Advocacy

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) released its FY 2022 Work Plan, which distributes additional Congressional funding to specific projects in investigations, construction, operations and maintenance, and more. The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill was signed into law on March 15. Congress directed USACE to develop and issue its Work Plan within 60 days. This report’s release brings ...

Congress authorized an annual $750 million for Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) spending, but in FY 2022, Congress appropriated only $234 million. This amount is separate from the $450 million the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) will provide to PIDP each year through 2026. This year, Congressional Ports Caucus Co-Chairs, Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) and Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX) ...

To ensure full use of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF), the U.S. House Appropriations Committee must allocate at least $2.317 billion for harbor maintenance activities in the House FY 2023 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill. The HMT funds are collected explicitly for this purpose. U.S. Representatives Bill Huizenga and Alan Lowenthal have penned an appropriations letter requesting full use ...

As part of the Legislative Summit: Now We Build, teams of AAPA members and staff went to Capitol Hill to talk with lawmakers on issues vital to the port industry. AAPA met with Senators, Representatives, and senior staff of key Congressional Committees to advocate for U.S. port policy issues. Various topics were discussed during the conversations, including the implementation of ...

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh headlined AAPA’s Legislative Summit: Now We Build! in Washington, D.C., before an audience of nearly 200 key U.S. policymakers, supply chain leaders and port industry leaders. Buttigieg and Walsh both lauded the hard work of seaports and port workers navigating the challenges of operating throughout a pandemic and ...

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to solicit applications for three funding opportunities: the National Infrastructure Project Assistance grant program (Mega), the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highway Projects program (INFRA), and the Rural Surface Transportation grant program (Rural). Applicants may apply for one grant program, but the combined solicitation will allow applicants to ...

The U.S. House of Representatives released the full text of the FY 2022 federal budget. The bill comes as government funding is set to expire on March 11, following almost six months of continuing resolutions to keep the government open since the onset of FY 2022 in October 2021. There is expectation Congress will pass the bill by Friday, March ...

In the past two years, the United States has learned the issues facing seaports and the maritime industry are some of the same issues with which the entire country is grappling.

On Feb. 14, AAPA endorsed the Klobuchar-Thune bill on Ocean Shipping (S.3580) after months of work with both Senators’ staffs and with approval from the Association’s Legislative Policy Council. The Klobuchar-Thune bill would increase Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) enforcement of ocean shipping rules while preserving the crucial freight ‘fluidity charges’ that prompt cargo owners to keep their goods from piling up ...

Correction: The original article was written in advance of the hearing and has been updated to accurately reflect the full panel of witnesses and further clarify testimonies. AAPA’s president and CEO, Chris Connor, and a diverse panel of port leaders testified before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations in a virtual ...