[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 6815]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         NATIONAL MARITIME DAY

  Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, yesterday, May 22, 2016, our Nation 
celebrated National Maritime Day. The United States has always been and 
will always be a great maritime nation. My home State of Louisiana 
ranks first in the Nation in economic impact from America's domestic 
maritime industry. The American Maritime Partnership shows Louisiana's 
54,850 maritime jobs pump more than $11.3 billion annually into our 
economy. America's robust domestic maritime industry includes vessel 
operators, marine terminals, shipyards, and workers engaged in the 
movement of cargo exclusively within the United States.
  According to a study commissioned by the Transportation Institute and 
conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, PwC, Louisiana also ranks first in 
the country in maritime jobs per capita, with 1 in every 83 jobs 
connected to the State's domestic maritime industry, nearly twice that 
of any other State. Louisiana also ranks third in the Nation in 
shipbuilding. According to the U.S. Maritime Administration 
shipbuilding accounts for 29,250 jobs and more than $2.23 billion in 
annual economic impact for our State.
  However, Congress has the responsibility for ensuring that our 
Nation's maritime infrastructure is adequately maintained in order for 
this industry to flourish. There is no greater maritime asset in the 
United States then the Mississippi River and its tributaries. They 
connect over 350 million acres of farmland to world markets via 
international trade through the 12,500 miles of inland navigational 
channels. Much of the commodities and goods produced in the heartland 
brought to world markets via the Mississippi River to the Gulf of 
Mexico and beyond to foreign nations around the globe.
  The Mississippi River Basin includes 41 percent of the continental 
United States, and the value of the agricultural products and the large 
agribusiness industry in the Mississippi River Basin produces 92 
percent of the Nation's agricultural exports and 78 percent of the 
world's exports in feed grains and soybeans, while 60 percent of all 
grain exported from the United States is shipped via the Mississippi 
River from ports throughout the region, including the Port of New 
Orleans, the Port of South Louisiana, and the Port of Greater Baton 
Rouge. Barge traffic and navigation on the Mississippi River also 
carries a vast array of coal, fertilizer, cement, chemicals, and 
petroleum products, so any significant disruption to this navigational 
channel has huge consequences for the entire U.S. economy.
  Unfortunately, the recent winter and spring floods in the Mississippi 
River Valley have severely impeded navigational traffic along 
significant stretches along the Mississippi River ship channel. For 
example, at Southwest Pass along the lower Mississippi River ship 
channel, the authorized draft is 47 feet, but due to the excess sand 
and silt washing downstream from the flooding, the ship channel had 
draft restrictions of 41 feet for a month earlier this year. 
Economically, for each foot of draft loss a vessel either on the 
inbound or outbound voyage must leave behind approximately $1 million, 
per foot, in cargo behind. This is particularly problematic because the 
last foot of draft is often where a vessel makes any profits. So during 
a month timeframe, each vessel traveling along the Mississippi River at 
Southwest Pass could potentially have had to leave behind $6 million in 
cargo, an average of 30 vessels per day moving through the channel. An 
unreliable ship channel threatens the viability of barge traffic along 
the entire Mississippi River system by raising the transportation costs 
to move cargo.
  Navigation along the Mississippi River system is just one example of 
many maritime infrastructure challenges our Nation faces. Congress has 
the responsibility for providing the resources necessary to keep 
America's infrastructure open for business. Inaction is not an option 
if we want to keep United States competitive in the global marketplace. 
Across America, the domestic maritime industry includes approximately 
40,000 vessels, supports 478,440 jobs, and has an annual economic 
impact of $92.5 billion. The industry also generates approximately 
$92.5 billion in wages and $10 billion in tax revenues. In honor of 
this quintessentially American industry and National Maritime Day, I 
look forward to working with my colleagues to find solutions for 
America's maritime infrastructure challenges.

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