U.S. waterway groups praise House passage of Corps bill

U.S. waterway groups praise House passage of Corps bill    U.S. waterway transportation lobbies praised the House’s passage Thursday of legislation authorizing the Army Corps of Engineers to carry out various studies, projects and programs to preserve the American inland waterway system.
   “Modern and efficient lock and dam infrastructure on our nation’s inland waterways system allows for the efficient transport of our ‘building block’ commodities such as grain for export, coal for electric power generation and chemicals for the pharmaceutical industry and aggregate uses,” said R. Barry Palmer, president of the Waterways Council, in a July 14 statement.
   “The United States simply cannot compete without a modern waterways system, and today’s legislative passage will allow that to continue,” he added.
   The House passed the 2005 Water Resources Development Act (H.R. 2864) by a vote of 406-14. Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Ill., said the bill goes a long way to repair the “potholes” in the river system.
   “In addition to authorizing crucial projects, including modernization of the locks on the Upper Mississippi system, the House has provided a sound and reasonable version of the Corps reform which, when coupled with the reforms the Corps of Engineers has already instituted, will do much to ensure that future projects are shielded from unwarranted attacks on their economies,” said Worth Hager, president of the National Waterways Conference.
   Also Thursday, the House defeated an amendment sponsored by Rep. Dana Rohrbacher, R-Calif., by a 310-111 vote that would have allowed for fees on import containers for security purposes.