{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=A49824B9-5C07-44BE-B27B-0929CB4ED4EE", "Heitkamp Meets with Army Assistant Secretary Nominee, Presses for Lasting Flood Protections", "2017-12-07", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "ND", "Heidi Heitkamp", "H001069", "www.heitkamp.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Senator Secures Commitment from James to Visit North Dakota to Observe Challenges Facing Flood-Prone Communities  \n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today met with R.D. James, the nominee to serve as the Assistant Secretary of the Army - Civil Works\u2014the top civilian official overseeing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.\r\nIn her meeting with Mr. James, Heitkamp discussed North Dakota\u2019s flood protection priorities, reinforced the critical need to maintain federal support for ongoing Army Corps projects in North Dakota, such as permanent flood protections in Minot and Fargo, and highlighted the need for the administration to include water projects in its infrastructure proposal. Heitkamp also secured a commitment from James to, if confirmed, visit North Dakota to see firsthand the challenges facing flood-prone communities. \u00a0\u00a0\r\n\u201cThe memories of sandbagging never really go away, and for too many families, they\u2019re still struggling to recover from the devastating floods they\u2019ve experienced,\u201d said Heitkamp. \u201cToday, I sat down with the nominee to head the Army Corps of Engineers to talk about our state\u2019s priorities for protecting our cities, residents, and businesses.\u00a0I updated him on the progress we\u2019ve made in securing support for critical projects like the Fargo-Moorhead diversion, but I warned Mr. James that the federal government can\u2019t neglect its responsibility to fully protect communities in the Souris River Basin and the Red River Valley. I also invited Mr. James to travel to North Dakota to see firsthand the flooding challenges facing our residents, and he expressed his commitment to visit so that he can fully understand the flood risks and work with us on strategies to prevent future disasters.\u201d\r\nHeitkamp has long been a champion for strong, permanent flood protections to protect North Dakota communities.\r\nIn Minot, the Army Corps of Engineers has been tasked with evaluating a proposed flood control project in partnership with the city. In May, Heitkamp helped secure $900,000 in the Army Corps\u2019 2017 work plan for the continued study of potential long-term flood protections for the city of Minot and the Souris River Basin. Last year, Heitkamp successfully pushed the White House and Army Corps to advance such options for permanent flood protections. This followed Heitkamp\u2019s efforts to bring Minot officials to Washington to meet with OMB and Army Corps officials to discuss the next steps in securing federal funding for permanent flood protection in Minot. \u00a0\r\nAnd in April, Heitkamp joined Fargo leaders and the Army Corps to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Fargo-Moorhead diversion. Earlier this year, she urged Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney and the Army Corps of Engineers to continue funding for the Fargo-Moorhead Diversion project. Heitkamp successfully secured a new construction start for the diversion in 2016.\r\nClick here\u00a0for a photo from the meeting.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=A49824B9-5C07-44BE-B27B-0929CB4ED4EE"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3328550849109888, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}