Barbara Boxer: “I will say that we are looking at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce supporting this bill, the United Brotherhood of…”

“I will say that we are looking at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce supporting this bill, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, the Waterways Council, Inc., and the Plumbing Manufacturers, International. Wherever we look, whether it is business or labor, whether it is governmental entities--even the American Farm Bureau Federation, as I said, and Laborers International Union of North America--it is a really important bill. Even the Commercial Real Estate Development Association. Why? Because they know if you are going to sell a house in an area that gets flooded, you need to address the flooding problems. So we do address flooding problems. We do address port deepening. Believe me, without these port deepenings in a lot of our ports--not all our ports need to do it-- commerce could come to a halt, and I would say almost a screeching halt. There may be better terminology, but you have to dredge those ports to a certain depth so those vessels can move in and out. Let me talk about just one area in my home State. Senator Vitter and I often say we see the world a little differently--or a lot differently when it comes to a lot of issues, but when it comes to infrastructure, we have a lot in common. He had to face the horrific catastrophic situation during and after Katrina, and I look at that issue and say: Oh, my Lord, if we had something like that happen in Sacramento, what would happen? We have so many more people than they have in his State.…”