USA: Congressman Benishek Backs Up Ports Maintenance Plan

Dr. Dan Benishek (MI-01) recently helped lead a bipartisan effort in Congress to press the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to ensure Northern Michigan’s ports and harbors are properly maintained due to their importance to Michigan’s economy.

“Frankly, this issue is about jobs in Northern Michigan. Many of our communities up here depend on their harbors and ports for shipping and recreational boating. Properly maintaining these waterways is critical for our economy. Regrettably, we’ve seen a lot of the money designated for harbor maintenance being spent elsewhere. We need to fix that and ensure that Northern Michigan’s ports and harbors are properly taken care of,” said Dr. Benishek, a surgeon from Iron River and lifelong resident of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Dr. Benishek joined a bipartisan group of 41 lawmakers who sent a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers requesting that 15 percent, or $30 million, of the $200 million allocated in the recently passed federal funding measure be used solely to support the Great Lakes Navigation System.

Since coming to Congress in 2011, Dr. Benishek has been one of the leading voices in Congress fighting for proper funding of harbors in ports in Northern Michigan and throughout the country. Additionally, Dr. Benishek has been a strong supporter of legislation that will ensure that funds collected for harbor maintenance are used properly.

Michigan’s First Congressional District has over 1,600 miles of shoreline, the most in the continental United States, and is the only district with shoreline on three of the five Great Lakes.

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Press Release, February 12, 2014