Shuster Responds to President Obama's Visit to Jacksonville Port: "Apparently We Can Wait"

Published Jul 26, 2013 8:17 AM by The Maritime Executive

Photo: President Barack Obama tours the Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT), in Jacksonville, Fla., July 25, 2013. President Obama is accompanied by, from left: Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx; Dennis Kelly, TraPac Regional VP & General Manager; Roy Schleicher, CEO, Jacksonville Port Authority; and Fred Wakefield, International Longshoreman's Association representative. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) released the following statement following the President’ speech on July 25 in Jacksonville, Florida:

“Just over a year ago President Obama highlighted his commitment to expediting the study for harbor deepening at the Port of Jacksonville, so that it could accommodate the larger ships expected to use the expanding Panama Canal. As part of his ‘We Can’t Wait’ initiative, he talked about finalizing this project review by April 2013. However, that date has come and gone, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers still has not completed the necessary reviews to send a request to Congress for approval of this project. Apparently we can wait.

“One of my top priorities is moving forward with Water Resources Reform and Development legislation to accelerate project delivery, streamline environmental reviews, and reform the Army Corps of Engineers bureaucracy. It is also essential that these reforms apply to all water infrastructure projects, not just a select handful. We need fiscally responsible solutions that cut red tape and improve our essential infrastructure. Our transportation systems are critical to the economic success of American businesses and job creators, and their effectiveness has a tremendous impact on our competitiveness and our quality of life. I hope the President will support these important efforts.”

A few excerpts from Obama's speech are below:

"We’ve got to help more manufacturers bring more jobs back to America. We’ve got to keep creating good jobs in manufacturing. We’ve got to create good jobs in wind and solar energy. We’ve got to tap into this natural gas revolution that’s bringing energy costs down in this country, which means manufacturers now want to locate here because they’re thinking that we’ve got durable, reliable supplies of energy. We’ve got to create more jobs today doing what you’re doing right here at JAXPORT -- and that’s building this country’s future."

"We need modern schools for our kids. We need modern power grids and fuel networks that can withstand stronger storms. And we need modern ports so we can move more goods made in America out to the rest of the world."

"In a couple of years, new supertankers are going to start coming through the Panama Canal. Those supertankers can hold three times the amount of cargo. We want those supertankers coming here to Jacksonville. If we’ve got more supertankers coming here, that means more jobs at the terminals. That means more warehouses in the surrounding area. That means more contractors are getting jobs setting up those warehouses. That means they’ve got more money to spend at the restaurant. That means the waitress has more money to spend to buy her iPod. It starts working for everybody."