Landrieu Amendments Included in Supplemental Appropriations Passed by House

Measures support Ports of Iberia and Morgan City, the Army Reserve, and children of the tsunami disaster.

May 5, 2005

WASHINGTON -- Three key measures introduced by U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., are included in the conference report to accompany H.R. 1268, the Supplemental Appropriations Act, passed today by the U.S. House of Representatives. The amendments will help give fabrication ports in Louisiana a fairer chance at being approved for navigation projects; reduce a shortfall in tuition assistance for Reservists; and ensure that a portion of the funds set aside for tsunami relief efforts will be dedicated to helping children affected by the December 26th disaster.

"I am very pleased that in addition to addressing some of the immediate needs of our forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as relief operations in south Asia, we were able to include these measures to help our ports, reservists, and children of the tsunami," said Sen. Landrieu, a member of the conference committee reconciling the Senate and House versions of the bill.

The conference report, expected to be agreed to by the Senate next week, updates the guidelines used by the Army Corps of Engineers to determine the feasibility of navigation channel enlargement projects. Traditionally, the Corps has evaluated the benefits of such proposals based on the extent to which they reduce the cost of transporting cargo. However, this method prevents an accurate assessment of proposed projects at ports such as those in Iberia and Morgan City, whose primary mission is not cargo movement. Rather, they serve as the host site for the fabrication of offshore oil and gas platforms.

As a result, the true value of channel enlargement projects at these ports is best measured by the additional contracts the fabricators could secure with a larger delivery channel, as it would allow them to build and deliver larger platforms. The new guidelines would allow the Corps to consider the value of these additional fabrication contracts in evaluating whether a channel enlargement project goes forward.

"This is great news for the Ports of Iberia and Morgan City, whose channel improvement needs will now get the fair consideration they deserve," Sen. Landrieu said. "By widening and deepening their channels, the ports will be in a position to build larger energy platforms right here at home and not have to watch these projects be sent overseas."

The Army Reserve Tuition Assistance amendment, also introduced by Sen. Landrieu, would provide $5 million to help fill a funding shortfall in the Army Reserve's Montgomery G.I. Bill tuition assistance program. The program provides financial aid to service members pursuing voluntary education outside of their military training.

"With the help of this funding, the Army Reserve will be able to continue providing this important assistance to the brave men and women who have given so much to defend our freedom," said Sen. Landrieu, who was recently awarded the Montgomery Eagle Award for congressional leadership by the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States (EANGUS). The award and Montgomery G.I. Bill are both named after retired Mississippi Congressman G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery.

The Orphans Relief Funding Amendment requires that $12.5 million of the tsunami relief included in the bill be directed to programs addressing the needs of children affected by the disaster. Funded activities would include the registration of unaccompanied children; the reunification of children with their biological or extended families; the protection of women and children from violence and exploitation; and the prevention of the recruitment of children by armed forces.

"The need of children to belong to a loving, permanent family can never be washed away by even the biggest of waves," said Sen. Landrieu, a co-chair of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption who visited the tsunami-affected region with Senate Majority Leader Dr. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) shortly after the disaster. "Their need for the love and protection of a family is now greater than ever, and this funding will help meet that vital need."

A reported 1.2 million children were directly impacted by the tsunami, and data from the Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs reports that 10,103 children are currently living in humanitarian camps there. Seven percent of these children have no surviving relatives.

http://landrieu.senate.gov/~landrieu/releases/04/2005505D06.html