[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 81 (Friday, June 1, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E953-E954]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2013

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. GENE GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 31, 2012

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5325) making 
     appropriations for energy and water development and related 
     agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, and 
     for other purposes:

  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Chair, I am concerned about the Energy 
and Water Appropriations bill for several reasons. One of these reasons 
is that while this bill increases funding for the Army Corps of 
Engineers over the President's request, it is not enough. The Army 
Corps completes critical flood control projects and also, through 
dredging at our port, fuels a major economic engine in Harris County, 
Texas and has been underfunded for years.
  Additionally, by cutting New Starts completely, this bill prevents 
funding for a vital project in Houston that will explore widening and 
deepening the shipping channel to the Turning Basin. This funding is 
critical to preparing our Port for the years ahead.
  The Port of Houston is the largest foreign tonnage port and the 
largest petrochemical port in the country. In fact, it moves the second 
largest amount of cargo in the country, as 8.5 percent of our nation's 
cargo moves through the Port of Houston. The commerce that occurs at 
our port is critical to our Nation's energy and chemical sectors and to 
our country's ability to trade and move goods throughout our country. 
It is a port of national significance, but has not received the 
attention that is necessary to answer the challenges we face in the 
near future. Despite the national importance of our port, it is facing 
a dredging crisis.
  In 1998, the Federal Government and the Port of Houston invested $700 
million over the course of years, to deepen and widen the Ship Channel. 
An investment we have benefitted from tremendously.
  As the years have passed silt has settled and reduced the draft in 
the channel significantly. Today, only .4 percent of the channel is 
dredged to its proper depth across the entire width of the channel. 
That is astounding. Our Nation's investment is rapidly deteriorating.
  Currently, the Houston Ship Channel is dredged to a depth of 43 feet, 
but it should be 45 feet. The Panama Canal is expanding and when it is 
completed, the Port of Houston should be at a minimum of 45 feet and we 
could take advantage of additional depth.
  In the most recent President's budget request, the Administration 
asked for $700,000 in new dredging money and new start funding of 
$100,000 toward study on the widening and deepening of the Houston Ship 
Channel to the Turning Basin. The new start funding is particularly 
important, once a project gets new start money it is more likely to be 
funded in the future. Unfortunately, in the bill we are considering 
today, the funding for the new start will be eliminated.
  This increased funding level for dredging just over $24 million, 
which is maintained in the Energy and Water Appropriations bill, is 
welcome and I am pleased that Congress and the Administration are 
committing more resources to our maintenance dredging needs, 
particularly in a budget environment when most programs are cut. 
However, it's about a third of the total needed to bring our channel 
back to its authorized depth. The reduced draft costs our region money.
  As we confront the dual challenges of adopting policies that create 
jobs and reduce the debt, funding for dredging projects is an item 
that, while costly, will have more of a positive impact on our economy 
than a negative impact on our deficit. The Texas Transportation 
Institute performed a study and determined that a direct economic 
impact of the loss of 1 foot of draft is $373 million. The majority of 
this impact is lost business opportunities due to light loading of non-
containerized vessels. If the dredging crisis at the port continues to 
worsen, this cost will quickly increase.

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