[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15753]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    UTILIZING THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER

  (Mr. SHIMKUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, how do you haul corn, soybeans, fertilizer, 
petroleum products, coal and rock from Chicago, Illinois, to the port 
of New Orleans, or from the port of New Orleans up to Chicago, 
Illinois, without taking 870 tractor-trailer trucks over our highway 
system? That is 870 trucks that burn diesel fuel, 870 trucks that clog 
our interstate highway system, 870 trucks that made some of our roads 
less safe.
  Mr. Speaker, you do it by the river, by the Mississippi River system. 
That is one of the best ways in which we can be an environmental 
steward, by getting all of these trucks off the road. That is one of 
the best ways that we can unclog our highway and transportation system. 
That is one of the best ways that we get a better return on investments 
and lower price fuels is by doing that.
  The Water Resources Development Act, which we will take up on the 
floor this afternoon and tomorrow, is the best way to be a good 
environmental steward, energy security, and promote the well-being of 
all Americans. I ask Members support for passage.

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