Lawmakers Unveil Bill That Invests in Ports
House and Senate transportation leaders said they will vote next week on a final water policy bill that approves myriad improvements to ports nationwide.
According to a May 15 summary provided by the congressional committees of jurisdiction, the bill would address the needs at ports in Long Beach, California, Los Angeles and New Orleans.
It also would provide assistance to smaller ports that have not been maintained at their approved depths and widths over the past six years. The legislation would allow ports to cover the costs of harbor-deepening projects and request reimbursements when Congress approves them.
Ports are looking to expand their capabilities in order to accommodate larger ships traveling through an expanded Panama Canal next year. The canal’s multibillion-dollar expansion is expected to be completed in 2015, and it would allow ships to move across oceans with nearly three times more cargo.
The final bill also would establish a minimum authorizing level of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to ensure that by 2025 all of the money in the fund is used to support maintenance and dredging projects.
And it would establish a five-year program that would allow the Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency to provide direct loans and loan guarantees for construction of infrastructure projects.
Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and David Vitter (R-La.), chairwoman and ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, respectively, and Reps. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), chairman and ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, indicated there is support in Congress to send the bill to the president’s desk.
Congress last passed a water policy bill in 2007.
