Political Quotes

“Madam Chair, I will try to address some of the concerns of the gentlelady from Ohio. I think everyone who supports this amendment is willing to work with the administration if the administration wants to work with us to start to dredge our ports, to make sure that we can actually have more flow of commerce through the American ports that haven't been serviced well. If the administration wants to tap into the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and use those resources for other purposes, I think you would see a strong objection from those who support this amendment because those of us who especially live in the Great Lakes--Mr. Nolan and I, the gentleman from Minnesota and I, have the great honor of sharing the Duluth-Superior port. We understand how important dredging is to making sure that port functions. When we don't have enough resources going in to service our port, it gives us great pause because these are jobs in our community. It is economic growth in our community, and if we don't have that, we're concerned. So if the administration is willing to work with us, we are willing to work with the administration, no doubt. But, again, if they want to take those resources and use them for another purpose, we would have great pause and pushback because what you've seen with the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund is that it is funded by the shippers. They pay taxes, they pay fees in the anticipation that those dollars, those revenues, are going to be used to service our ports.…”