Jim Inhofe News

The push to rebuild the U.S. Navy received a boost today when U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Congressman Rob Wittman, R-Va., introduced bicameral, bipartisan legislation that would make it the policy of the United States to achieve the Navy’s requirement of 355 ships. Under the “Securing the Homeland by Increasing our Power on the Seas (SHIPS) Act,” the fleet would be comprised of the optimal mix of platforms, with funding levels subject to annual appropriations. Currently, 276 ships are in the battle fleet.

The American Waterways Operators (AWO) said it welcomes the inclusion of the Commercial Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (CVIDA) and the recapitalization of the aging fleet of inland waterway tenders as part of the FY 2018 Coast Guard Reauthorization Act, which was approved today by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation by voice vote. CVIDA is bipartisan legislation that streamlines what is currently a broken regulatory system in which commercial vessels moving vital maritime commerce on U.S.

Data showing the heating of Earth in 2104 to the highest level on record will do little to stop Republicans in the U.S. Congress from fighting President Barack Obama's use of executive powers to slow climate change. Republicans, who won control of the Senate in November's elections, campaigned on dismantling Obama's plans to slow the country's emissions. More broadly, they plan to target Obama's recent pledge of $3 billion to a global climate fund that led some to hope the world would reach an agreement to fight global warming in Paris next year. After two U.S. agencies released new climate reports on Friday, the Senate's leading global warming skeptic said human activity was not leading the planet to the brink of devastation.

The U.S. Coast Guard joins the Department of Defense in reinstating tuition assistance in response to an amendment that was inserted into the General Provisions of the 2013 Appropriations Bill. The amendment to the Appropriations Bill submitted by U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), directs the U.S. Coast Guard, a component of Department of Homeland Security, placed under the category of "other departments or agencies" to restore funding for Tuition Assistance set aside under Sequestration. The U.S. Coast Guard has averaged nearly 10,000 enrollees a year for the last three years and expected around the same number this year. To date 7,000 members have participated. U.S. Coast Guard officials are working to establish a timeline for reinstatement of Tuition Assistance.

In Washington, DC, success is often measured in the smallest of increments, especially when we have gridlock in Congress like we have seen this past year. But when it comes to bringing attention to the importance of the inland waterways system to America’s current – and future – prosperity, progress is being made. On September 21, Midwest Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Roy Blunt (R-MO) sent a letter to Senator Barbara Boxer…

A bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on April 30 that encompasses the policy provisions of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 legislative package, including a proposal that would establish a new inspection program for the towing industry. The bill, entitled the Maritime Transportation Amendments of 2004 (H.R. 4251), was quickly slated for action. On May 6, the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, chaired by Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), convened a hearing on the authorization measure. During his opening remarks, Chairman LoBiondo stated, “Since the establishment of the Coast Guard, one of the Service’s primary duties has been to promote and protect the safety of life and property at sea. H.R.

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) welcomed the U.S. Senate’s approval last evening of the long-pending Water Resources Development Act (S. 728), which addresses a six-year backlog of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers programs, including navigation projects, policies and procedures necessary to keep pace with today’s burgeoning trade. The bill also includes a number of important provisions for the Corps, such as an amendment proposed by Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) to strike decommissioning language for the Corps dredge McFarland and lift restrictions on two other Corps dredges (the Yaquina and Essayons). “AAPA and our member ports are very pleased that this critical piece of legislation is finally headed to conference, thanks in large measure to Sen.

In a June 3 letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Mitch Daniels, 23 members of the United States Senate, two of which chair key Senate committees, have expressed their strong opposition to the proposal in the FY 2004 budget to assess between 25 and 50 percent of the Inland Waterways Trust Fund to cover not only the currently mandated costs of new capital improvements and major rehabilitation on the inland system, but also the costs of operating and maintaining the nation's inland waterways. The senators - John Breaux (D-LA); Arlen Specter (R-PA); Mary Landrieu (D-LA); John Warner (R-VA, Chairman, Senate Armed Services Committee)…

of operating and maintaining the nation's inland waterways. bi-partisan coalition of key legislators from a cross section of the country. the Inland Waterways Trust Fund through a fuel tax of 20 cents-per-gallon. locks and dams on the inland waterway system and major rehabilitation. and dams continue to erode. nation. waterways," the letter states. security. commodities which are generally described as the 'building blocks' of the U.S. the letter continued. infrastructure. which is deposited into general revenues. well as for operations and maintenance of the nation's coastal ports. the rapid mobilization of U.S. forces. transportation to congested highways and rail lines. negatively impact U.S. competitiveness," the letter said.