(Washington, DC) – Congressman Charles W. Boustany, Jr., M.D., (R-South Louisiana) issued the following statement after President Barack Obama recently highlighted the need for the nation’s port infrastructure to be upgraded with a visit to The Jacksonville Port Authority: 

“America’s waterways continue to be robbed of the dollars needed to perform maintenance on infrastructure. For years, I’ve advocated on behalf of South Louisiana’s ports and harbors by introducing legislation, the RAMP Act, ensuring proper funding for the maintenance of national waterways’ projects through the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund.

“American competitiveness continues to suffer as areas like the Panama Canal expand while many of our country’s waterways remain woefully out-of-date and unable to accommodate larger ships and the economic activity they bring. Due to a lack of maintenance, our nation’s ports and harbors become shallower and narrower every day. I welcome President Obama’s interest in this vital issue. Failure to maintain America’s arteries of commerce reduces its competitiveness, negatively impacts regional and national commerce, and increases the risk of vessel groundings and collisions. I urge the President to highlight and promote the ways the RAMP Act not only addresses these issues but solves the problem.”

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National Journal recently highlighted President Obama’s trip to The Jacksonville Port Authority here.

Boustany has released numerous pieces on the RAMP Act. Read them below:

Op-ed: Time to RAMP Up Protection of Louisiana’s Waterways.

Press Release: Boustany Introduces RAMP Act in 113^th Congress

Press Release: Boustany: “RAMP Act gains momentum in Senate.”