Political Quotes

“I again ask my colleagues to support this amendment because anyone who has lived near a port understands what the Army Corps of Engineers is going through. We spend our time working with the Corps on this issue of dredging. In every port in the United States, millions of dollars are lost because of the inability of access and the difficulty of making sure that our Nation's ports are ready for the increase in business. The Transportation Institute Center for Ports and Waterways indicated, analyzing the direct economic effects of channel restrictions and the loss of 1 foot of draft from the Houston ship channel, as an example, and the data was collected from the years 2008 and 2009, the study determined that a direct economic impact of the loss of 1 foot over 2 years amounts to $373 million. This, in fact, is an account that has been authorized, as evidenced by the Army Corps, which deals in particular with the Department of Army Operations and Maintenance. This infusion is to assist in making sure that jobs are saved and jobs are created. The study does not consider other effects that are very real but are extremely difficult to measure, but they can measure what the lack of dredging can bring about. I would make the argument that in ports that are competing with world ports, accessibility is crucial. I ask my colleagues to be reminded that we are in the business of creating jobs.…”