Kit Bond News

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) will receive the Ninth Annual Waterways Council, Inc. Leadership Service Award on Wednesday, February 24, 2010, at 6 p.m. at the W Hotel, Washington, DC. As one of the principal leaders in the effort to get the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP) authorized in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2007, Senator Grassley will be honored for his strong support for the improvement of the Nation’s ports and commercial inland waterways system…

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) will receive the Eighth Annual Waterways Council, Inc. Leadership Service Award on Wednesday, February 25, 2009, at 6 p.m. at the Willard Hotel, Washington, DC. Senator Harkin will be honored for his steadfast commitment to the improvement of the Nation’s ports and commercial inland waterways system over his many years in Congress. Harkin worked to broaden the support for locks and dam improvements crafting a measure with Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) that made improvements to environmental programs on the Upper Mississippi River. That resulted in a broadening of the coalition in support of moving forward with both improved locks and environmental mitigation. The measure was passed as a part of the 2007 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA).

Congressman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) will receive the Seventh Annual Waterways Council, Inc. Leadership Service Award on February 27, 2008, at 6 p.m. at the Willard Hotel, Washington, DC. Representative Oberstar will be honored for his steadfast commitment to the improvement of the Nation’s ports and commercial inland waterways system over his many years in Congress. Past recipients of the award include Senator Robert C. Byrd (2007); Representative David Hobson (2006); Representative Jerry Costello and Representative John Duncan, Jr. (2005); Senator Kit Bond (2004); Senator John Breaux (2003), and Representative Sonny Callahan (2002). Congressman Oberstar is Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee…

Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-MO) will receive the Third Annual Waterways Council, Inc. Leadership Service Award on Wednesday, March 31, 2004, at 6 p.m. at the Willard Hotel, Washington, DC. Senator Bond is being honored for his unwavering commitment to the improvement of the ports and commercial waterways system. After serving as the state of Missouri’s Governor for two terms, Senator “Kit” Bond is now in his third term in the Senate. Senator Bond serves as Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee of the Environment & Public Works Committee, which is responsible for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers program to maintain and modernize the locks and dams on America’s inland navigation system.

For the third year running MarineNews was able to tap the minds of six prominent industry leaders in an attempt to deliver exclusive insights as to the direction of the workboat and shallow draft market for the coming years. • Al Anderson, Vice President of Government and Public Affairs, CHS Inc. • Rick Calhoun, President and Chairman, Cargill Marine and Terminal, Inc. • Steve Golding, President, Golding Barge Line, Inc. • Paul E. Mauer, President, Trinity Marine Products, Inc. MN: What is the most important message about the inland waterways industry that needs to be conveyed to the media and policymakers? Anderson: The most important…

President George W. Bush signs the Transportation Equity Act, at the Caterpillar facility in Montgomery, Ill., Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2005. Joining the President on stage in front row, from left, are Congressman Ray LaHood, R-Ill.; Congresswoman Melissa L. Bean, D-Ill.; Congressman Jim Oberstar, D-Minn.; Congressman Tom Petri, R-Wis.; Senator Kit Bond, R-Mo.; U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta; Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.; Congressman Bill Thomas, R-Calif.; and Congressman Bobby Rush, D-Ill. President Bush signed into law the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) – H.R.

Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) will receive the Sixth Annual Waterways Council, Inc. Leadership Service Award on February 28 at the Willard Hotel, Washington, DC. Senator Byrd will be honored for his steadfast commitment to the improvement of the Nation’s ports and commercial inland waterways system over his many years in Congress. Past recipients of the award include Representative David Hobson (2006); Representative Jerry Costello and Representative John Duncan, Jr. (2005); Senator Kit Bond (2004); Senator John Breaux (2003), and Representative Sonny Callahan (2002). Senator Byrd is Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, appointed to the Committee by then-Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson in 1959, the year Senator Byrd began his Senate service.

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) welcomed the U.S. Senate’s approval last evening of the long-pending Water Resources Development Act (S. 728), which addresses a six-year backlog of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers programs, including navigation projects, policies and procedures necessary to keep pace with today’s burgeoning trade. The bill also includes a number of important provisions for the Corps, such as an amendment proposed by Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) to strike decommissioning language for the Corps dredge McFarland and lift restrictions on two other Corps dredges (the Yaquina and Essayons). “AAPA and our member ports are very pleased that this critical piece of legislation is finally headed to conference, thanks in large measure to Sen.