[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 27 (Friday, February 18, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E271]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER MAINTENANCE

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                         HON. RODNEY ALEXANDER

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 17, 2011

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address a matter of vital 
importance to our Nation's business and economic recovery. I am 
extremely concerned about recent actions by the Army Corps of Engineers 
and its failure to maintain the Lower Mississippi River deep draft 
navigation channel. Approximately 60 percent of all U.S. grain exports 
are shipped from the Mississippi River, and 25 percent of all large 
commercial bulk ships that arrive in the U.S. come through the mouth of 
the Mississippi River. U.S. Customs and Border Protection estimates 
that the river system facilitates between $85 billion and $104 billion 
annually in foreign trade through its district on the Lower Mississippi 
River. Without immediate maintenance dredging of that channel, domestic 
transportation costs will significantly increase for a wide range of 
U.S. products and goods, and many businesses will be placed at a 
competitive disadvantage for participation in the Nation's export 
trade.
  At this time, the Corps is not meeting navigation channel maintenance 
requirements, and as a result, the width and depth of the channel has 
been reduced because of silting in the lower stretches of the river. 
The maritime transportation capabilities of the waterway are 
deteriorating rapidly, and river pilots now have imposed operating 
restrictions on commercial vessels transiting the mouth of the 
Mississippi River, restrictions that will significantly add costs and 
delays in the export of American products to international markets. 
Therefore, I urge the Corps of Engineers to maintain the Lower 
Mississippi River deep draft navigation channel at a depth and width 
that will not inhibit transportation on this vital waterway.

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