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Transportation And Infrastructure Committee News

25 Mar 2024

US Dredging: Plenty of Issues, New WRDA on the Way

(Photo: Janet Meredith / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

2024 marks another year for development of a biennial WRDA bill—Water Resources Development Act, critical legislation for the Nation’s waterways, ports and harbors. WRDA encompasses a range of issues, from environmental regs to energy use to agriculture and, of course, a focus on projects critical for economic growth.Because these are dynamic and timely issues, Congress and the maritime sector like to keep WRDA on a two-year reauthorization timeline. Indeed, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, December and January, held three WRDA information hearings.

16 Mar 2023

WCI: 20 Years of Success and Still More to Come

© Craig A Walker / Adobe Stock

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…

02 Nov 2022

US Mid-term Elections Bring Changes, Uncertainty in Congressional Maritime Leadership

© chris / Adobe Stock

Regardless of whether the Republicans seize or the Democrats maintain control of the House and Senate, there is a guarantee that changes in leadership will occur in some of the key Congressional leadership positions that will impact the maritime industry. Two of the most significant Congressional committees of jurisdiction are the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (House T&I) and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (Senate Commerce). Both committees have jurisdiction over the U.S.

31 Oct 2022

The Case for an Inland River Transportation Caucus Within US Congress

© doganmesut / Adobe Stock

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.

23 Mar 2022

WRDA 3rd Hearing: Members Promote Home Projects

© eurobanks / Adobe Stock

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee, held a third Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) hearing on March 16, providing a chance for Representatives to seek local project funding.Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (OR-4), in opening remarks, noted large recent spending increases for water projects, e.g., the new infrastructure bill and harbor trust fund policy changes in WRDA 2020. Still, he commented that even this new money cannot pay for the backlog of the Corps’ projects.

26 Jan 2022

Work Starts on WRDA 2022

© Stephen Coburn / Adobe Stock

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, held a hearing January 12, starting development of a 2022 Water Resources and Development Act. One Subcommittee goal is a new and updated WRDA every two years. Michael L. Connor, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) and Lieutenant General Scott A. Spellmon, Chief of Engineers and Commanding General, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were guests, making opening remarks and then taking questions from each Subcommittee member.In addition…

15 Sep 2021

House Transportation Committee Funds Key Great Lakes Projects

The Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw, a 240-foot heavy icebreaker, breaks ice near Marine City, Mich., along the St. Clair River (Photo: Daniel R. Michelson / U.S. Coast Guard)

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Tuesday approved $1 billion for U.S. Coast Guard shore side infrastructure nationwide and $350 million for a heavy Great Lakes icebreaker as part of its budget reconciliation bill, an action that the Great Lake Maritime Task Force (GLMTF) called “great news for the Great Lakes.”The GLMTF described the heavy Great Lakes icebreaker as desperately needed and expects that a portion of the infrastructure funds will go to good…

13 Aug 2020

Interview: Tracy Zea, President & CEO, Waterways Council Inc.

Tracy Zea is the Waterways Council Inc.’s new President & CEO.

We recently checked in with Tracy Zea, Waterways Council Inc.’s new President & CEO, on what’s in store for the U.S. inland waterways for the remainder of 2020.To start, give us some insight on your background and how you came to lead WCI.I was born and raised in Chandler, Ariz., and attended South Dakota State University, receiving a degree in Political Science. After college, I found my way to Washington, D.C. via an internship with Senator Thune (R-S.D.). After the internship, I was hired by the House of Representatives, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

30 Jul 2020

Congress Responds to COVID19 and Other Challenges for the Maritime Industry

© Sono Creative/AdobeStock

In response to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the Congressional Research Service released a report that stated global economic growth has declined by 3% to 6% in 2020 with a partial recovery predicted for 2021. Also, the GDP of the U.S. has fallen by 5% in the first quarter 2020. According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the maritime industry, and seafarers themselves, have not been able to escape the significant effects of this crisis.All sectors of the maritime industry have been adversely affected by the global pandemic.

15 Jul 2020

WRDA 2020: 'A Step in the Right Direction'

File photo: A tow exits the east lock of the Colorado River Lock system near Matagorda, Texas. (Credit Simon DeSoto, Colorado River lockmaster / courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure voted the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 (WRDA 2020) favorably out of Committee, Wednesday. The legislation, which provides authority for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to carry out water resources development projects and studies, as well as policy direction to the Corps for implementation of its Civil Works missions, now heads to the House Floor for a vote.Maritime trade groups Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) and the American Waterways Operators (AWO) applauded the House T&I bill (H.R.

11 Oct 2019

Flawed CRS Dredging and Jones Act Report Under Fire

Dredging operations underway in U.S. inland rivers (Source: Port NOLA)

Congressional Leaders Rebuke Fatally Flawed Congressional Research Service Reports on Dredging and U.S.-flag Shipping.The Chairman and Ranking Members of the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I) and the Chair and Ranking Members of T&I’s Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation sent a letter to the Library of Congress refuting a recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on the American dredging industry as “filled with misleading…

26 Jul 2018

House Approves Save Our Seas Act

© p_gangler / Adobe Stock

New legislation approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday aims to address maritime transportation safety issues raised by the El Faro sinking, promote the U.S. Coast Guard’s awareness of technologies that could help improve service mission performance, and reduce marine debris.The Save Our Seas Act (S. 756), which was approved in the House by voice vote, combines several pieces of bipartisan legislation recently approved by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

03 May 2017

AWO Testifies on Carrier Alliance, Tug Negotiations

Tom Allegretti (Photo: AWO)

AWO testifies before Congress on dangers of foreign carrier alliances negotiating collectively with U.S. Tom Allegretti, President & CEO of The American Waterways Operators, testified before the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee's Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation on the dangers posed by the Federal Maritime Commission's (FMC) decision to allow foreign carrier alliances to collectively negotiate with U.S. tugboat operators. Allegretti also emphasized AWO's view that such agreements violate both the letter and congressional intent of the Shipping Act…

28 Sep 2016

Rethinking Inland Infrastructure Finance

Photo: Ruben Diaz

P3: An alternative to tolls or lockage fees in public-private partnerships for inland waterways. Within the generally sorry state of the U.S. inland waterways infrastructure, there are some locations where conditions are particularly dire. Among those in this latter situation are several locks and dams on the Illinois River, including the La Grange Lock and Dam and the Peoria Lock and Dam, both of which were completed in 1939. Both of them are on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, which is a dubious distinction for a major transportation facility of the twenty-first century.

01 Aug 2016

Op/Ed: Fix the HMTF Now … or in 2027

Shane Skelton

The Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) has been misused and underutilized for years, leaving U.S. ports and harbors in subpar conditions and disadvantaging the very shippers that pay to modernize and maintain them – to the tune of nearly $2 billion per year. In May, the U.S. House of Representatives’ (House) Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (Committee) took a major step in the right direction by passing the Water Resources Development Act of 2016, which among other things…

13 Apr 2016

AWO President Champions the Jones Act

Tom Allegretti (File photo)

On April 14 in testimony before the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Tom Allegretti, President & CEO of The American Waterways Operators (AWO), will press for continued defense of the Jones Act and a uniform federal framework for vessel discharge regulation. The hearing will focus on the status and implementation of maritime transportation safety and stewardship programs and rulemakings. The Jones Act…

14 Jan 2016

House Votes to Sink WOTUS Rule

Bill Shuster (Photo: House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 253-166 Wednesday to eliminate a recent Obama Administration rule that gives the federal government new authority to regulate virtually all waters or wet areas in the United States. The House approved S. J. Res 22, a resolution of congressional disapproval that vacates the Administration’s rule, published on June 29, 2015, to broaden the definition under federal law of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) and expand federal regulatory power under the Clean Water Act. The Senate approved S. J. Res 22 in November, and it now goes to the President’s desk.

23 Sep 2015

Insights: Tracy Zea, Director-Government Relations, WCI

Tracy R. Zea

Washington-based Tracy R. Zea advocates for Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) goals for authorizations and appropriations which support a modern, efficient, and reliable inland waterways transportation system. Zea also works to enhance WCI’s stakeholder relationship with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers while additionally tracking implementation of WRRDA legislation and ensuring that WCI’s views are reflected in the outcomes. Before joining WCI, Zea served on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) for five years.

07 May 2015

Ice, Weather Slow Great Lakes Stone Trade

Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 1.8 million tons in April, a decrease of 9 percent compared to the month’s five-year average, and a drop of 30 percent compared to 2012, the last April in which ice conditions were not near arctic, according to the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA). Heavy ice cover on the Lakes was the major factor behind the decreases. The ice formations were so formidable that the U.S.-flag Class V lakers that are heavily engaged in the stone trade collectively delayed their sailings by 60 days compared to 2014. Class V lakers are vessels that range in length from 600 to 649 feet and can transit rivers such as the Cuyahoga in Cleveland or the Saginaw River in Michigan. Cold temperatures also slowed the resumption of mining at several quarries.

06 May 2015

April Ice Hinders Great Lakes Ore Trade

Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway totaled 4.3 million tons in April, nearly 15 percent below the month’s long-term average, the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA) reported. The heavy ice blanketing the Lakes not only slowed the vessels that were in service, it delayed many vessels from sailing. Several U.S.-flag vessel operators held back ships rather than sit in ice because the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards do not have enough icebreakers to adequately cover the system. “April was again proof positive that we need more icebreaking resources,” said James H.I. Weakley, president of LCA, the trade association representing U.S.-flag vessel operators on the Great Lakes.

25 Mar 2015

Houston Port Throughput Up 22%

Activity across Port of Houston Authority docks continues to show strength as February 2015 tonnage figures reflected a 22-percent increase compared to February 2014. Executive Director Roger Guenther released the information today during the monthly meeting of the Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority. Guenther reported that the Port Authority's Barbours Cut and Bayport container terminals were particularly busy. A combined 40 percent more loaded containers than a year ago was handled. ". . . Our sharp increases in container volume are not just from East Asian services and diversion from the West Coast," Guenther said. The Port Authority, which handled a record 37 million tons of cargo in 2014, moved more than six million tons through the first two months of this year.

05 Jan 2015

As Interest in LNG Surges, Regulators Struggle to Keep Pace

Joan M. Bondareff

The use of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as a transportation fuel for ships, barges and ferries has surged in recent months. This surge is due, in large part, to the boon in the production of natural gas in the U.S.; new low sulfur rules for the North American Emission Control Area (ECA), which go into effect on January 1, 2015; and new technologies for the construction of engines capable of running on LNG. Regulatory regimes both in the U.S. and worldwide are struggling to keep pace with the tremendous growth of LNG as a fuel.

30 Oct 2014

Rep. Cummings Receives Maritime Service Award

Elijah E. Cummings

On Wednesday, October 29, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) delivered keynote remarks at APL Maritime’s Senior Management Conference, and received an award recognizing his service to the maritime industry. “The U.S. flagged oceangoing fleet is vital to our nation’s security, as is ensuring the future of that fleet both through federal policy and support for the next generation of maritime workers,” Cummings said. “I’m honored to be recognized by APL Maritime, and I look forward to working with them and other stakeholders to sustain and strengthen the U.S.