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LRB-2733/1
JKS:amn
2019 - 2020 LEGISLATURE
May 8, 2019 - Introduced by Representatives Oldenburg, Edming, Horlacher,
Kulp, Kurtz, Loudenbeck, Petryk, Schraa, Spreitzer, Tauchen, Thiesfeldt,
Tranel, VanderMeer and Pronschinske, cosponsored by Senators Marklein,
Carpenter, Nass, Ringhand and Smith. Referred to Committee on Rules.
AJR38,1,1 1Relating to: the Mississippi River System.
AJR38,1,32 Whereas, 30.3 million tons of commodities are shipped through Wisconsin
3annually by barges on the Mississippi River; and
AJR38,1,64 Whereas, the displacement of that cargo would burden Wisconsin roads with
51.2 million additional trucks, spanning 17,215 miles bumper-to-bumper, or more
6than 69 percent of the earth's circumference; and
AJR38,1,87 Whereas, barges move commodities through Wisconsin to and from 18 different
8states, as well as Canada and other nations; and
AJR38,1,99 Whereas, waterways and ports support 26,850 Wisconsin jobs; and
AJR38,1,1210 Whereas, waterways transport $21.5 billion in manufactured goods, $4.3
11billion in nonmetallic minerals, and $3 billion in agricultural and food products to
12and from Wisconsin; and
AJR38,1,1513 Whereas, the Mississippi River moves more than 60 percent of the nation's
14agricultural exports, constituting a vibrant transportation system without which the
15United States would lose its competitive advantage in the global marketplace; and
AJR38,2,3
1Whereas, 92 percent of the locks and dams on the Mississippi River System
2were constructed between 1907 and 1936 and intended primarily for steamboat
3traffic; and
AJR38,2,64 Whereas, the U.S. Congress authorized modernization of seven locks on this
5system through the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, but has yet to fund
6construction; and
AJR38,2,97 Whereas, the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, a public-private partnership,
8makes capital improvements to locks and dams through user fees on commercial
9diesel fuel; and
AJR38,2,1510 Whereas, the Environmental Protection Agency has found that
11transportation-related activity accounts for 33 percent of the nation's carbon dioxide
12pollutants, however, barge transportation boasts the smallest carbon footprint,
13emitting 30 percent less carbon dioxide than rail and 1,000 percent less than trucks,
14with similar results for particulate matter, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrogen
15oxides, and other pollutants; and
AJR38,2,1816 Whereas, river transportation is the most energy-efficient mode of moving
17commodities, pushing one ton of freight 647 miles on a single gallon of fuel, as
18compared with 477 miles by rail and 145 miles by truck; and
AJR38,2,2319 Whereas, the modernization of locks and dams on the Mississippi River System
20will create hundreds of millions of work hours for the region's cement masons,
21carpenters, pile drivers, divers, plumbers, pipefitters, operating engineers,
22electricians, laborers, iron workers, and other skilled workers in the building trades;
23now, therefore, be it
AJR38,3,2 24Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the members of the
25Wisconsin Legislature support the modernization of seven locks authorized under

1the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program for the Upper Mississippi
2River System; and, be it further
AJR38,3,6 3Resolved, That the Wisconsin Legislature applauds affected industries for
4their unanimous and voluntary support in 2014 of increasing the user fee on
5commercial diesel fuel that provides revenue for the Inland Waterways Trust Fund;
6and, be it further
AJR38,3,9 7Resolved, That the Wisconsin Legislature urges prompt completion of these
8construction and rehabilitation projects that matches full use of the cost-share from
9the Inland Waterways Trust Fund; and, be it further
AJR38,3,13 10Resolved, That the Wisconsin Legislature pledges to work with carrier,
11shipping, and supply industries affected by the lock and dam infrastructure of the
12Mississippi River System, as well as industries affected by inland river navigation
13issues generally.
AJR38,3,1414 (End)
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