Costello urges President Obama to make levee funding a priority

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Congressman Jerry Costello (D-IL) today urged President Obama to make funding for levee repair and water infrastructure projects a priority in his Fiscal Year 2012 budget proposal. Costello made a similar request last September when the President announced his proposal for $50 billion in infrastructure investments.

A senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and co-chairman of the House Levee Caucus, Costello cited the need for a strong federal commitment to levee repair and maintenance:

"As you know, Illinois and other states across the country are facing serious maintenance and repair issues with our nation's levees. By some estimates, this is a $100 billion dollar problem, and local governments and levee districts, while largely responsible for these improvements, are hard pressed to make these investments alone.

"We are working on a bipartisan basis in Congress and in our districts to meet the challenges posed by levee repair needs, and a robust federal commitment to help fund these important projects is essential to protect our communities."