DeMint introduces water resource funds bill

DeMint

   Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., on Monday introduced a bill that he said would reform the way harbor dredging and other water resources projects are funded.
   DeMint said the Army Corps of Engineers Reform Act of 2011 would achieve reform by “eliminating the need for wasteful earmarks, focusing on national priorities, and giving states flexibility to meet critical needs.”
   The bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., would set up a Water Resources Commission to prioritize water resource projects. In an interview with the Associated Press Graham compared it to the commission that proposes military base closings.
   DeMint said his “plan” had three major reforms:
   ' “Eliminate the Corps of Engineers' more than 10-year backlog of some 1,000 earmarks by increasing transparency” and establishing the commission.
   ' “Empower the Corps to undertake studies and construction projects based on national priority instead of politically directed earmarks.
   ' “Reform the administration of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) to allow states to choose, within the proper parameters, where to use the harbor maintenance taxes collected at their own ports.”
   DeMint was criticized last year for his anti-earmark crusade by port supporters who wanted a study of a deepening Charleston harbor to 50 feet to be funded.
   “Sen. DeMint is still mistakenly making his crusade against earmarks a higher priority than our port’s future,” read an editorial in last September’s Charleston Post and Courier.

Graham

'The era of earmarks is over and Congress must pass urgently needed reforms to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent on national priorities or not spent at all,' said DeMint on Monday. 'For too long, Congress has relied on a corrupting system that funded projects based on politics instead of merit. Politicians have tried to justify their existence with politically-driven handouts to low-priority projects in their states, but the time of using taxpayer-dollars as a favor factory must end.”
Graham said he looked forward to working with DeMint “to reform our current port funding system. This legislation will bring about reform that will allow decisions to be made locally and fees collected will be used for the most local benefit. Senator DeMint and I will push this legislation in the Senate in an expeditious manner.' ' Chris Dupin

FreightWaves Staff