[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 108 (Friday, July 11, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1145-E1146]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2015

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 9, 2014

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4923) making 
     appropriations for energy and water development and related 
     agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2015, and 
     for other purposes:

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Chair, I rise to speak on ``H.R. 4923, the 
Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 
2015,'' under final consideration by the House.
  I want to thank Chairman Simpson and Ranking Member Kaptur for their 
stewardship in bringing this legislation to the floor and for their 
commitment to preserving America's great natural environment and 
resources so that they can be enjoyed by generations to come.
  As a senior member of the Homeland Security Committee, and the former 
chair of the Transportation Security Subcommittee, I understand that 
the challenge of protecting our nation's vital assets such as 
transportation infrastructure requires the finest technology and the 
highest levels of intelligence. Nothing can bring us to our knees 
faster than something affecting our economic vitality.
  One of the greatest engines our economy has is the Port of Houston, 
which hosts a $15 billion petrochemical complex, the largest in the 
nation and second largest worldwide? The Port of Houston petrochemical 
complex supplies over 40 percent of the nation's base petrochemical 
manufacturing capacity.
  What happens at the Port of Houston affects the entire nation. The 
Port of Houston is critical infrastructure and the funding providing in 
the bill to address infrastructure needs and improvements are 
appreciated, but not sufficient to ensure that the nation's deep-water 
ports remain the best in the world.
  Traffic at the Port of Houston accessed through the Houston Ship 
Channel has expanded dramatically. Today 2 million jobs depend on the 
Port of Houston. The Houston Ship Channel, which runs to the Gulf of 
Mexico, is the busiest channel in the nation with over 220,000 transits 
in 2013. We must look towards the future and make sure that port 
business destined for U.S. ports is retained.
  Current levels of Army Corps funding barely address the operation and 
maintenance of our nation's ports and waterways. Nationally, the Harbor 
Maintenance Trust Fund collects adequate funding to address current 
needs; unfortunately the Trust Fund does not fund new construction.
  By 2016, our national ports will face a major competition when the 
Panama Canal's major expansion project is scheduled to be completed. 
The changes investments being made by the Government of Panama will 
mean that larger vessels that will pass through their canal will carry 
goods and supplies, destined for U.S. ports.
  The real threat is that our ports, including the Port of Houston is 
that our waterways like the Houston Ship Channel is not dredged deep 
enough to handle the post Panama Canal water way upgrade that will be 
available in just 2 years.
  The Panama Canal will be 50 feet deep, which will provide enough 
draft for navigation. The 50 feet deep ships are on track to become the 
norm and we must be forward thinking to meet the challenge of serving 
these vessels at our nation's ports.
  This appropriations bill must significantly increase funding 
dedicated to the Corps of Engineers specifically the Civil Works 
Operations and Maintenance program.
  Earlier this year an oil spill in the Port was extremely costly and 
the efforts to return the port to full capacity were heroic. The 
incident also highlighted the need modernization that would address 
rapid response capabilities at Ports that focus on restoration of 
waterways to full activity as quickly as possible.
  The Port of Houston:
  According to the Department of Commerce in 2012, Texas exports 
totaled $265 billion.
  Is a 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private 
facilities located just a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of 
Mexico.
  In 2012, ship channel-related businesses contribute 1,026,820 jobs 
and generate more than $178.5 billion in statewide economic impact.
  For the past 11 consecutive years, Texas has outpaced the rest of the 
country in exports. The Port of Houston is the:
  1st ranked U.S. port in foreign tonnage;
  2nd ranked U.S. port in total tonnage;
  7th ranked U.S. container port by total TEUs in 2012;
  Largest Texas port with 46% of market share by tonnage;
  Largest Texas container port with 96% market share in containers by 
total TEUs in 2012; and
  Largest Gulf Coast container port, handling 67% of U.S. Gulf Coast 
container traffic in 2012
  2nd ranked U.S. port in terms of cargo value (based on CBP Customs 
port definitions)
  For these reasons, I reservations that this bill is all that 
Congressional should and could do to make sure that ports around the 
nation can keep pace with the global recovering economy.
  In addition to these problems with the bill it also contains a number 
of riders that are problematic:
  Obstruction of EPA's ability to clarify and define navigable water 
and specifying which of our nation's waterways are covered under the 
Clean Water Act.
  Permanently prohibits the Army Corps of Engineers from modifying the 
definition of ``fill materials'' to include debris and overburden from 
mining and excavation projects to make them subject to the Clean Water 
Act.

[[Page E1146]]

  Allows people to carry firearms on all Corps of Engineering lands
  Finally, the bill faces strong opposition by the Administration, 
which means if it is passed in its current form it will not become law.
  The Administration strongly objects to the funding level of $1.8 
billion provided in the bill for renewable energy, sustainable 
transportation, and energy efficiency programs, a $546 million 
reduction below the FY 2015 Budget request. This reduced funding level 
will stifle Federal investment in innovative clean energy research and 
development (R&D) at a time of significant global competition and 
progress.
  The Administration objects to funding reduction in the bill such as 
the $40 million reduction from the FY 2015 Budget request that would 
reduce the number of grants to academic investigators and funding for 
staff at DOE laboratories working on fundamental discovery science and 
research that underpins advances in clean energy.
  Further, this reduction would also affect access to world class 
facilities used by researchers from all sectors to conduct R&D. The 
bill funds the international fusion project ITER, at a level $75 
million above the FY 2015 Budget request. In light of schedule delays 
and management reforms underway, the Administration is concerned that 
the U.S. contributions would outpace the readiness of the project.
  The bill provides the Corps of Engineers' bill $5.5 billion for works 
program, nearly $1 billion above the FY 2015 Budget request. The FY 
2015 Budget focuses on investments that would yield high economic and 
environmental returns or address a significant risk to public safety. 
The Administration encourages the Congress to fund the civil works 
program at the requested level. The funding increase for the civil 
works program is provided primarily by decreases in other core 
priorities, including clean energy. The Administration also urges the 
Congress to permit the Corps to commence new starts in FY 2015.
  The Administration strongly objects to sections 105 and 106 of the 
bill, which would prevent the use of funds to address deficiencies and 
regulatory uncertainties related to CWA regulations designed to protect 
important aquatic resources while supporting economic development.
  Section 106 in particular would impact an important, ongoing 
Administration effort to provide regulatory clarity on which water 
bodies are covered by the CWA, which has been the subject of two 
Supreme Court cases in which the Court indicated the need for greater 
clarity regarding the statute's scope.
  My service in the House of Representatives has focused on making sure 
that our nation is secure and prosperous. A central component of 
national security is the ability of our nation's international ports to 
move goods and into an out of the country.
  With less than 50 legislative days remaining, I cannot support this 
bill and I ask that my colleagues in the House of Representatives work 
together to carefully manage our time and energy to make sure that the 
bills we past meet our obligations to the American public and can 
eventually become law.

                          ____________________