Here is a John Thune on funding for the Lewis and Clark water project:
Senator John Thune today issued the following statement regarding the President's record-setting request for $21 million in funding for Lewis and Clark:
"In December, I hosted a conference call with the South Dakota delegation and White House Budget Director, Josh Bolten, while he and his staff were working to identify priorities in the President's budget for the coming year. We made it clear to him that Lewis and Clark funding was a top priority for South Dakota," Thune said. "As a result, the White House has requested $21 million in funding for the Lewis and Clark project for Fiscal Year 2007, a 40 percent increase over last year's funding level. In a tight budget year, I'm pleased the Administration honored our request and is seeking record-setting, overdue funding for Lewis and Clark, which will greatly benefit tens of thousands of South Dakotans."
Last December, Senator Thune hosted a conference call in his Washington office to give the South Dakota congressional delegation an opportunity to express South Dakota funding priorities with the White House Office of Management and Budget Director Josh Bolten. The delegation identified Lewis and Clark as a top budget priority for the state for Fiscal Year 2007.
South Dakota faces water problems, including shallow wells, aquifers prone to contamination, compliance with federal drinking water standards, and increasing water demand due to population growth and economic expansion. Once completed, Lewis and Clark will join the list of other rural water projects providing safe, reliable drinking water in a more effective and cost-efficient manner than each community could accomplish alone.
But a 40% increase in funding is not good enough for the Argus Leader whose report is titled, "Pipeline gets boost but not full request":
President Bush asked for $21 million in new funding for the Lewis & Clark water project, which eventually will provide Missouri River water to 200,000 residents in southeastern South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota, in his 2007 budget proposal submitted to Congress Monday.
The request is $3.5 million more than what Congress appropriated in its 2006 budget, but it's a long way from the $53.7 million water officials wanted.
I can guarantee that the tone of the Argus report would have been different if Tom Daschle was still in office.
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