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![handle is hein.cbhear/fdsysagox0001 and id is 1 raw text is: AUT-ENTICATED
US. GOVERNMENT
INFORMATION
GP
ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT
APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2015
U.S. SENATE,
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS,
Washington, DC.
NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES
[CLERK'S NOTE.-The subcommittee was unable to hold hearings
on nondepartmental witnesses. The statements and letters of those
submitting written testimony are as follows:]
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE-CIVIL
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
CORPS OF ENGINEERS-CIVIL
PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE ARKANSAS WATERWAYS COMMISSION
To Chairman Simpson and Members of the Subcommittee: Thank you for the op-
portunity to provide the Arkansas Waterways Commission's perspective on fiscal
year 2015 appropriations for inland waterways. The Arkansas Waterways Commis-
sion is the sole State agency responsible for developing, promoting and protecting
waterborne transportation on Arkansas' five navigable rivers: the Arkansas, Mis-
sissippi, Ouachita, Red and White Rivers.
We are disappointed that the President's fiscal year 2015 budget submission re-
duces the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) budget by $906,500,000, a 17
percent reduction from what Congress enacted in fiscal year 2014. The Arkansas
Waterways Commission urges that the USACE budget remain at the same level as
fiscal year 2014.
We work with three districts and two divisions of USACE; their funding is critical
to serve the diversity of our waterways, each with its own individual needs.
For example, the President's fiscal year 2015 budget does not provide any funds
for small port dredging; public ports on the Mississippi River in Arkansas are con-
sidered small ports and, as such, will not be dredged under the President's budget.
The 2014 Omnibus Budget Bill, agreed to by the House and Senate, allowed Arkan-
sas' small ports to be dredged by the Corps after a competitive process. We believe
this is a best practice that should be continued in the future.
The Fourth R
The Administration talks of the importance of infrastructure projects: roads, rails,
and runways, but ignores the fourth r-rivers. We cannot minimize the impor-
tance of our national waterways system. According to an economic impact analysis
conducted by the Mack-Blackwell Rural Transportation Center at the University of
Arkansas, the impact of inland waterways is $1.94 billion to our State.
Arkansas ranks third in the Nation in inland waterway mileage and one of hand-
ful of States that has more than one inland waterway.
State River
Miles
1 . A la s k a .......................................................................................................................................................................... 5 ,5 0 0
2 . L o u is ia n a ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2 ,8 2 0
3 . A rk a n s a s ...................................................................................................................................................................... 1 ,8 6 0
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