March 30, 2022

Duckworth Speaks with Illinois Corn Growers, Highlights Benefits of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

 

[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with Illinois Corn Growers Association members and leadership to discuss how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law can support our nation’s corn growers and rural communities in Illinois. During the video call, Duckworth also discussed with the group how protecting our state’s waterways and incentivizing agricultural production for renewable fuels can help grow Illinois’s agriculture industry.

“America has always depended on our nation’s farmers and ranchers to grow the food and fuel we need, and I’m proud that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is such a significant boost for them,” Duckworth said. “The work of Illinois’s corn farmers is so important to the strength of our state and our nation, and I look forward to continuing my efforts to support farmers throughout the state to help make sure they have the resources and information they need.”

The Duckworth-championed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will help support Illinois’s agriculture sector by providing major support to the state’s waterway infrastructure. In January, Duckworth helped announce that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) allocated $829.1 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP) on the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS). This ecosystem restoration and navigation improvement project will update two Lock & Dams and build another which will make it easier for farmers with agricultural products to navigate the waterway

Duckworth is also an advocate for American biofuels and helped introduce the Home Front Energy Independence Act earlier this month. The bill would incentivize and expand the use and production of biofuel that’s grown in America, while making a less expensive fuel option available to the nation’s farmers and families.

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