WCI: 20 Years of Success and Still More to Come
Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) recently held its annual Washington, D.C. meetings that included a Capitol Hill fly-in. WCI members from across the country participated in 100 meetings with House and Senate members to advocate for the nation’s inland waterways to ensure its reliability by modernizing its infrastructure.Meeting with stalwart champions of the inland waterways as well as newly sworn in members of the 118th Congress to educate them about the system’s importance demonstrates democracy in action…
The Case for an Inland River Transportation Caucus Within US Congress
An Inland River Transportation Caucus could help inland river transportation interests that are often misunderstood and greatly undervalued.For anyone doing business on the inland river transportation system, the goal is to keep the rivers open for business, the barges moving and the landside facilities efficient in order to keep America’s supply chain strong.To accomplish this, it takes the federal agencies that are charged with operating and maintaining inland rivers to have the support of congress, the funding congress allocates and legislation passed by congress.
WCI Opposes Inland Waterways Lockage Fee
Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) is urging the swift rejection of a proposal to phase out the current inland waterways tax on diesel fuel and replace it with a lock usage fee included in President Obama’s FY 2010 proposed budget. This same idea was proposed by the Bush Administration, and soundly rejected by the 110th Congress. Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Terrence Salt testified this week before the House Appropriations Committee’s Energy and Water Development Subcommittee in support of the Army Corps of Engineers FY 2010 budget, including the lockage fee proposal. “This lockage fee is an ill-conceived proposal that should be rejected by this Congress just as it was by the last Congress.
Congressional Appropriations Underway
Congress has begun the FY 00 appropriations process as both House and Senate committees made their 302(b) allocations and began to consider individual appropriations bills at the subcommittee and committee level. The 302(b) allocations are the method by which the appropriations committees divide te funds approved in the budget resolution among the 13 appropriations subcommittees. These allocations become the "pot" from which each subcommittee must dispense monies to various programs within their jurisdiction. The Energy and Water Development Subcommittee, which appropriates money for USACE programs, received $21.1 billion in appropriations in FY 99. This year, the Senate subcommittee received $21.3 billion and the House, only $19.4 billion.
Legal Matters
Senator Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) introduced the "States Prevention of Oil Tanker Spills Act" (S. 2506), which seeks to reinstate Washington state oil tanker safety laws overturned by the Supreme Court in Intertanko v. Locke and United States v. Locke. In a press release, Senator Gorton said, "I disagree with the Court's decision, because I believe Washington State should be allowed to protect its shores as it sees fit." The Gorton legislation would reinstate the right of all states to adopt additional standards beyond existing federal requirements governing the operation, maintenance, equipment, personnel and manning of oil tankers. While the legislation would apply to all coastal states, Gorton's interest is focused on recently overturned Washington statutes.
