Wednesday, July 19, 2006

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kit Bond, Chairman of the Senate Transportation Infrastructure subcommittee, announced that the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) today passed the full Senate. WRDA includes Bond’s bipartisan legislation to modernize locks on the upper Mississippi River.

“We cannot be for increased trade, commercial growth, and job creation without supporting the basic transportation infrastructure necessary to move goods from buyers to sellers,” said Bond. “New efficiency helps give our producers an edge that can make or break opportunities in the international marketplace.

“One medium-sized barge tow can carry the freight of 870 trucks. That fact alone speaks volumes to the benefits of water. With oil prices over $70 per barrel, consider the advantages of a twin engine barge that can carry the equivalent of 870 trucks. This is critical for both the environment and the economy.

“Without a competitive transportation system, the promise of expanded trade and commercial growth is empty, job opportunities are lost, and we will be unprepared for the global challenges of this new century.”

Bond emphasized that passage of WRDA, which authorizes the nation’s flood control, ecosystem restoration, and navigation projects is long overdue. For the Midwest, where farmers depend on the lock and dam system to move their products to market, Bond’s lock and dam bill is an essential part of WRDA.

Bond’s bill authorizes $900 million in federal funds for seven new locks, including $1.6 billion for ecosystem restoration. In addition to replacing the aging infrastructure and environmental restoration, Bond’s bill is a critical jobs initiative, creating 48 million man-hours of construction work.

Bond thanked Senators Durbin, Obama, Grassley, Harkin and Talent for supporting the measure and making it a bipartisan success. Bond said it is important to improve the region’s aging lock and dam system in order to maintain the 1,000 miles of Missouri and Mississippi River shoreline and inland ports, which serve as the Midwest’s arteries to world markets.

Updating the locks and dam system will prepare the country for the projected growth in freight shipping, said Bond. Highway traffic growth is expected to grow from 11 billion tons to 19 billion tons and rail traffic from 2 billion to 3.7 billion tons.

Over the past 35 years, waterborne commerce on the Upper Mississippi River has more than tripled. The system currently carries 70 percent of our nation's corn exports and 45 percent of soybean exports at two-thirds the cost of rail, added Bond.

“We are one step closer to modernizing our waterways so farmers and producers can be more efficient and more competitive,” said Bond. “That’s how you protect jobs here at home.”

The bill now heads to a conference committee with the House.

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