Grassley: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Must Account for Bureaucratic Delays in Flood Control Projects

As the state of Iowa requested, with the support of the congressional delegation, President Obama issued a major disaster declaration for the state, triggering the release of federal funds to help communities recover from the severe storms and flooding that occurred September 21 to October 3, 2016. Sen. Chuck Grassley made the following comment on the disaster declaration and his pressure on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to explain the flawed policy that leads to the downgrading of flood control projects in Iowa cities for funding prioritization.  Cedar Rapids and Des Moines have lost priority under the broken formula.
 
“It’s good news for communities to be declared eligible for federal disaster relief funds.  It would be even better news if the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers fixed its formula that doesn’t make sense and leaves Iowa communities without the flood control projects they need.  I expect answers from the Corps on why the Cedar Rapids flood control project hasn’t been completed and how the Corps calculates the benefit-cost ratios that lead to the downgrading of flood control projects in Iowa cities and across the country.  The Corps needs to respond to Iowa taxpayers.  This agency is set up to work on flood control.  It needs to cut through its own bureaucracy and get the job done.”
 
Grassley and Sen. Joni Ernst have joined forces twice in recent works to get answers from the Corps.  The Grassley-Ernst letter is available here.  An earlier Ernst-Grassley letter is available here.  Grassley gave a speech on the Senate floor expressing frustration with the Corps’ bureaucracy.  

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