Democrats News

With efforts underway to clean up thousands of tons of steel debris from the collapsed bridge in Baltimore's harbor, Maryland Governor Wes Moore on Sunday urged Republicans to work with Democrats to approve the federal funding needed for rebuilding the bridge and to get the port economy back on its feet.Baltimore's Francis Scott Key bridge collapsed early on Tuesday morning, killing six road workers, when a container ship nearly the size of the Eiffel Tower lost power and crashed into a support pylon.

"The Columbia River and its tributaries, wetlands, and estuaries are the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest, providing abundant water, power, recreation, agriculture, transportation and natural resources that have supported livelihoods, cultural and spiritual practices, commerce and economic growth.” - President Biden, Memorandum of September 27, 2023.Those abundant benefits directly impact about 13 million people in the Pacific Northwest. Hydropower extends that plentitude to millions more, powering cities and industry from Idaho to California.

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.

Germany's ruling coalition is divided over whether to let China's Cosco take a stake in a Hamburg port terminal, government sources say, even as Beijing urges Berlin not to politicize the bid and the port authority warns this could hurt the economy.Shipping giant Cosco last year made a bid to take a 35% stake in one of three terminals in Germany's largest port in the northern city of Hamburg.The German government's response is being seen as a gauge of how far it is willing to toughen its stance on China…

U.S. President Joe Biden vowed during his 2020 election campaign to end federal oil and gas drilling as a major step in his strategy to fight climate change.The U.S. Senate Democrats' $430 billion spending bill agreed this week could kill that pledge. If it passes, it would effectively guarantee continued drilling rights auctions on federal lands and waters for at least another decade.Still, with Congress set to begin a summer recess by the end of next week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer faces a tricky road to quick passage for the bill…

President Joe Biden on Thursday signed legislation to improve oversight of ocean shipping, which lawmakers say will help curb inflation and ease export backlogs.The bipartisan bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives on a 369-42 vote earlier this week. Biden said he had "promised to crack down on ocean carriers whose price hikes have hurt American families."The new law boosts the investigatory authority of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), the U.S. agency that oversees ocean shipping…

The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation Monday to improve oversight of ocean shipping, which supporters say will help curb inflation and ease export backlogs. The bill was approved 369-42 and will head to the White House for President Joe Biden's signature. Biden said in a statement he looked forward to signing it into law.The bill would boost the investigatory authority of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), the U.S. agency that oversees ocean shipping, and…

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday urged Congress to “crack down” on ocean carriers that have raised shipping prices significantly and helped drive up the cost of goods in the country.“One of the reasons prices have gone up is because a handful of companies who control the market have raised shipping prices by as much as 1,000%,” Biden said in Twitter post. “It’s outrageous—and I’m calling on Congress to crack down on them.”“We’ve got to change this. I asked the Congress to pass a piece of legislation to remedy this. Democrats and Republicans voted for it.

The U.S. Treasury Department is getting ready to renew in the coming days Chevron Corp's license to operate in Venezuela, but likely without the greatly expanded terms the U.S. oil major sought, four people close to the talks said.The last U.S. energy producer in Venezuela asked President Joe Biden's government in March for a license that would allow it a greater say in its joint ventures with Venezuela's state-run PDVSA, a first step to reviving output and controlling where oil is sent.In a reversal of earlier hopes for a broadly expanded authorization…

The U.S. Senate on Thursday failed to pass a bill to slap sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline sponsored by Republican Senator Ted Cruz, a day after Democrats unveiled their own legislation.The tally was 55 in favor and 44 against the bill that needed 60 votes to pass, a major hurdle in the 50-50 Senate. The vote spanned nearly seven hours as Majority Leader Chuck Schumer considered options on voting rights legislation.Senator Robert Menendez won the support of many of his fellow Democrats, including President Joe Biden, for an alternative bill he introduced on Wednesday.

The U.S. Senate will vote on Thursday on a bill being pushed by Republican Ted Cruz to slap sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline in Europe, although it is not expected to garner enough support to pass.The bill is scheduled for a vote at around 2:45 p.m. ET (1945 GMT), according to Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff.Cruz struck a deal with Democrats last month to get a vote before Jan. 14 on the Russia-to-Germany natural gas pipeline in exchange for lifting his hold on dozens of Democratic President Joe Biden's ambassador nominations.Under the deal…

Several Democratic U.S. senators said late on Monday, after meeting with Biden administration officials, that they believe sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline backed by Republican Senator Ted Cruz could harm relations with Germany.Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and President Joe Biden's global energy security adviser Amos Hochstein met on Monday behind closed doors with about 10 Democratic senators who have been undecided on the Cruz bill.The legislation is expected to get a Senate vote this week after both parties struck a deal last month…

Members of the U.S. commercial fishing industry are teaming up with an oil industry-backed lobbying group to fight offshore wind energy development on the East Coast, according to documents reviewed by Reuters and interviews with people involved.The unusual alliance reflects the breadth of opposition President Joe Biden faces as his administration pushes to expand offshore wind power and other clean energy sources dramatically to combat climate change.The fishing industry believes offshore wind farms will interfere with vessel navigation and hurt crucial stocks like squid and scallops…

President Joe Biden signed into law a $1 trillion infrastructure bill at a White House ceremony on Monday that drew Democrats and Republicans who pushed the legislation through a deeply divided U.S. Congress.The measure is designed to create jobs across the country by dispersing billions of dollars to state and local governments to fix crumbling bridges and roads, and expanding broadband internet access to millions of Americans.The bill-signing ceremony, held in chilly weather on the White House South Lawn to accommodate a big crowd…

President Joe Biden named former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to oversee implementation of the $1 trillion infrastructure plan, the White House said on Sunday.Landrieu, also a Democratic former Louisiana lieutenant governor, led New Orleans from 2010 to 2018. He played a key role in helping the city rebound from the devastating Hurricane Katrina in 2005.Biden, who will sign the infrastructure bill into law on Monday, named Landrieu senior adviser responsible for coordinating implementation of the bill that includes big jumps in spending on roads…

U.S. President Joe Biden will visit the Port of Baltimore on Wednesday to discuss how the $1 trillion infrastructure bill passed by the U.S. Congress helps the American people by upgrading ports and strengthening supply chains, the White House said on Sunday.Biden on Saturday called the bill a once-in-a-generation investment.

The Biden Administration’s struggles to alleviate supply chain capacity issues appear to be continuing with no end in sight. Part of the issue arises from the Administration’s limited focus on ports and another part arises from Congressional stalemates. Could the much-needed beltway leadership on these issues come in the form of the newly-tapped Maritime Administrator?Biden focuses on ports to address larger issuesThroughout October the President and his Supply Chain Disruptions…

President Joe Biden will host a meeting on Wednesday to hail progress in addressing supply chain problems weighing on the economy and threatening the holiday season, while he asks business and union leaders to do more to ease shipping backlogs.The Port of Los Angeles is going to 24/7 operations to ease the shipping snarl there and at the Port of Long Beach, a senior administration official told reporters ahead of the meeting.In addition, three large carriers of goods - Walmart…

The Biden administration on Monday unveiled a goal to expand the nation’s fledgling offshore wind energy industry in the coming decade by opening new areas to development, accelerating permits, and boosting public financing for projects.The plan is part of President Joe Biden’s broader effort to eliminate U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change, an agenda that Republicans argue could bring economic ruin but which Democrats say can create jobs while protecting the…

Dockworkers at Canada's second largest port on Monday began their second strike in less than a year, as business leaders urged Ottawa to quickly end a walkout they said could cost the economy C$25 million ($20 million) a day.The federal Liberal government said on Sunday it would introduce special legislation to end the strike at the Port of Montreal, hoping to stop it from hurting the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.Unionized workers, in talks for a new contract since 2018…

Democratic members of Congress from California seized on the oil spill off the state's coast to promote federal legislation to ban all offshore oil drilling, as investigators searched for what caused the pipeline to burst.About 3,000 barrels (126,000 gallons) of crude oil spilled into the Pacific Ocean, killing wildlife, soiling the coastline, and forcing officials to close beaches in several cities in Orange County, just south of Los Angeles. The spill follows dozens of incidents in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ida, which slammed into the U.S.

Offshore wind caught a favorable gust with the 2020 election of Joe Biden, and the following breeze from the early 2021 reconfiguration of the U.S. Senate toward Democrats. Though widely touted as a growth engine for maritime businesses (as well as shoreside trades), the latter years of the Trump administration seemed to see delay after delay.The class society DNV has been involved in offshore wind since its outset in the early 1990s, and now has 2,000 energy experts working in its efforts supporting this power source.

All signals from Washington, D.C., indicate that Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 could be a record-breaking year for inland port and waterway investment. The successful opening of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, a recording-breaking United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) budget request, positive improvements to the Port Infrastructure Development Program, and a possible bipartisan infrastructure deal, could result in billions of dollars in additional federal investment in inland ports and waterways.Opening the Harbor Maintenance Trust FundOn May 28…