Sen. Amy Klobuchar's bill to allow the $690 million St. Croix River bridge project to proceed is taking another step forward in Congress next week.
The Minnesota Democrat's legislation will be on the agenda Thursday for a Senate Energy and Natural Resources mark-up, said Bill Wicker, a spokesman for committee Chairman Jeff Binagman, D-N.M. While that doesn't guarantee the bill will get a committee vote on Thursday, Wicker said, it's one of 32 bills the committee has placed on its docket for the mark-up.
U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann has companion legislation in the House that passed out of committee last month. Her bill is now awaiting action on the House floor.
Klobuchar and Bachmann's bills, which are now identical, would grant an exemption to the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, a necessary step in order for the St. Croix bridge project to move forward.
Klobuchar said that getting the bill to mark-up was a "good sign" for the bill's prospects in Congress.
Klobuchar, Bachmann, Sen. Al Franken, Rep. Chip Cravaack and Gov. Mark Dayton support the legislation, while Reps. Betty McCollum and Keith Ellison are opposed.
