Bill Nelson News

$2 million for Suffolk County Community College to stimulate workforce training and redevelopment. At a recent meeting of the Corporate Committee of the Long Island Council of the Navy League of the United States, US Navy Command Master Chief Joshua Sturgill who is Command Senior Enlisted Leader for Team Submarines, announced a $2 million grant for Advanced Manufacturing Scholarships supported by the Navy’s Submarine Industrial Base. The $2 million grant was awarded to Suffolk…

Divers from a documentary crew looking for the wreckage of a World War Two aircraft off the coast of Florida found a 20-foot section of the space shuttle Challenger, which exploded and broke apart shortly after its launch in 1986, NASA said on Thursday.The divers contacted NASA after spotting a large, clearly modern object mostly covered in sand at the bottom of the ocean and bearing the shuttle's distinctive tiles, the space agency said in a written statement."This discovery gives us an opportunity to pause once again…

Twenty-two Democratic U.S. senators from 12 states on Thursday joined the chorus of local representatives seeking exemptions from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's newly proposed offshore drilling plan, after his surprise move on Tuesday to shield Florida. Zinke surprised lawmakers, governors, and industry groups on Tuesday night by announcing that Florida would be removed from the Interior Department's proposal to open up over 90 percent of federal waters to oil and gas leasing.

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.

The American Waterways Operators (AWO) is continuing an intensive lobbying campaign to bring the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA) to a vote in the Senate and working with the American Maritime Partnership to strenuously oppose an anti-Jones Act amendment filed by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). On Februaty 1, Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Shelly Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Robert Casey (D-Pa.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), filed VIDA as an amendment to S.2012, the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015.

The year 2015 has been a busy year for The American Waterways Operators, the national trade association for the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, and for the industry AWO is privileged to represent. It’s a dynamic time for a vital industry that constitutes the largest segment of the U.S. domestic fleet, as companies throughout the industry are investing heavily to meet evolving customer needs; the industry stands on the verge of historic regulatory change; and AWO pursues an active public policy agenda to support members’ needs for predictable and practicable government policy.

A divided Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday approved legislation requiring the government to report on the performance of major U.S. port operations, including during labor contract talks. The voice vote, which follows a nine-month slowdown at 29 West Coast ports, sent the measure on to possible floor action, over the objections of Democrats and unions who warned that it could lead to improper federal intervention in contract talks. Titled the Port Performance Act, the bill is intended to help Congress analyze supply trends and identify freight bottlenecks by requiring U.S. Department of Transportation data on capacity levels and cargo volumes at major U.S. ports.

The effort to establish a uniform national framework for the regulation of vessel discharges took another step forward as the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation approved S. 373, the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act, with strong bipartisan support. A broad-based coalition of nearly 60 organizations joined the American Waterways Operators in urging the committee to approve VIDA. This measure would replace a patchwork of overlapping and conflicting federal and state regulations with a uniform, science-based federal framework for vessel discharge regulation.

The American Waterways Operators (AWO) and a broad-based coalition of organizations that rely on marine vessels to transport essential cargoes said a uniform national framework for the regulation of vessel discharges is urgently needed. The coalition called upon the Senate Commerce Committee to move quickly to approve S.373, the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA), bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), John Thune (R-S.D.), and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.). In a letter to Senators Thune and Nelson, respectively the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Commerce Committee, the coalition stated that vessel discharge reform legislation would rectify an untenable situation “by establishing a uniform…

The American Waterways Operators, a 350-member trade association representing the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry, hailed the House introduction of critical vessel discharge legislation yesterday, praising the leadership of sponsors Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Chairman, and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. Bipartisan cosponsors include Reps. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), Bill Enyart (D-Ill.), Gene Green (D-Texas), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), David Jolly (R-Fla.), Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.), Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), Cedric Richmond (D-La.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Don Young (R-Alaska). H.R.

The American Waterways Operators, a 350-member trade association representing the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry, hailed the House introduction of critical vessel discharge legislation yesterday, praising the leadership of sponsors Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Chairman, and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. Bipartisan cosponsors include Reps. Jim Cooper (D-TN), Bill Enyart (D-IL), Gene Green (D-TX), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), David Jolly (R-FL), Walter Jones (R-NC), Blaine Leutkemeyer (R-MO), Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Cedric Richmond (D-LA), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), and Don Young (R-AK). H.R.

International Ship Repair & Marine Services, Inc. (ISR) was awarded a $980,260 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD) to partner in the funding of its new, American made, 275-ton Manitowoc crawler crane. According to ISR, fierce competition for a portion of the total $9.46 million awarded through its Small Shipyard Grant Program was evident as MARAD received 113 grant applications requesting project funding of more than $96 million. ISR is one of only 11 other shipyard grant recipients from throughout the United States.

On March 13, a diverse coalition of 59 national and regional organizations representing a wide array of business, maritime and labor interests signed on to a letter to Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee leadership, Chairman John Rockefeller (D-WV) and Ranking Member John Thune (R-SD), thanking them for cosponsoring S. 2094, a bill that would establish a uniform national framework for the regulation of ballast water and other vessel discharges, and urging swift Committee consideration and approval. S. 2094, introduced on March 6 by Sens. Mark Begich (D-AK) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), has 23 bipartisan co-sponsors, nearly one-quarter of the Senate.

The American Waterways Operators, the national trade association representing the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, praised yesterday’s Senate introduction of a bill calling for the enactment of a uniform national standard for the regulation of ballast water and other vessel discharges, legislation widely viewed as essential to ending the existing confusing, costly and ineffective patchwork of state and federal rules. AWO specifically called attention to the instrumental leadership of the bill’s lead sponsors, Sens.

Hendry Corporation, a shipbuilding and repair facility located at the Port of Tampa has just completed building a new 2,500-ton drydock at its facility located on Port Hendry. The drydock, named the Capt. F.M. Hendry, is capable of lifting ocean going tugs, barges and vessels completely out of the water for inspection and repair. “With the addition of this new drydock we will be able to significantly increase our capabilities and position ourselves strategically for the future,” said Joe Cimino, Vice President of Hendry Corporation.

Curtis Stokes & Associates has announced the addition of a new sales associate, Bill Nelson, which brings the international yacht brokerage company to a team of six professionals who represent the company’s brokerage inventory and customer relations worldwide. Bill Nelson has over 35 years of experience in the marine industry and has most recently managed his own marine consultants company which provides consultants in the areas of yacht brokerage, new construction and marine surveyors. He is joining Curtis Stokes & Associates because of the opportunity to reach a broader client base where he can apply his expertise in all facets of brokerage, management and cruising.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson called on Congress and the administration to do more to sufficiently fund port security or risk a potentially devastating attack at one of the nation's coastal sites believed to be highly vulnerable to terrorists. Without more funds for seaport security, Nelson told port officials in Tampa today, the United States won't be able to significantly increase the inspection rate of arriving shipping containers, which is now at just 3 percent. Nelson, like Florida's senior U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, believes that the nation's 361 ports remain among its most vulnerable assets. On Friday, he met with port officials to discuss the president's new budget proposal for port security. That proposal was just blasted by another of Nelson's key Senate colleagues, U.S. Sen.

Senators who want to open new areas of the Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas production heralded came to a compromise. The agreement was supported by a key Florida senator, Republican Mel Martinez, who previously had vowed to block anything he perceived as a threat to the state's multimillion-dollar beach-related tourism industry. The deal, promoted by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and several Gulf Coast lawmakers, would open an 8 million-acre segment of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to production while barring drilling within 125 miles of the Florida coastline. Drilling proponents say the new area that would be open to production contains more than 1 billion barrels of oil and more than 5 million cubic feet of natural gas.

On Friday, June 23, 2006, Senators Susan Collins (R-ME); Jack Reed (D-RI); Trent Lott (R-MS); Jim Talent (R-MO); Olympia Snowe (R-ME); Christopher Dodd (D-CT); Lincoln Chafee (R-RI); Mike Dewine (R-OH); Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Daniel Akaka (D-HI), David Vitter (R-LA); Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ); Bill Nelson (D-FL); Joe Leiberman (D-CT); Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and; Mary Landrieu (D-LA) sent a letter to Secretary of Defense, Donald H. Rumseld, asking him to increase the Navy’s top line budget for the purpose of increasing the ship procurement budget in fiscal year 2008. The request comes on the heels of a letter sent by members of the House of Representatives Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus urging support for the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), Adm. Michael C.

The Department of the Interior proposed leasing drilling rights in waters south of the Florida Panhandle in the Gulf of Mexico in a new five-year drilling plan that also would open waters off Virginia. The plan will cover the years 2007 to 2012. If given final approval next spring after a public comment period, the plan would be more restrictive than some drilling advocates want but not restrictive enough for some Florida lawmakers. The proposal calls for leasing in a large part of a disputed tract known as Lease Sale Area 181. It follows new offshore boundaries between states that the department drew in January, which prompted distress among Florida lawmakers.

The Senate on Thursday backed a White House compromise that drastically reduced proposed oil and natural gas drilling off Florida's Gulf Coast, rejecting a bid by the state's Democratic senators to temporarily block development of the tract. Voting 67-33, the Democratic-led Senate rejected an amendment pushed by Florida Sens. Bill Nelson and Bob Graham to delay for six months oil and gas leasing in a lucrative tract in federal waters off the coasts of Florida and Alabama. After the Republican-led House of Representatives voted last month for a six-month ban on the leasing, President George W. Bush agreed to shrink the tract by 75 percent and keep it at least 100 miles away from Florida's beaches. Florida lawmakers, including Gov.

America's thirst for energy and high fuel prices after hurricanes Katrina and Rita have rekindled the fight over oil and gas drilling off Florida, where clean beaches are the bedrock of a $57 billion-a-year tourism industry. Environmentalists say they are girding for battle as pump prices of $3 a gallon soften longstanding support for bans on offshore drilling, once sacred to Florida politicians and the state's 17 million people. With Washington pressing for new domestic oil and gas sources to ease U.S. dependence on foreign energy, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, long sought by oil companies, has risen to the top of the national agenda again.