Commemorating the unofficial start of the inland waterway system navigation season and the role of the Corps of Engineers in facilitating access and increasing efficiencies in the American agricultural and trade economy.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 484 Commemorating the unofficial start of the inland waterway system navigation season and the role of the Corps of Engineers in facilitating access and increasing efficiencies in the American agricultural and trade econ- omy. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 11, 2019 Ms. CRAIG (for herself, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. KELLY of Pennsyl- vania, Mr. BOST, Ms. FINKENAUER, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. BALDERSON, and Mr. LOEBSACK) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure RESOLUTION Commemorating the unofficial start of the inland waterway system navigation season and the role of the Corps of Engineers in facilitating access and increasing effi- ciencies in the American agricultural and trade economy. Whereas the navigation of the inland waterway system is part of the United States marine transportation system, which provides for both passenger transport and domestic freight transportation infrastructure and coastal gate- ways for global trade; Whereas the St. Paul District of the Corps of Engineers con- siders the first tow to arrive at Lock and Dam 2 as the unofficial start of the inland waterway system navigation VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:21 Jul 12, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR484.IH HR484 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 484 IH season, because it means all locks are accessible to com- mercial and recreational vessels; Whereas, on April 24, 2019, the first tow to reach Lock and Dam 2 was the Motor Vessel Aaron F. Barrett, pushing 12 barges en route to St. Paul, Minnesota, and it was locked through Lock and Dam 2, near Hastings, Min- nesota; Whereas, up and down the river, shippers and consumers from 38 States depend on the inland waterways to move about 600 million tons of cargo valued at over $300 bil- lion annually; Whereas American farmers are reliant on the inland water- way system as a low-cost transportation mechanism for their goods traded internationally; Whereas 541,000 jobs are directly tied to our inland water- way system; Whereas the work by the Corps of Engineers to maintain the inland waterway system is vital to the Nation’s economy; Whereas the Corps of Engineers is responsible for maintain- ing 192 commercially active lock sites with 238 lock chambers, providing a minimum 9-foot navigation chan- nel on nearly 12,000 miles of inland and intracoastal wa- terways; Whereas, in addition to lock maintenance, the Corps of Engi- neers promotes environmental enhancement, river naviga- tion, flood damage reduction, water and wetlands regula- tion, recreation site preservation, and disaster response; Whereas more than 78 percent of the locks and dams oper- ated by the Corps of Engineers on the system are well beyond their 50-year design life, and nearly half of ves- sels experience delays; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:21 Jul 12, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR484.IH HR484 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 484 IH Whereas the Mississippi River contributes the largest per- centage into the Inland Waterways Trust Fund to con- tribute in the construction and rehabilitation of locks and dams, yet has received limited investment return to its infrastructure; and Whereas proportional investment in the inland waterway sys- tem infrastructure would directly result in efficiency and productivity gains across sectors and significantly impact the competitiveness of American commodities in inter- national markets: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) recognizes the start of the inland waterway 2 system navigation season; 3 (2) acknowledges the work of the Corps of En- 4 gineers in maintaining the inland waterway system 5 as vital to the Nation’s economy; 6 (3) recognizes that more than 78 percent of the 7 locks and dams operated by the Corps of Engineers 8 on the system are well beyond their 50-year design 9 life; and 10 (4) expresses its sense that investment in the 11 inland waterway system infrastructure is needed and 12 would significantly impact the competitiveness of 13 American commodities in international markets. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:21 Jul 12, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR484.IH HR484 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS