The Third District of Wisconsin has a unique set of transportation and infrastructure needs. We have the largest continuous section of the Mississippi River of any congressional district in the country, meaning that our ‘north-south highway’ is the River. Given the critical need of this inland waterway system, I’m excited the House-passed Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2024, which I voted in favor of, included many wins for Wisconsin’s Third District.

Projects specific to the Third District included in the 2024 WRDA package are:

• A new study authorization for levee accreditation in the City of La Crosse
• A flood risk management project on the Trempealeau River in Arcadia
• An ecosystem restoration project for the River Falls Kinni Corridor project
• An authorization for a new Upper Mississippi River System flood risk and resilience study for the Army Corps to work with non-federal interests by taking a system-wide approach to flood risk management

Other provisions in the bill that will benefit the Mississippi River and river-front communities include:

• The Lake Access Keeping Economies Strong (LAKES) Act, which I cosponsored, to allow portions of recreation fees collected at Army Corps recreational sites to be retained on-site and improve opportunities for public-private investments, management, and operations
• Section 150, which demands the Army Corps provide an update on its 2018 WRDA report on backlog and operation maintenance
• Reauthorization of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Dam Safety Program through 2028 and strengthening the High Hazard program

I’m looking forward to this bill being passed out of the Senate and sent to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law. In the meantime, I will continue working with my colleagues on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to create legislation that best serves our waterways, roads, and bridges.