Last week about 40 business and government leaders from across the Tennessee Valley gathered in Washington to pursue a mission as important as any I face as Congressman -- making sure that the Chickamauga Lock continues to operate and that the Tennessee River remains open for commerce and recreation.

Current estimates are that it will cost something like $300 million to replace the lock when its useful life ends around 2010. Back in the days when Congresses ran deficits and spent money as if there were no tomorrow, getting that kind of money would not have been very difficult. But Congress is now determined to keep our budget balanced and even pay down the national debt, so obtaining funds for an expensive project like this is a major challenge.

Last Thursday, The Chattanooga Times and Free Press carried an excellent editorial that pretty well hit the nail on the head in explaining what the stakes are.

"It will take a Herculean combined effort by an energized group of congressional representatives, businesses, recreational boaters, and local communities to secure a new and larger lock," the editorial said. "The transportation, economic and environmental consequences of failure or closure of the existing lock are too extreme to contemplate seriously."

The forum in Washington was partly an update on efforts to replace the lock. More importantly, it focused on shifting into high gear efforts to make the case for a new lock to members of Congress from all over our country. Folks from the Valley fanned out across Capitol Hill, visiting offices and telling the lock's story. Already, I have personally spoken to more than three dozen members of the House to explain why the lock must never be allowed to close.

And - although many members don't know it until they are told - Chickamauga Lock affects many, many more Congressional districts than those in Tennessee. Folks in the valley know that keeping the lock open is vital to continuing commercial barge traffic in the 318 miles of waterway above Chattanooga. It is also a boon to recreational boaters, including the "Vol Navy," who use it travel to Knoxville for UT football games every fall.

But most people don't know that about 80 percent of the goods that flow through the lock are on their way to or from locations OUTSIDE our region. In fact, commerce flowing through the lock affects 42 Congressional Districts in 17 different states.

There's no denying, however, that the main losers if the lock were to be closed would be those of us who live and work in the Tennessee Valley. Closure of the lock could mean:

• Loss of 1,000 jobs with a $75 million payroll and closing of two public barge terminals
• Loss of $18 million in shipping cost savings
• Loss of future economic development
• Loss of shipping access for the federal government's premier defense and research complex in Oak Ridge.
• INCREASED transportation costs
• INCREASED traffic and congestion on Interstate 75, particularly between Chattanooga and Knoxville.

As we completed last week's Second Annual Chickamauga Lock Forum in Washington, I reminded participants of another point made in The Times and Free Press editorial: that in dealing with this issue, we must be prepared to think "outside the box" with all reasonable approaches left on the table.

But whatever the challenge, I am determined to make sure that the Tennessee River remains open. The federal government severed the Tennessee River just above Chattanooga 60 years ago when it built Chickamauga Dam. The government also built the lock to make sure that commercial and recreational boating would not be devastated. So our government made a commitment to folks in our region -- and really to all Americans - that the Tennessee River above Chattanooga would remain open. I am totally determined that the federal government WILL NOT abandon that obligation.