Randy Weber: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Chair, I rise for the purpose of engaging in a colloquy with Chairman Simpson…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Chair, I rise for the purpose of engaging in a colloquy with Chairman Simpson, and I thank the chairman for including language in the committee's report, which would require that the Army Corps of Engineers also look to strategic seaport designations when allocating funding for additional work. However, the President's budget for FY 2015 proposes to cut the maintenance budget for the Sabine-Neches Waterway by 35 percent over last year. No other area of the country, at least that I have been able to identify, has seen such a dramatic cut to its maintenance resources in the President's budget. This simply does not make sense. The Sabine-Neches Waterway is located between Texas and Louisiana. It is responsible for the third highest tonnage volume of foreign trade in the Nation and supplies 55 percent of our Nation's strategic petroleum reserves. Refineries located there manufacture 60 percent of our Nation's commercial jet fuel and a significant majority of our military's jet fuel. It is also used by the U.S. military to transport cargo to and from overseas deployments via the Port of Beaumont and Port Arthur, which are located along the waterway and handle over 33 percent of military cargo. Reducing resources to maintain waterways and harbors like this will restrict commerce, increase costs, and jeopardize safety at a time of increasing trade volume. I believe this cut is extremely shortsighted.…”