Scalise: Reports of ship aground near mouth of Mississippi highlight the need for adequate dredging funding

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Steve Scalise today renewed his call for immediate dredging of the Lower Mississippi River after reports of a ship aground near Head of Passes on the Mississippi River early this morning.

“Our river systems are vital to our economy, and this latest grounding highlights the need to ensure that our rivers and ports are adequately dredged by the Corps, not only to allow for the free flow of commerce, but also to ensure safety along the river” Scalise said. “It’s time for the Obama Administration and the Corps to recognize that dredging the Mississippi River is a national priority which protects American jobs, maintains commerce throughout our nation’s waterways, and increases exports for American businesses and farmers. We cannot afford to have vessels getting stuck in our rivers creating bottlenecks in major waterways. The Corps should act immediately to address this problem and maintain the river at a depth that allows businesses throughout the country to effectively transport their products down our waterways and out to worldwide ports.”

Scalise has long called for adequate dredging of Louisiana’s rivers and ports. He successfully passed legislation to increase dredging funding to help ensure adequate funding of the Army Corps of Engineers Operations and Maintenance account for FY 2012 dredging activities. In addition, Scalise is an outspoken advocate of the RAMP Act, which would require that all revenue received from the Harbor Maintenance Tax be spent on dredging and maintenance for federally maintained harbors and ports.

The Army Corps of Engineers received more than $700 million last year to adequately dredge rivers and ports to mitigate the risk of ships running aground.

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