Federal reimbursement for levees unlikely this year

EDINBURG - Hidalgo County officials are growing skeptical that Congress will pass legislation this year that would reimburse them for levee repairs that they make here.

Local leaders met with Rio Grande Valley and Texas federal lawmakers last week in Washington, D.C., to update them on the levee and border wall construction and to find out if they have money coming their way.

Bills introduced by Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Democratic Rep. Rubén Hinojosa of Mercedes that would reimburse the county have been stalled in committees for months.

It's not likely anything will happen until after November's general presidential election. Both the House of Represenatives and the Senate are tentatively scheduled to adjorn in September and won't meet again until January.

"There is a lot of politics right now," said Hidalgo County spokeswoman Cari Lambrecht. "Which means nothing can get done."

Lambrecht said the lawmakers may try to amend other bills to include the reimbursement language.

Hidalgo County is spending approximately $48.2 million of voter-approved bond money to fix the levees along the border wall segments that total 22 miles. The federal government is paying for the concrete wall portion, which is also designed to help repair the levees and curb illegal entry from Mexico.

The remaining $51.8 million of local bond money is being used to repair approximately 18 miles of the levee without a border wall and to upgrade interior drainage ditches.