicare for today's seniors and future generations and reforming Medicaid to focus on our nation’s most vulnerable patients.
This country was founded by immigrants who brought their entrepreneurial and brave spirit to our nation. The United States is a welcoming nation but also a nation of laws. Through those laws we have continued to prosper as a world power and model of democracy. The government has a duty to ensure these laws are enforced to protect our citizens and remain the leader of the free world. To that end, I am vehemently opposed to sanctuary cities that willfully ignore federal immigration laws and allow dangerous criminal illegal aliens to remain in our country and on our streets.
I am strongly opposed to amnesty and believe it is inherently unfair to legal immigrants who have spent years playing by the rules to come to the United States. I am equally ardent in my belief that we must secure our border. Without a secure border, the United States will continue to encounter surges of immigrants with American taxpayers left to foot the bill. Illegal entry poses a danger to not only our national security, but also our economy. The American people can no longer afford the federal government's inaction when it comes to enforcing our immigration laws.
As the elected representatives of the people, we all must take to heart the oath that we took to support and defend this important document. For over 200 years, the words ‘We the People’ and all that follow have served as a beacon of democratic ideals across the globe, and we must remain vigilant in protecting the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.
The gift of life is an inherent right bestowed on each and every human being at the moment of conception. The act of abortion targets our most vulnerable population: unborn children. It is impossible to comprehend the number of lives lost because they were destroyed in the womb. As your representative in Congress, I continue fighting to end the cruelty of abortion and stand up for the unborn by advocating for strong pro-life policies.
There is no doubt in my mind that the strength of our great nation is tied to the stability of our families. Families provide a nurturing, safe and loving environment for our children to grow and succeed. As a strong believer in the right to life, I will continue supporting organizations that provide women who cannot care for a child on their own with alternative options to ensure their child receives love, support, and care.
When I was sworn in as your representative to Congress, I took an oath to defend the Constitution and the civil liberties it guarantees. I take that oath very seriously and am an ardent protector of these rights, including the right bear arms. Very simply, I am a lifelong gun enthusiast and strong supporter of the Second Amendment, as this right is essential to our liberty.
America’s seniors are important to our society but are too often taken for granted. Many have put their lives on the line and sacrificed much so that we can be a free, prosperous nation. We have a responsibility to protect the best interests of seniors and ensure that we do no harm to the benefits they already receive. For seniors who live on fixed incomes, the prospect of being forced to pay more for health-care is truly frightening. During these difficult economic times, when many are already struggling to make ends meet, raising seniors’ health-care costs will only make their hardships worse.
Please know that I am committed to finding permanent solutions to fix the many issues facing both Medicare and Social Security so that we can preserve these programs for future beneficiaries while continuing to honor our commitments to those at or near retirement age.
Small businesses are the heart and soul of Main Street in every community across Missouri and they are the number one driver of new job creation in our nation. As a former small business owner, I know what it is like to meet a payroll. This Congress, I am proud to serve as the Vice Chair of the House Small Business Committee. In addition the full Committee, I also serve on the Health and Technology Subcommittee and the Agriculture, Energy, and Trade Subcommittee.
The House has passed dozens of pro-growth job measures to get government out of the way. I will continue to support and push for policies that do not over regulate our nation's job creators. In the 115th Congress, I have supported measures that reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses, improve broadband access, and lower taxes for small businesses across the country. The government needs to get out of the way and let the private sector do what it does best, which is to help grow our nation's economy and put Americans back to work.
One of the first actions of this Congress was to pass the Regulatory Accountability Act. This legislation seeks to curb burdensome regulations across every industry and business group to spur economic growth and create jobs. Included in this legislation is the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act. This legislation specifically addresses regulations facing small businesses by requiring additional agency analysis of how a rule specifically impacts small businesses. I was proud to support the Regulatory Accountability Act when it passed the House of Representatives in January and am pleased this provision regarding small businesses was included in order to give them relief from burdensome government regulations
The Tax Cut and Jobs Act has already been an incredible success. On average Missouri families have seen savings of at least $2,000. Tax reform has greatly helped families who have struggled to make ends meet over the previous 10 years as Americans faced slow economic growth and relatively stagnant wages. Families now have new savings options to plan for education and retirement, as well as penalty-free withdrawals for childbirth and adoption.
For years, we have seen American jobs being sent overseas. In response to tax reform, U.S. competitiveness has increased and it is now possible to bring trillions of dollars back to our Nation. Under the tax code, we improved the way small business income is treated giving main street businesses and family farms immediate deductions on the full cost of new equipment, making it easier to create more jobs, and investing in our local communities.
Free and fair trade is a no-cost economic stimulus package for agriculture and our entire economy. I will continue supporting efforts to level the playing field and benefit American agriculture, manufacturing, and the economy at large. At the end of the day, it is simply not enough to buy American; we must sell American. With free and fair-trade agreements in place, we can create jobs and fuel the economy without spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.
I support President Trump’s work to negotiate better deals for the United States with our allies and trading partners. By ensuring our trade deals are fair and reciprocal we can ensure our workers, businesses, farmers, and ranchers are able to face the challenges of the 21st century economy.
Our nation owes much to the brave men and women who served this country with honor and distinction. Not only do they deserve our gratitude, but we also need recognize the sacrifices they made in defense of our great nation to protect the liberties that we enjoy. Without our nation’s veterans, we would not have the rights and privileges that we take for granted as Americans each and every day. Our veterans are the reason that our nation stands as a shining example for other freedom-loving nations around world.
In the 115th Congress, I have proudly supported these pieces of legislation to empower our nation's veterans:
H.R. 1181, the Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act, would prevent VA bureaucrats from infringing upon the Second Amendment rights of our veterans, instead requiring a judicial authority to make that ruling
H.R. 1259, the VA Accountability First Act, which would provide the VA secretary increased flexibility to remove, demote, or suspend VA employees, including Senior Executive Service Employees, for performance or misconduct
H.R. 27, the Ensuring VA Employee Accountability Act, which would ensure the VA holds its employees accountable for the mismanagement of our veterans health-care and that only qualified and responsible individuals advance and retain VA positions
H.R. 2288, the VA Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act, which reforms the VA appeals process to alleviate the astronomical wait times for VA appeals by providing veterans with additional choices with their claim I was proud to support this legislation and am pleased it was signed into law by President Trump on August 23, 2017
Thousands of Missourians live along the banks of our state’s rivers, streams and lakes. I am committed to continuing my work on many important issues facing our water resources, including channel and stream bank degradation, flood protection, navigation, and property rights.
We need to focus on protecting human life and property and maintaining the safety and soundness of our levees. We must also support the important commercial advantages provided to us by the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers and our inland waterways system which serve as an important tool in both domestic and international trade.
I continue working with stakeholder groups and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal agencies to ensure that our rivers and streams stay safe and clean, while allowing all Missourians to have access to and utilize these bodies of water to the fullest extent possible.
As a lifelong resident of the Lake of the Ozarks area, I have a special appreciation for the many benefits -- both economic and recreational -- that come from our fresh waters. I will continue to be an advocate for sound water resources policy and protection of landowner rights.
--
Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2022 Environmental Infrastructure Project Request
Project Name: Centertown Wastewater System
Project Location: Centertown, Missouri 65023; Cole County
Congressional District: MO-03
Project Sponsor: Village of Centertown
Requested Amount: $15.9 million
The federal highway and transit programs legislation -- the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act, a Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) -- was signed into law on August 10, 2005, and expired on September 30, 2009. Since that time, the federal government has been operating on a series of short-term extensions. In order to provide certainty and make the much-needed investments in our nation’s roads and bridges, it’s time for Congress to pass a long-term transportation bill. The short-term extensions have created an atmosphere of uncertainty that has prevented progress on important infrastructure projects. I think we can agree that Congress should not continually kick the can down the road and needs to take bold action. For the first time in seven years, the House is currently considering a long-term surface transportation bill that would authorize funding for the federal highway system, off-system bridges and other important transportation and infrastructure programs. This bill would also delegate more power to the states to set funding priorities.
In an effort to ensure farmers have timely access to the supplies they need to be successful, Rep. Sam Graves and I successfully secured language in the proposed highway bill that would exempt truck drivers transporting certain agricultural products from current Department of Transportation restrictions. The proposal reinforces existing law by clarifying that a driver transporting farm supplies from source to retail, source to farm and retail to farm is included under existing Agriculture Hours-of-Service (AgHOS) regulations. The measure, which has been studied by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to determine any possible safety implications, extends the AgHOS exemption for a motor carrier in the distribution system provided that the motor carrier is delivering farm supplies for agricultural purposes where none of the transportation movements exceed a 150 air-mile radius.
FMCSA, the federal entity charged with promulgating AgHOS regulations, has recognized the need for an exemption to their motor carrier regulations. In 2010, Rep. Graves and I were successful in securing a two-year waiver for the delivery of anhydrous ammonia that runs through October 9, 2012.
To support our nation’s transportation infrastructure, I have cosponsored:
• H.R.3265, To amend the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 to provide clarification regarding the applicability of exemptions relating to the transportation of agricultural commodities and farm supplies
• H.R.2426, To amend title 23, United States Code, to limit claims in connection with decisions to issue permits, licenses, and approvals for highway and public transportation capital projects