Political Quotes

“I thank Senator Cantwell and Chairman Baucus for coming down here today to discuss port competitiveness, infrastructure, and American jobs, issues which are close to my heart. I believe these are important issues to be addressed, which is why I have been working on this issue throughout my Senate tenure and why Senator Cantwell and I introduced the U.S. Port Opportunity and Revitalizing Trade Act in 2002. We appreciate that the legislation before us today, the Water Resources Development Act, works to improve expenditures from the harbor maintenance trust fund and that it includes provisions we championed to begin to address the competitive issues our ports face. I would like to say thank you to Chairwoman Boxer, who included a provision in the managers' amendment that would authorize payments to ``donor'' ports those ports that contribute a significant amount of funds, but receive less than 25 percent of the benefit that can be used to offset the cost of the HMT being paid by shippers. The language in the managers' amendment does not mean that the job is done. We do not believe this language will fully correct the challenges U.S. ports face now and will continue to face in the future. Rather, we believe this is an interim solution that will help until we can work together to find a larger, more permanent solution addressing cargo diversion.…”