On the recordMay 20, 2014
I want to say thank you to Chairman Shuster and also Mr. Rahall. You did a wonderful job on this piece of legislation. This is very important to the entire country. I hope the way that you have both worked together, along with subcommittee Chairman Gibbs and Ranking Member Tim Bishop, is contagious because this would help this institution enormously. Thank you for bringing this bill to the floor. I was an ironworker before I came to Congress, and I worked in the Port of Boston. So I know firsthand how important the ports and waterways are to our economy in this country. I have the opportunity to jointly represent the Port of Boston with Mike Capuano, my colleague. The Port of Boston generates $2.4 billion in economic benefits annually and 34,000 jobs are connected with port activities. With the expected 2015 completion of the Panama Canal expansion project, those numbers will only increase as larger container ships utilize our ports on both coasts. Mr. Speaker, the Boston Harbor Navigation Improvement Project, recommended and approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and supported by this bill, is very important. I want to thank my colleagues from Massachusetts for putting up $135 million to join with the Federal funding on this. It will help us keep pace with our global competitors. Again, thank you, Mr. Rahall, and thank you, Mr. Shuster, for your hard work.
