Tagged: Roy Blunt

Senators from states lining the Missouri River are asking the Army Corps of Engineers to outline plans for next year's flood preparations.

The senators say in a letter sent to top Corps officials on Monday that the agency must learn from this year's devastating flood season and apply those lessons to next year's plan.

The delegation is also asking what authority the Corps has to make changes to its annual operating plan for the river, and whether any additional authority will be needed.

 Both of Missouri’s U.S. senators today supported the emergency bill that averts a first-ever government default. The measure, which was the source of months of contentious and partisan debate, raises the nation’s debt ceiling. Republican Senator Roy Blunt says he voted for the bill because it’s a good first step to rein in federal spending.

Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri says Republicans need to offer more compromise regarding a plan on how to handle raising the debt ceiling.

McCaskill says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's proposal includes spending cuts larger than the rise in the debt ceiling and no increased taxes.

She says those were the requirements Speaker of the House John Boehner put forward at the start of the debate. But he has come up with his own plan that McCaskill says is similar, but with a catch.

According to Mo. Sen. Roy Blunt the bipartisan “Gang of Six” plan to raise the debt ceiling and cut the deficit by $4 trillion is too complicated to agree on by the Aug. 2 deadline set by the Obama administration.

Speaking with reporters during a weekly conference call, Blunt said he might support a short- term solution to raise the debt limit in order to allow time for a broader plan to be implemented.

The Missouri River Working Group is holding its first meeting on Wednesday to come up with a policy on flood control.

Missouri Senators Roy Blunt and Claire McCaskill launched the group with senators from North Dakota to look for ways to improve flood control along the Missouri River and keep this year’s flooding from happening again.