{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.barrasso.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=11A1D370-09D1-49E6-B88B-2C10E4AE86D0", "Senate Passes Bill to Help Address Flooding in Wyoming", "2016-09-15", "2016", "2016-09", "Republican", "House", "WY", "John Barrasso", "B001261", "www.barrasso.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Ice-jam flooding in Worland (courtesy photo: City of Worland)\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) praised passage of the bipartisan 2016 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) by a vote of 95 to 3.\r\nThe bill authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to improve and maintain dams, inland waterways, ports and projects to prevent flooding and ensure that communities have adequate water supplies.\r\nBarrasso, a member of the committee that authored the bill, successfully included items for Wyoming that help increase water storage, improve dam safety in Indian Country and prevent ice-jam flooding, especially in rural communities. Ice jams \u2013 when frozen rivers thaw in the spring and the ice heads downstream \u2013 cause severe damage to levees.\r\n\u201cCommunities like Worland and Greybull know firsthand how dangerous and destructive ice-jam flooding can be,\u201d said Barrasso. \u201cThey also know about the out-of-control costs that come with severe floods. This provision will allow us to help develop innovative and cost-effective ways to prevent flooding.\u201d\r\nMany federal water-storage facilities in the West, including in Wyoming, are losing existing space due to sediment buildup.\r\nAnother provision Barrasso included in WRDA would create a pilot program targeting sediment buildup in existing U.S. Army Corps and Bureau of Reclamation water-storage facilities in the Upper Missouri River Basin.\r\n\u201cIn the West, we\u2019re constantly trying to find ways to expand water storage,\u201d said Barrasso. \u201cOne of the best ways is to remove and prevent excess sediment buildup. Under this pilot project, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps will be able to partner with local communities to reduce sediment buildup in federal dams in Wyoming.\u201d\r\nBarrasso, who serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, was also successful in including his bill, S. 2717, the Dam Repairs and Improvements for Tribes Act of 2016 (DRIFT Act) as a provision in WRDA. It addresses the deferred maintenance needs of Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) dams, and reforms tribal programs within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that focus on flood mitigation and prevention in Native communities.\r\n\u201cI am glad the Senate has taken action to address the badly needed maintenance of dams in tribal communities,\u201d said Barrasso. \u201cThis bill holds Washington accountable to maintain high-risk dams in Wyoming and across the country.\u201d\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0###", 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": ["http://www.barrasso.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=11A1D370-09D1-49E6-B88B-2C10E4AE86D0"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4221128076314926, "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"}