Senators urge Army to approve waiver opening Corps of Engineers recreation areas

Corps announced closures amid hiring freeze of seasonal workers

North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer joined a Democratic colleague urging the U.S. Army to approve a waiver allowing the U.S. Corps of Engineers to hire seasonal workers at sites across the country.

Cramer, a Republican who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, wrote a letter with Sen. Angela Alsobrooks to secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll and Lt. Gen. William “Butch” Graham, commanding officer of the Corps, asking them to approve a waiver allowing the Corps to hire seasonal workers. Alsobrooks is a Maryland Democrat who is the ranking member on the committee.

The Corps announced this year that it would be closing or reducing hours at recreation sites it manages across the country. In the upper Missouri River area, those included campgrounds, boat ramps and dam tours stretching from Nebraska, through the Dakotas and into Montana.

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