Taxpayer Groups Blast Mississippi River Legislation: Embattled Locks Project Mired in Controversy Given Boost by Neighboring Senators

Washington, D.C. - New legislation that re-ignites parochial efforts to soak taxpayers for one of the most wasteful water boondoggles in the nation was criticized today by two prominent national taxpayer advocacy groups as a blatant election-year power play. Both organizations plan to fight the bill all the way to the Senate floor.

The new legislation authorizes construction of seven new locks on the Mississippi and IllinoisRivers. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ economic study on this multi-billion dollar lock project has been under a cloud of controversy of years. In 2000, a senior Corps economist disclosed that Corps officials were manipulating data in order to justify the project, an accusation that was corroborated by the U.S. Army Inspector General and others.

“As Yogi Berra once said, it’s like déjà vu all over again. These Senators are saying damn the taxpayers and full speed ahead on the multi-billion dollar boondoggle,” said Steve Ellis, Vice President of Programs at Taxpayers for Common Sense, a national budget watchdog organization. “The ink isn’t even dry on the Corps of Engineers ‘do over’ study, and they’re trying to shove this greased pig through the Capitol doors.”

The legislation was introduced by Senators Bond (R-MO), Talent (R-MO), Harkin (D-IA), Grassley (R-IA) and Durbin (D-IL). The bill contains provisions authorizing construction of seven new locks at $1.5 billion, mitigation at $200 million, $48 million for non-structural congestion relief measures and $1.5 billion for ecosystem restoration.

“The President has proposed ending all federal expenditures for this controversial project,” said Paul Gessing, Director of Government Affairs at National Taxpayers Union, a non-partisan citizen group that works for lower taxes and less government spending. “Congress should answer the President’s call for more efficient stewardship of both taxpayer dollars and our nation’ s waterways, by discontinuing this debacle before it grows into a full-fledged fiscal disaster.”

The $48 million non-structural congestion relief measures include mooring facilities and switchboats to help barges move through existing locks expeditiously. The legislation also calls for the development and testing of a barge scheduling system, something the National Academy of Sciences has consistently called for as a logical first step before expensive large-scale construction measures are undertaken.

“The Upper Mississippi lock project is the 800-pound gorilla in the Corps budget that will crowd out every other project seeking funds from Uncle Sam,” continued Ellis. “At a small fraction of the cost, we can reduce congestion on the river while we wait and see if the Corps’ pie-in-the-sky traffic predictions ever come true.”

Filed under:

• Most Read
• Most Shared