On the recordApril 18, 2012
This is a highway and infrastructure bill, which means it is a jobs bill. I commend Mr. Boustany in a bipartisan effort to add this as an amendment to this bill. I represent the Great Lakes. We have a number of commercial as well as recreational harbors, but throughout the season we're bringing sand, gravel, cement, salt for the winter into our commercial ports. And sadly we've had a number of ports close this year in west Michigan, where those lake carriers have not been able to get in because they need to be dredged. This bill allows the Great Lake harbors to be dredged with its passage. The difference is this: on a lake carrier, it's about 600 miles per gallon per ton of cargo that you can ship on a lake carrier rather than spending 4 cents or 5 cents on diesel fuel per mile per truck. The difference for just my district is you can bring this in from the UP and other places into the southern part of Lake Michigan rather than trucking it in for hundreds of miles to the closest border. This is a good bill and a good amendment. I'm glad to support it. The CHAIR. The time of the gentleman from Louisiana has expired. The gentleman from West Virginia has 2 minutes remaining.
