House Appropriations Committee News

HII announced that Peter Courtney has been promoted to corporate vice president of legislative affairs and Betsy Bina Benedict will join HII to serve as the director of legislative affairs. Courtney succeeds Carolyn Apostolou who retired in December after 10 years with the company.Courtney will be located in HII’s Arlington office and report directly to Stewart Holmes, HII’s executive vice president of government and customer relations (GCR). Benedict will report to Courtney.In Courtney’s new role…

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.

The inland waterways have enjoyed several positive developments toward modernization of the system, particularly over the last two years.Annual appropriations that fund the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works mission have been steadily on the rise for the last nine fiscal years, specifically the Construction and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) accounts have been funded at historic levels. The passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021 provided a…

Initial appropriations discussions are underway for Fiscal Year 2022, with a continued focus on federal shipbuilding programs. It has been rough going for the Navy as Congress raised questions about the President’s commitment to the Navy’s long-term shipbuilding program. Meanwhile, House appropriators are seemingly focused on continuing shipbuilding successes at the Maritime Administration and Coast Guard. With billions of dollars in the balance, the U.S. shipbuilding industry…

After years of much talk but little action, major infrastructure funding from Congress now looks like it might actually happen. This in turn has prompted a restoration of the availability of earmarks, which had been, until about a decade ago, part and parcel of the congressional funding process. Within our nation’s inland waterways industry, hopes have been high that the rejuvenation of our country’s transportation infrastructure will include our inland waterborne commerce, and that…

Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) applauded approval by the House Appropriations Committee (by a vote of 33 to 24) of strong funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22). The Committee provided overall funding for the Corps’ Civil Works Mission for FY22 at $8.66 billion, an increase of $863 million above FY21’s appropriated level, and $1.9 billion above the President’s FY22 budget request.“WCI is pleased that the House Appropriations Committee has increased funding for the Corps of Engineers’ critical work…

The House Appropriations Committee on Monday approved FY21 funding for Energy and Water Development (E&WD) that funds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by a party line vote of 30 to 21.Overall proposed funding for the Corps is $7.63 billion, a decrease of $21 million below FY20’s record-setting appropriated level, but $1.7 billion above the President’s FY21 budget request.The House bill also provides for seven new study starts and seven new construction projects to be selected by the Administration…

Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) praised today’s passage of the FY 2017 Omnibus Appropriations bill that provides funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017. FY ’17 funding for the Corps’ Civil Works mission totals $6.038 billion, a 0.8 percent increase above the FY ’16 funding level, but almost a 31 percent increase above the Obama Administration requested level. The bill provides full-use of estimated annual revenues from the…

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) hosted Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, on February 23 for a tour of the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division. Newport News Shipbuilding President Matt Mulherin accompanied the congresswoman on the shipyard tour, which included progress updates on the aircraft carriers Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), as well as the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) refueling complex overhaul and the Enterprise (CVN 65) inactivation. Granger also learned about Newport News’ role in the Virginia- and Columbia-class submarine programs.

The rancorous political debate over sexual identity unexpectedly prompted the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to rejected an energy and water spending bill on Thursday after Democrats attached an amendment to protect the rights of transgender people. The legislation, which would have funded the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Energy in the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, failed on a 112-305 vote, with 130 Republicans and 175 Democrats opposing the legislation. The vote outcome was such a surprise that the House Appropriations Committee initially announced that bill had passed and was forced to retract the statement.

Shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) hosted Rep. Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.) Tuesday for a tour of the company's Newport News Shipbuilding division. Ken Mahler, Newport News' vice president of Navy programs, joined Crenshaw for the visit, which included a tour of the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and discussions about increased efficiencies and construction progress on Ford and John F. Kennedy (CVN 79). Crenshaw also visited a submarine construction facility…

Today the House Appropriations Committee, led by Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY), approved by unanimous voice vote the FY ’16 Energy & Water Development (E&WD) and Related Agencies appropriations bill, significantly increasing funding in Fiscal Year 2016 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works Program. The overall size of the Corps’ Civil Works mission portion of the bill is $5.597 billion and more than restores cuts to the program as recommended by the Administration, adding $864.75 million to the Administration request and increasing the FY 2015 appropriated amount for the Corps by $142.25 million. The bill increases the President’s proposed Construction account funding level by 39.9% to $1.631 billion.

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee, led by Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY), today approved by unanimous voice vote the FY ’16 Energy & Water Development (E&WD) and Related Agencies appropriations bill, increasing funding in Fiscal Year 2016 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works Program. WCI President Michael J. Toohey expressed thanks to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers and Ranking Member Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), and House Energy & Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson (R-ID) and Ranking Member Marcy Kaptur (D-OH).

WCI today praised the leadership of House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) and Energy & Water Development (E&WD) Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson (R-ID) that led to unanimous approval of a bill that will significantly increase funding in FY 2016 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works Program. The FY ’16 E&WD and Related Agencies appropriations bill, marked up today in the E&WD Subcommittee, was approved by unanimous voice vote with no amendments. It will head to the full Appropriations Committee next week. The overall size of the Corps’ Civil Works mission portion of the bill is $5.597 billion and more than restores cuts to the program as recommended by the Administration…

Today, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) applauded a “Dear Colleague” letter to the leadership of the Senate Committee on Appropriations that was signed by 22 senators, urging appropriators to meet the dredging funding commitments made in the 2014 Water Resources Reform & Development Act (WRRDA), passed in May. That letter, together with a similar one circulated through the House earlier this fall to House Appropriations Committee leadership, supports the “Hit the HMT Target!” campaign to impress upon lawmakers the need to annually fund what was authorized in WRRDA. In July, the House approved fiscal 2015 appropriations that hit the HMT target, thanks to a floor amendment put forth by Cong. Janice Hahn (D-CA) and Cong.

The answer to this question is a resounding “no.” The U.S. is not prepared to protect its interests in the Arctic over the next decade. The primary legal regime that is being relied upon by all members of the Arctic fraternity, the Law of the Sea Convention, has not been adopted by the U.S. The operational resources needed to pursue our interests have not been funded and there is currently little prospect that they will be funded in the near future. U.S. interests in the Arctic are vast.

Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) today praised the House Appropriations Committee’s Energy & Water Subcommittee approval, by unanimous voice vote, the FY ’15 appropriations bill that funds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works program. Fiscal year 2015 funding for the Corps’ Civil Works mission is $5.493 billion, an increase of $25 million above the FY ’14 enacted level and nearly $1 billion ($959.5 million) above the President's budget request. *Navigation projects (undesignated) will receive an increase of $484 million above the Administration’s request. *Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF) supported projects received an increase of $112 million or a total of $281 million for priority projects in FY ’15.

By operating from forward locations, the Navy and Marine Corps provide President Barack Obama with options to deal promptly with global contingencies, Navy Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, the chief of naval operations (CNO) explained during a hearing of the House Appropriations Committee's defense sub-committee, adding that Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James F. "As we conclude over a decade of wars and bring our ground forces home from extended stability operations, your naval forces will remain on watch," Greenert said.

Unlike the past several years, this year's budget debate included some discussion of the longstanding problem of underfunded harbor maintenance. This recognition of the harbor maintenance issue by the House Budget Committee is a positive small step forward. The text of H. Con. Res. 112 does not include any specific language related to the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF). The Budget Committee report on this legislation includes the following:  "In addition, the budget acknowledges the importance of maintaining our ports and waterways to encourage commercial deep-draft navigation and economic competitiveness. In fiscal year 2012…

At two separate Congressional hearings, representatives of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) emphasized the need for federal support for seaport security and maintenance and improvements to federal navigation channels. Port industry leaders illustrated the challenges underfunding security and dredging pose for national security and U.S. international competitiveness. As the House Appropriations Committee begins work on the Fiscal Year 2013 budget, AAPA executives…

Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) received the House Appropriations Committee’s approval yesterday of its version of the FY 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations bill. House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen also offered an amendment providing $1.028 billion in emergency funding to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to repair damage caused by recent storms and floods on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, and to prepare for future disasters. The emergency funding is offset by a rescission of the remaining emergency High Speed Rail funding that was originally approved in the stimulus bill. The emergency funding in the amendment must still go through the legislative process in the House and the Senate…

Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) is encouraged by the House Appropriations Committee’s approval of its version of the FY 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations bill and an amendment offered by House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen providing $1.028 billion in emergency funding to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to repair damage caused by recent storms and floods on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, and to prepare for future disasters. The emergency funding is offset by a rescission of the remaining emergency High Speed Rail funding that was originally approved in the stimulus bill. The emergency funding in the amendment must still go through the legislative process in the House and the Senate…

Congressman Hal Rogers (R-KY), Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee (center), was presented Waterways Council, Inc.'s (WCI) 10th Annual Leadership Service Award from Cornel Martin, WCI President and CEO (left) and Rick Calhoun, WCI Chairman of the Board (right).  Rep. Rogers was presented the WCI award for his work championing ports and waterways issues at a dinner on February 16, 2011 in Washington, DC.