John Cornyn News

A Project Partnership Agreement (PPA) between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Port of Houston Authority (Port Houston) was formally presented for the Houston Ship Channel's billion-dollar widening and deepening program, Project 11.The PPA is the official document committing Port Houston to the responsibilities of the project as the local non-federal sponsor. It details the terms of the channel infrastructure expansion, and most significantly, permits the start of dredging the federal waterway.

A Center of Excellence designation would allow San Jacinto College to expand maritime training. San Jacinto College is one step closer to having a Maritime Center of Excellence. The U.S. Senate recently voted to approve maritime workforce centers of excellence legislation as part of the FY 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This follows a vote made by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year to approve the legislation. While there are slight differences between the House-passed maritime workforce centers of excellence provision and the Senate-passed provision…

U.S. Senate Democrats on Tuesday laid out a list of demands they seek before making any deal to end the 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports in the wide-ranging government funding bill. With oil prices falling to nearly seven-year lows of less than $40 a barrel, producers are desperate to open crude sales to global markets. They say lifting the ban would give U.S. allies an alternative to Russia and OPEC countries for oil, breathe life into the drilling industry, and increase U.S. energy security. Opponents say it would hurt jobs at refineries, raise the amount of oil carried by trains, which have suffered a slew of recent accidents while carrying crude, and hurt the environment. "I've heard a long list, a long list of things," Senator Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, told reporters.

Texas LNG appoints BNP Paribas as financial adviser for Brownsville LNG project, progresses FERC pre-filing process and completes over 60 percent of front end engineering and Design for facility. Texas LNG Brownsville LLC announced that BNP Paribas has been appointed as financial adviser for the Brownsville project. BNP Paribas will assist Texas LNG in the raising of equity and debt financing for the total capital requirements of the Project, including the execution of definitive transaction documents for achieving final investment decision (FID) and project construction.

United States Maritime Administration tours Maritime Technology and Training Center site. Administrators from the United States Maritime Administration (MARAD), along with staff from United States Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, recently visited the construction site of the Maritime Technology and Training Center, where they received a glimpse of one of the region's only waterfront campuses being built specifically for mariner training and as a home to the state's first maritime transportation associate degree program. Michael Rodriguez, MARAD deputy maritime administrator; Shawn Ireland, MARAD director of Office of Ship Disposal Programs…

Leaders from the petrochemical, maritime, logistics and transportation industries delivered robust economic forecasts for the Houston Ship Channel region during the 5th annual Economic Alliance Houston Port Region Petrochemical & Maritime Outlook Conference held at the Pasadena Convention Center Thursday, September 4. More than 650 people listened to encouraging news about expansion plans amid a resurgent energy renaissance in Texas and the U.S. The Port of Houston Authority and the Panama Canal Authority gave presentations recognizing their growth as 100-year anniversaries are being celebrated for both the canal and the Houston Ship Channel.

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) sent a letter to Admiral Thad Allen on June 22 supporting Allegiance Capital's request for a waiver of the Jones Act. For more than two weeks, Fred McCallister, Vice President of the Dallas-based investment bank, has been requesting a waiver of the Jones Act in order to bring boats from Europe to U.S. waters to assist in the Gulf oil spill clean-up. Allegiance Capital has available 12 to 25 oil skimming vessels as well as several ships for boom deployment and the housing of volunteers and rescue workers. The Coast Guard-compliant ships are currently sitting idle. According to Allegiance Capital Vice President Fred McCallister, bringing foreign vessels to help with the clean-up effort can provide American workers with jobs.

Sailors stationed aboard the Pre Commissioning Unit (PCU) Texas (SSN 775) stands topside as she gets underway from Naval Station Norfolk. Texas is the second Virginia-class submarine built and the first major U.S. Navy combatant vessel class designed with the post-Cold War security environment in mind. Texas will be commissioned Sept 9, 2006. The ceremony is scheduled to take place in Galveston, Texas. U.S. The Navy will commission the USS Texas, second ship of the Virginia attack submarine class, Sept. 9, during ceremony at the Port of Galveston piers in Galveston, Texas. As the Navy's next-generation attack submarine, the Virginia-class submarine is the first class specifically designed to counter post-Cold War threats…

The Navy will commission the USS Texas, second ship of the Virginia attack submarine class, Saturday, Sept. Texas. As the Navy's next-generation attack submarine, the Virginia-class submarine is the first class specifically designed to counter post-Cold War threats, providing the Navy with the capabilities required for safeguarding the nation’s interests in the 21st century. Texas has improved stealth, sophisticated surveillance capabilities and special warfare enhancements that enable it to meet the Navy's multi-mission requirements. Texas along with its other sister submarines of the Virginia-class, will be able to accommodate technology upgrades throughout its life. Sen. Texas will deliver the ceremony’s principal address.