Congresswoman for Iowa’s 2nd District Mariannette Miller-Meeks recently visited the Rock Island lock and dam to hear about improvements being funded by an infrastructure bill she voted against.

In January 2022, Iowa and Illinois lawmakers announced the largest investment in lock and dam funding since the 1930s. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released spending plans that include an $829.1 million investment in modernization projects along the Mississippi River with funding made available by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Representative Miller-Meeks explains that while she supports lock and dam improvements, as they support Iowa’s farmers, agriculture and economy, Republicans in the House did not feel comfortable with the bill that was presented, “We were presented not a bipartisan infrastructure package that the Senate had. When they voted on this, we were presented a bill that the Republicans in the House were not offered any amendment. They were not offered any bipartisanship, any input into that particular bill. Further, Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi tied it to another $3.5 trillion spending bill which we couldn’t support and I couldn’t support.”  

The infrastructure package that was passed last fall included $110 billion for roads, bridges, and other transportation-related programs, $66 billion for rail and Amtrak maintenance and upgrades, $65 billion to expand high speed internet access, and $55 billion to upgrade water infrastructure. Representative Cindy Axne (D) was the only House member out of Iowa’s four that voted for the bill, as well as Senator Charles Grassley (R).