The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced funds made available to the Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority (OMRPWA). This project is designed to provide a source of safe and reliable drinking water for tens of thousands of people, many of them in Newton and Searcy Counties. As participating communities grow over the decades, up to 50,000 friends and neighbors throughout our region could be served. OMRPWA will prevent severe water shortages and eliminate the extreme measures currently required to provide water to families and businesses during dry conditions. The project will eliminate major public health risks identified by the Health Department (ADH). It will provide an opportunity for economic development in low-income areas. The OMRPWA project truly demonstrates the importance of collaborative efforts by meeting many local needs at once. 

I am happy to see federal funds go to projects as deserving as OMRPWA, however this funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture was provided through the “Stimulus Bill” that was signed into law in February. As of this week, only 0.2 % of the “Stimulus” bill has been spent on USDA Rural Development water and environmental projects, like OMRPWA. USDA is doing an excellent job allocating the funding that was set-aside in the bill for these projects, but it remains a miniscule part of the overall spending through the “Stimulus” something I predicted would be a problem and that is why I voted against it.

 I would have supported more funding in this bill for rural development and infrastructure projects, but I opposed the overall legislation because I believe that it spends too much money on the wrong priorities. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill creates over $787 billion in new deficit spending. Only a tiny fraction of “Stimulus” spending will go toward projects like the Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority. 

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