U.S. Senator Kit Bond, Chairman of the Senate Transportation Infrastructure subcommittee, announced that the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) passed the full Senate in late July. WRDA includes Bond's bipartisan legislation to modernize locks on the upper Mississippi River.

"We cannot be for increased trade, commercial growth, and job creation without supporting the basic transportation infrastructure necessary to move goods from buyers to sellers," said Bond. "New efficiency helps give our producers an edge that can make or break opportunities in the international marketplace.

"One medium-sized barge tow can carry the freight of 870 trucks. That fact alone speaks volumes to the benefits of water. With oil prices over $70 per barrel, consider the advantages of a twin engine barge that can carry the equivalent of 870 trucks. This is critical for both the environment and the economy.

"Without a competitive transportation system, the promise of expanded trade and commercial growth is empty, job opportunities are lost, and we will be unprepared for the global challenges of this new century."

Bond emphasized that passage of WRDA, which authorizes the nation's flood control, ecosystem restoration, and navigation projects is long overdue. For the Midwest, where farmers depend on the lock and dam system to move their products to market, Bond's lock and dam bill is an essential part of WRDA.

Bond's bill authorizes $900 million in federal funds for seven new locks, including $1.6 billion for ecosystem restoration. In addition to replacing the aging infrastructure and environmental restoration, Bond's bill is a critical jobs initiative, creating 48 million man-hours of construction work.

Bond thanked Senators Durbin, Obama, Grassley, Harkin and Talent for supporting the measure and making it a bipartisan success. Bond said it is important to improve the region's aging lock and dam system in order to maintain the 1,000 miles of Missouri and Mississippi River shoreline and inland ports, which serve as the Midwest's arteries to world markets.

Updating the locks and dam system will prepare the country for the projected growth in freight shipping, said Bond. Highway traffic growth is expected to grow from 11 billion tons to 19 billion tons and rail traffic from 2 billion to 3.7 billion tons.

Over the past 35 years, waterborne commerce on the Upper Mississippi River has more than tripled. The system currently carries 70 percent of our nation's corn exports and 45 percent of soybean exports at two-thirds the cost of rail, added Bond.

"We are one step closer to modernizing our waterways so farmers and producers can be more efficient and more competitive," said Bond. "That's how you protect jobs here at home."

The bill now heads to a conference committee with the House of Representatives.

Senators Grassley and Bond at a press conference discussing the Water Resources legislation

Senate Passes Legislation to Expand Domestic Energy Supplies

The U.S. Senate has passed legislation that will increase domestic supplies of oil and natural gas and reduce America's dependence on foreign sources of energy. S. 3711, the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act will open up 8.3 million acres of the Outer Continental Shelf for oil and gas leasing. .

"Demand for energy around the world is skyrocketing, and we are all chasing a shrinking, unstable supply. Every year that we fail to increase our own domestic supply means more jobs lost and greater reliance on foreign imports," said Bond.

Bond has long called for a comprehensive energy policy to address the high cost of energy, provide additional opportunities for energy production and U.S. jobs, and reduce our growing dependence on foreign oil.

At a recent Energy Roundtable in St. Louis, Bond said that the past year's record prices for crude oil, natural gas, gasoline and diesel fuel due to the growing global demand for oil and natural gas have only been made worse by recent geo-political events in the Middle East. Also, much of the nation's energy infrastructure was devastated by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

While the focus is on 'pain at the pump', there is some good news in the energy arena when it comes to renewable fuels, said Bond. Thanks to Senator Jim Talent, last year's Energy bill signed into law includes a strong renewable fuels provision, which allows for the production of 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2012. This will allow for increased production and use of ethanol and bio-diesel and decreased dependence on foreign oil, said Bond.

Missouri farmers and businesses are part of this increased production, said Bond. Currently Missouri has 3 ethanol plants in operation and another five in the construction and planning stages. Missouri's plants join the 97 ethanol bio-refineries nationwide, which have the capacity to produce nearly 4.5 billion gallons annually. Also, 35 new ethanol refineries and nine expansions are underway, with a combined annual capacity of more than an additional 2.2 billion gallons per year.

"Missouri farmers have taken the lead on developing innovative processing facilities to capture more of the value of their products at home. I will continue to fight for policies and opportunities to strengthen and expand Missouri's agriculture industry," said Bond.

While increased production of renewable fuels, such as ethanol, is an important success, the U.S. has largely failed to develop additional alternative energy sources such as clean coal technologies. No new nuclear power plants or refineries have been built since the 1970s. There has been no new oil exploration above the Arctic Circle in Alaska. New wind power has been rejected miles off the ocean-front homes of Cape Cod, and there has been no off shore development miles off the Florida and California coasts. Bond has emphasized that the United States must repeal this established energy policy, "NIMBY," - not in my backyard - to create a comprehensive policy in the nation's best interest.

"The Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act is a step in the right direction," Bond said. The legislation now heads to a conference committee with the House of Representatives.

Senator Bond with Roger Hill, the General Manager of Golden Triangle Energy Corporation in Craig, Missouri

Bond Secures $5 Million for Biotech Center at Mizzou

U.S. Senator Kit Bond announced that he has secured $5 million in federal funds for the National Plant and Genetics Security Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia, one of his top funding priorities this year.

"The research done here will result in better health and better nutrition for all of us. When scientists find safer and more environmentally-friendly ways to kill insects and weeds, farmers can produce more food at a lower price," said Bond. "When they study the genetic make-up of corn and soybeans, they help farmers grow more nutritious crops, which will translate into better health for American families and families around the world."

Bond secured the $5 million for the Center in the fiscal year 2007 Agriculture Appropriations bill. The bill passed the full Senate Appropriations Committee June 22, 2006.

The federal dollars will be used to construct a National Plant Genetics and Security Center. The facility will be architecturally and programmatically integrated into the existing Life Sciences Center on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus. In previous years, Bond secured $11 million for the Agriculture Research Service at Mizzou, which focuses on biological control of insects, cropping systems and water quality, and plant genetics.

Bond has been Congress' leading advocate of the new biotechnology revolution, earmarking over $450 million for plant genomics. He has secured $31 million for the Life Sciences Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia and millions for facilities in Kansas City, St. Louis and the Bootheel, including the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Missouri Botanical Garden and the University of Missouri Greenhouse.

Before being signed into law the agriculture spending bill must be passed by the full U.S. Senate and reconciled with the House of Representatives' bill.