{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://scalise.house.gov/press-release/scalise-statement-importance-louisiana-ports-and-rivers", "Scalise Statement on the Importance of Louisiana Ports and Rivers", "2014-12-17", "2014", "2014-12", "Republican", "House", "LA", "Steve Scalise", "S001176", "scalise.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "METAIRIE, LA. \u2013 Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) today released the following statement after the World Trade Center of New Orleans and the Big River Coalition published a report, titled the \u201cEmerging South American Competitiveness to U.S. Soybean Exports.\u201d\n\"The Mississippi River and Louisiana\u2019s ports have a strong and positive impact on our national economy, our global competitiveness, and American job creation,\u201d Rep. Scalise said. \u201cAccording to this newly released report, the Mississippi River Basin produces 92 percent of our nation\u2019s agricultural exports and just five Louisiana ports facilitate nearly three-quarters of our nation\u2019s grain exports. This new study reinforces the importance of the Mississippi River to America's economic success, and highlights the importance of modernizing our waterborne infrastructure and the critical nature of deepening the Mississippi River to 50 feet in order to keep Louisiana competitive and dominant in domestic and international commerce.\n\u201cEarlier this year, I proudly fought to ensure passage of the Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA), a bipartisan bill that\u00a0strengthens our nation\u2019s water transportation infrastructure, and modernizes our ports. WRDA makes a long-overdue reinvestment in our ports by authorizing important reforms to the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to deepen our waterways and allow America to remain competitive in the global marketplace. Passage of this significant piece of legislation could not have been possible without the efforts of Ranking Member David Vitter and House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster.\u00a0I am thankful for the work of Sean M. Duffy, Sr., Executive Director of the Big River Coalition; Robert Evans, Chairman of International Business Committee of the World Trade Center of New Orleans (WTCNO); Dominick Knoll, Chief Executive Officer of WTCNO; and Dr. John T. Lambert, Associate Professor of International Business at the University of Southern Mississippi,\u00a0for working together to develop this important study.\u201d", 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": ["http://scalise.house.gov/press-release/scalise-statement-importance-louisiana-ports-and-rivers"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9142481721937656, "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"}