Our nation's locks and dams play a vital role in creating and sustaining jobs and supporting economic growth throughout the country.

The inland waterways system offers the most cost-competitive way to transport our commodities: 20 percent of the coal that is used to power our nation's electricity, much of it from Pennsylvania; 22 percent of our petroleum products; and more than 60 percent of export grain. The shippers who produce or manufacture these commodities are in danger of losing their competitive edge unless we focus on proper funding for the lock and dam infrastructure.

More than 200,000 jobs rely on a functional inland waterways system in southwestern Pennsylvania. It is critical that we maintain and upgrade infrastructure that allows for the continual use of waterways in the long term. This will protect jobs in the region and other jobs that the inland waterways system supports across the country.

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