Washington, D.C. - Today, Congressman Dave Loebsack announced that MONDAY, September 16, he will join Davenport Mayor Bill Gluba at a press conference to congratulate the City of Davenport for being awarded over $5.5 million through two Federal Aviation Administration grants for a runway reconstruction project.  Media are invited to attend.

Davenport Airport Press Conference - Friday, August 30

Davenport Municipal Airport

Flag Pole

9230 Harrison

Davenport, Iowa

10:00am

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack today announced that local law enforcement agencies in Scott County will receive $100,575 to support their efforts to prevent crime, keep our families and communities safe, and keep drugs off the street. The funds come from the Department of Justice's Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) Program, which is the only source of federal funding for multi-jurisdictional drug task forces that work to prevent, fight and prosecute drug-related and violent crime. The funding will be used to reduce the amount of illegal narcotics available to the public and to identify and arrest those who distribute and manufacture illegal narcotics.

"I have long been a supporter of Byrne JAG because it supports law enforcement agencies in their efforts to keep Iowa families safe," said Loebsack. "I have met with our local law enforcement officers many times, and have always been impressed with their dedication to protecting our communities and keeping our streets drug free. I will continue to fight to ensure that Iowa's law enforcement officers have the resources they need to serve our communities."

In 2008, Loebsack led the successful bipartisan effort in the House of Representatives to prevent Byrne JAG from being eliminated and has long been a strong supporter of this program. That effort was supported by the National Narcotic Officers' Associations' Coalition, the National Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriff's Association and the National District Attorney's Association, amongst others.

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack announced today that he will host a Farm Bill Forum with agriculture community leaders. The forum will be held at the Clinton County Farm Bureau office in DeWitt, TUESDAY, August 27 at 3:30pm. Loebsack will discuss where the farm bill currently stands and then take comments and questions. Media are invited to attend.

Farm Bill Forum

WHO: Congressman Dave Loebsack

WHERE: Clinton County Farm Bureau

514 - 8th Street

DeWitt

TIME: 3:30pm

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack (IA-02) announced today that he has introduced legislation that would establish a National Flood Center to conduct research on flooding, flood prevention and other flood-related issues.  He was joined by Congressmen Bruce Braley (IA-01) as an original cosponsor. The National Flood Research and Education Act (NFREA) will establish a consortium within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that includes institutes of higher education in order to advance the understanding of the causes of flooding, implement advanced flood prediction methods and promote policies that would help prevent future flood damage.

This legislation is supported by the Iowa Flood Center, with whom Loebsack will be holding a press event on TUESDAY, August 6^th to discuss the legislation. Additional details will be released at a later date.

"Many of our communities are seeing an increased risk of flooding year after year that is costing valuable resources, time, and money in preparing for the worst," said Congressman Loebsack. "We must establish a National Flood Center to help our communities prepare better and smarter in order to save lives and save taxpayer dollars in preparing for and recovering from floods. We need to look at floods comprehensively, test new methods and build on promising methods and techniques to better predict, prevent and recover from flooding."

"Floods are a multifaceted societal problem the scope of which spans the mission of several agencies.  An academic center can bring together ideas and solutions from many disciplines and accelerate the process of building resilient communities.  Last but not least it is the academia where the education and training of the next cadre of experts happens," said Witold Krajewski, Director of the Iowa Flood Center.

The NFREA establishes a National Flood Research and Education Center (NFREC) to conduct research on flooding, flood prevention and other flood-related issues. NFREC will ensure that differing hydrology, weather, urban, suburban, and rural areas and economies are examined so diverse flood situations are represented.  Research will be coordinated with a wide-range of federal, state, and local organizations and led by NOAA with an institution of higher education that has significant expertise and experience in examining flood-related issues. The research will provide important insights on comprehensive flooding issues, such as water management or release rates for the Corps of Engineers, flood inundation and preparation, and management and recovery efforts in other local, state and federal agencies.

The National Flood Center's work will lead to a wide variety of policy and practice recommendations as they relate to predicting, preparing, preventing and recovering from floods.  This will include analysis of the economic and social effects of flooding, analysis of federal, state, regional and local flood policy and development and testing of new or improved risk-assessment tools, methods and models, as well as share valuable flood prediction information with the public. The bill will bring together leading institutions in the fields of physical and environmental science, including hydrology, hydraulics, hydrometeorology, climate, as well as engineering, sociology and economics to provide a comprehensive flood research effort.