Political Quotes

“I think the Senator from Tennessee picked the best example I can think of simply because the Charleston harbor deepening is probably the No. 1 issue for the State of South Carolina. The Panama Canal is going to be widened and the cargo ships that are going to be on the oceans of the world in the next few years are three times the size of the cargo ships that exist today. Shipping as we know it is going to change. What does that mean? It means harbors such as Savannah and Charleston--just name a harbor on the east coast--are going to have to be deeper to accept these ships. What does it mean for shipping? Ships that would normally deposit their goods in California can now access the east coast. So east coast ports, based on common sense and merit, have to be deepened. If we brought the Energy and Water appropriations bill through the committee and to the floor, it would make us all think about that. Because when I hear the President say we want to double exports in the next 5 years, count me in. It would be thousands of jobs--millions of jobs--created in America. How do we get those products to the customers overseas if our ports are not modernized to adjust to the change in shipping? Then it is a statement that will not bear fruit. Go to Shanghai, go to Hong Kong and other ports, go to Mideast ports, and we are 20 years behind.…”