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While I remain troubled by the Corps' inability to fully justify the Model they used for their commercial traffic predictions, America clearly has an aging lock and dam infrastructure on the Mississippi.

Most of the locks and dams on the upper Mississippi River system are over 60 years old and many are in serious need of repair and rehabilitation.

Mr. Speaker, the Delaware River deepening project is important for my constituents, for our region and for the entire nation. I trust that, when they examine the facts about it, every one of my colleagues will join me in supporting it.

If we can find a way to keep floodwater in reserve and to use it when it's needed, it will be a double boon.

As founder and co-chair of the upper Mississippi River Congressional task force, I have long sought to preserve the river's health and historical multiple uses, including as a natural waterway and a home to wildlife, for the benefit of future generations of Americans.

So we have broad bipartisan support for the bill, and it's my hope that we can build on some of the things that have been talked about in Washington involving building a larger ownership society.

This United States Government should go down to Mississippi and protect my people. That is what should happen.

I want all the interested parties to come together and develop a solution that provides additional water and helps the lower Arkansas River communities thrive again.

I fully support the goal of species protection and conservation and believe that recovery and ultimately delisting of species should be the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's top priority under ESA.

In the underlying bill, I think the authors of the legislation, those in support of it, understand the use of the Mississippi River. Yes, there is commercial navigation on it, and there will be tomorrow.