Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013

Floor Speech

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Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, America's inland waterways move more than half a billion tons of cargo worth more than $150 billion annually, and more than 2.3 billion tons of cargo a year move through American seaports. Commercial activity on our inland waterways supports more than 13 million jobs in the United States and is crucial to our economic prosperity. America depends on the strength of its inland waterways to support businesses and consumers across the country.

My amendment will establish a national water-based freight policy. It requires the Secretary of the Army to designate a primary water-based freight network and develop a strategic plan to assess and improve performance. It also improves data collection methods so that the Army Corps of Engineers and policymakers have better information on how to improve the system going forward.

Although the recent surface transportation reauthorization established a national freight policy, that legislation did not incorporate ports, harbors, and inland waterways into the national freight network. As ranking member of the Small Business Committee, I have heard agriculture and rural groups speak time and time again about the importance of establishing a strategy for our inland waterways. This bill recognizes the critical importance of ports, harbors, canals, and inland waterways to our economic competitiveness and develops a comprehensive approach to identify and address their problems.

Unfortunately, our inland waterways are buckling under the pressure of our growing transportation needs. In many areas, the inland waterways system has not been updated since the 1950s; more than half of the locks are over 50 years old; 90 percent of the locks and dams on the U.S. inland waterways system experienced some type of unscheduled delay in 2009.

There is an average of 52 service interruptions a day throughout the system. These delays prevent goods from getting to markets, driving up costs and hurting the businesses that depend on our waterways.

Addressing these issues will take time and careful planning. Projects to repair and replace aging locks and dredge channels can take decades to approve and complete. By identifying key waterways, critical bottlenecks and major trade gateways, my amendment can guide the revitalization of our inland waterways in the most effective way possible.

Thinking strategically about our inland waterway system can lead to outsized returns in the future. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that modest investments will protect $700 billion in gross domestic product and 738,000 jobs in 2020; but in order for these investments to have their desired impacts, they must be properly targeted.

My amendment will help to funnel resources to the most beneficial projects available so that we can achieve a good return on investment on American taxpayers' money.

America's inland waterways, ports, and harbors are critical tools in ensuring that all markets, foreign and domestic, are open to American goods. Establishing a national network and policy for our waterways will help us grow our economy, spur job creation, and ensure that taxpayer money is put to good use.

With that, Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. VELÁZQUEZ. Mr. Chairman, the chairman of the committee stated that this amendment gives broad authority to the administration, but it is the same authority that we gave to the administration in the provision created for highways in the surface transportation bill, MAP-21.

This amendment is modeled exactly on that provision, so what is good for the goose is good for the gander, right?

So I do not understand your logic. I do not understand your argument.

But let me just say, Mr. Chairman, that this is going to benefit metropolitan areas. We held hearing after hearing in the Small Business Committee regarding this issue, and this issue was brought up to my attention by small agricultural interests from rural areas that were concerned that waterways, particularly those in rural areas, were being ignored.

The truth of the matter is that this amendment will ensure that rural areas are given a greater voice.

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