Washington, D.C. —
Senator John Thune today sent a letter, signed by a bipartisan group of Senators, urging the Office of Management and Budget to include $35 million in funding for the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System. This request is being made as the Administration works to finalize the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget that will be presented to Congress early next year.
"When completed, Lewis and Clark will provide safe reliable drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people across South Dakota and neighboring states," said Thune. "The Lewis and Clark Project is designed to overcome the regional challenges in securing water, such as shallow wells and increasing demand due to increased agricultural consumption and population growth."
Although Congress still needs to complete action on a number of FY 2008 Appropriation bills - including funding for the Lewis and Clark project - the Senate's FY 2008 Energy and Water Appropriations bill includes $28 million in funding for Lewis and Clark, which is $5.7 million higher than the House passed bill. Both funding levels are higher than the $21 million that Lewis and Clark received in FY 2007.
A PDF of the letter signed by Senators Thune, Johnson, Grassley, Harkin, Coleman, and Klobuchar is available by here.
"When completed, Lewis and Clark will provide safe reliable drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people across South Dakota and neighboring states," said Thune. "The Lewis and Clark Project is designed to overcome the regional challenges in securing water, such as shallow wells and increasing demand due to increased agricultural consumption and population growth."
Although Congress still needs to complete action on a number of FY 2008 Appropriation bills - including funding for the Lewis and Clark project - the Senate's FY 2008 Energy and Water Appropriations bill includes $28 million in funding for Lewis and Clark, which is $5.7 million higher than the House passed bill. Both funding levels are higher than the $21 million that Lewis and Clark received in FY 2007.
A PDF of the letter signed by Senators Thune, Johnson, Grassley, Harkin, Coleman, and Klobuchar is available by here.