US House passes bill for Soo Locks security study

The U.S. House voted Wednesday afternoon to pass legislation calling on President Joe Biden's administration to study the security needs at the Soo Locks in northern Michigan and report back to Congress both on any threats they may face as well as the economic effects that would occur if the locks were for any reason shut down.

The bipartisan legislation, proposed by U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Twp., but also cosponsored by U.S. Reps. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet; Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids; and Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, comes at a time when funding requests for construction of a new navigation lock that can handle the largest vessels carrying cargo on the Great Lakes have slowed amid budget tensions and cost estimates that have more than tripled in recent years.

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The House passed the legislation on a voice vote, sending it to the Senate for consideration. It was James' first bill to pass the House in his freshman term.

In remarks Tuesday to reporters, James − who serves on the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee − noted that a 2015 Homeland Security report first detailed in the Free Press indicated a long shutdown of the single lock at Sault Ste. Marie currently capable of handling the largest vessels could virtually stop iron ore pellets from making their way down to steel mills supplying industry in the lower Great Lakes, possibly triggering a recession.

He added that the Soo Locks are "critical to our national security" given how America's ability to protect itself could be crippled if cargo traffic on the lakes came to a stop. As such, he said, the Biden administration must ensure the current Locks are defended while the new $3 billion one between Lake Superior and the lower Lakes is being built and beyond.

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The legislation calls for U.S. Transportation Department, along with the Pentagon and the Coast Guard, to study the security risks and the economic and national security damage a shutdown could cause, reporting back to Congress within a year's time with recommendations.

James, a former Army helicopter pilot whose district includes Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, also said he's confident that providing a future fighter mission at that base as well as adopting a strategy to use hypersonic defense missiles there or elsewhere could be a key to making sure the locks are secure. He added that protecting them from cyber attack will be key.

So far, however, the Pentagon has yet to give any assurances that Selfridge will get a new fighter mission once the current fleet of A-10 Warthogs are pulled out, possibly within a decade's time.

Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: US House passes call for Soo Locks security study