Senator Lankford Supports Water Infrastructure Bill

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) made the following statement today in support of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (S. 612), which passed the Senate by a vote of 78 to 21:

“The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act is a solid infrastructure bill that provides much-needed innovation for numerous projects across the nation, and Oklahoma. It authorizes essential navigation, flood control, and restoration projects, many of them backlogged by the Army Corps of Engineers for years. Of particular interest to Oklahomans are provisions for the Port of Catoosa, federal authorization for the southeast Oklahoma water settlement, a property conveyance for the Grand River Dam Authority, and study of the Tulsa levees, which are in serious need of repair. This legislation allows for continued efforts to ensure life and property in the area are properly protected from flood damage. I am pleased that this bill directs the Army Corps of Engineers to complete, within one year, a previously mandated study to determine whether they hold non-essential properties on their inventory, so that we may turn over these non-essential properties to other entities and reduce the burden on the Corps’ maintenance budget. I applaud Senator Inhofe for his tireless work on this bill, and I’m glad Congress has worked together to see this through.”

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