Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012, Part II

Floor Speech

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Mr. RICHMOND. I thank the gentleman, and I join my colleagues from Louisiana in supporting this critical amendment.

What I would add is that we've talked about doubling our exports over the next 4 or 5 years, and this is a critical piece to allow us to do it. What we realize here in America is that we only make up 5 percent of the consumers in the world, and we have to make sure that our manufacturers, that our farmers, and that our citizens can get their goods to the other 95 percent so that we can continue to build a robust economy. This allows us to reduce the cost of our goods around the world because we can now ship more goods to market. It's a step in the right direction.

If you look at the fact that only 2 out of our 10 largest seaports are dredged to their authorized depth, it continues to move us in the right direction so that we can now focus on adequately getting to the goal of a depth of 55 feet, which other progressive countries are getting to.

We have to stay competitive, we have to continue to invest in this country, and this gives us the best return on our investment. I commend him for bringing the amendment. I support it. I would urge my colleagues to vote for it.

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