Bud Shuster: “I rise with great respect for the gentlelady from New York and agree with her that our ports, our inland waterway system…”

“I rise with great respect for the gentlelady from New York and agree with her that our ports, our inland waterway system are in bad shape. But we are in times that are fiscally restrained, and we have got to try to do our best to move these forward under these fiscal restraints, and that is what we think we are doing in this WRRDA bill, moving forward in a way that we can be positive but not break the bank. The freight network is critical to the Nation's economic security and to our Nation's national security. I have several concerns with this amendment. First, the amendment gives very broad authority to the administration when creating this freight network. In H.R. 3080, we intended to continue the role of Congress in authorizing Corps of Engineer activities. Unfortunately, this amendment would undermine one of the key principles of this bill, giving away more of our authority to the administration. Second, I believe the amendment would significantly increase bureaucracy. Finally, this amendment requires the designation of a primary freight network that prioritizes projects near population centers and major trade gateways which, of course, are extremely important to the health of this Nation's economy. To someone from Los Angeles and New York City, that seems like a good idea. Those of us from the interior of the country and rural parts of the country have concerns that this would leave a gaping hole in the freight transportation system.…”