During this year's record-breaking flood, the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative is promoting solutions to deal with the increased frequency and severity of floods, plus the damage they cause.
Michelle O'Neill reports one possibility is for Congress to create a revolving loan fund for identifying, restoring, and creating wetlands within the Mississippi River basin.
The members of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative are calling on Congress to take action on their proposals to help prepare for, and respond to, repeated floods.
Bettendorf, Iowa Mayor Bob Gallagher says one proposal is the creation of a federal Resilience Revolving Loan Fund.
The mayors' initiative has already had success persuading Congress to adopt some of its policies. For example, the river is now officially a highway and eligible to receive funds for transportation infrastructure.
Gallagher says a revolving loan fund would allow states and cities to do flood mitigation projects, then repay the federal loan with savings from the improvements. The Mississippi River mayors want $100 million for the fund to start with.
Currently, Mississippi River cities and towns are dealing with the third major crest of the year. And several levees and temporary flood walls have failed.
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