{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.casey.senate.gov/newsroom/releases/casey-coons-carper-push-for-investment-in-job-creating-delaware-deepening-project-in-upcoming-budget", "Casey, Coons, Carper Push for Investment in Job-Creating Delaware Deepening Project in Upcoming Budget", "2013-12-20", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "PA", "Bob Casey", "C001070", "www.casey.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC- Today, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) Chris Coons (D-DE) and Tom Carper (D-DE) announced that they have sent a letter to key Administration officials urging them to commit to investing in the Delaware Deepening project as they prepare their fiscal year 2015 budget (FY15). The letter, to Assistant Secretary for Civil Works at the Department of the Army and\u00a0 Office and Management and Budget Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell, makes the economic case for finishing this project which is well on its way to completion. This initiative will increase economic activity by $13 million per year and create and sustain thousands of jobs. Casey, Coons, and Carper have repeatedly pushed for, and have\u00a0been successful in delivering, funds to this project. Deepening the Delaware will have a significant impact on job creation and allow the region\u2019s ports to continue as national leaders.\r\nThe project has continued to progress and now needs funding for a complex portion, which includes rock removal. The Senators wrote, \u201cWithout sufficient funding in FY 2015, it is possible that the Corps would have to wait at least another year before starting the rock removal or to break the rock contract into a series of segments, which will significantly increase the time needed to complete the project and the attendant cost.\u201d\r\nThe full text of the Senators\u2019 letter can be seen below:\r\nThe Honorable Jo-Ellen Darcy   Assistant Secretary for Civil Works   Department of the Army\r\nThe Honorable Sylvia Mathews Burwell   Director   Office of Management and Budget\r\nDear Secretary Darcy and Director Burwell:\r\nWe write in support of funding for the Delaware River Main Channel Deepening Project in the President\u2019s FY 2015 budget.\u00a0 Continuing the progress made to date is vitally important to the prosperity of the Delaware River regional economy.\u00a0 Inclusion of adequate funding in the budget will help ensure that the project is finished by its target completion date in 2017.\u00a0\r\nThe purpose of this project, which has received federal funding since 1999, is to deepen the existing Delaware River navigation channel from 40 to 45 feet from the mouth of Delaware Bay up to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey.\u00a0 The deeper channel will allow for increased cargo and petroleum and natural gas shipments to reach ports more efficiently, which the Corps estimates will result in more than $13 million in additional economic activity annually. Moreover, the expansion of the Panama Canal will bring significantly more traffic to ports along the East Coast.\u00a0 The Philadelphia region must be prepared to receive vessels with deeper drafts and increased exports from regional industries in order to remain competitive in the global economy.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\nAt this point in the project, the schedule calls for underwater rock removal to occur in FY 2015 in Reach B.\u00a0 From technical, cost, environmental impact and safety perspectives, the rock removal by blasting is the most complex section of deepening the channel.\u00a0 The entire effort needs to be completed during a tight environmental window in a safe manner that would have minimal impacts to fisheries, vessel traffic and adjacent port facilities.\u00a0 Without sufficient funding in FY 2015, it is possible that the Corps would have to wait at least another year before starting the rock removal or to break the rock contract into a series of segments, which will significantly increase the time needed to complete the project and the attendant cost.\r\nWe appreciate the President\u2019s commitment to deepening the Delaware River as demonstrated by the inclusion of the project in both his FY 2013 and FY 2014 budgets.\u00a0 As the project moves closer to completion, we ask for your continued support and stand ready to assist you in this effort.\u00a0 Thank you for your attention to our views.\r\nSincerely,\r\nRobert P. Casey, Jr.   United States Senate\r\nChristopher A. Coons   United States Senate\r\nTom Carper   United States Senate\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\tPress Contact\r\n\t\t\t\t\tJohn Rizzo (Casey) 202-228-6367 Ian Koski (Coons) 202-224-5042 Rob Runyan (Carper) 202-224-2441", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.casey.senate.gov/newsroom/releases/casey-coons-carper-push-for-investment-in-job-creating-delaware-deepening-project-in-upcoming-budget"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.0593181252479553, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}