Jim Inhofe: “I know no Senator on this floor would misrepresent the facts in a case like this. We have an opportunity with an…”

“I know no Senator on this floor would misrepresent the facts in a case like this. We have an opportunity with an agreed-to provision of our bill, which I thought we all agreed to, that we are able to save a lot of money and finally put this thing to rest. Every year we go through this same exercise. Everyone wants to keep this old relic called the McFarland. I cannot figure out for the life of me why they want to do it other than the fact maybe this is some kind of an emotional institution that exists that we want to hold on to. If that is the case, maybe we should let the Historical Society have that and they can see what dredging used to be like in the old days. The McFarland is the oldest and most expensive hopper dredge owned and operated by the Corps. The Corps did a study in the hopper fleet and concluded that the McFarland should be retired. The WRDA bill does that. The pending amendment would prevent the retirement of the McFarland. The Corps found the McFarland operates at almost double the daily cost of a private-sector dredge, and there is sufficient private dredge capacity to cover the work of the McFarland. Proponents of keeping the McFarland in service argue that it is necessary for two main reasons. No. 1, to keep the Delaware River free from navigational hazards and to be ready for emergency dredging. Both are incorrect. The Corps found they have more than enough capacity to handle dredge for the Delaware River.…”