American-flag cargo operators, port officials tell Congressional panel in Miami hearing that$ 20 billion Biden directive is a boost, but ’trillions ’ are needed.
The ominous incident last week in Baltimore Harbor is demonstrating that our success, which is heavily dependent on coastal business, is not as safe as it once was, according to Heritage Foundation Senior Research Fellow Brent Sadler before the House Transportation & Commerce Committee. Network Committee’s Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, and the House Homeland Security Committee’s Transportation & Maritime Security Subcommittee.
Following the March 26 box send Dali fall that destroyed Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, killed six people, and shut down one of the East Coast’s busiest ships, the three-hour reading featured Coast Guard officers addressing switch cybersecurity problems.
The maritime sector of the country is not as healthy as it needs to be, according to Mr. Sadler said. The American public has grown to the point where it is no longer acceptable to assume that their gas stations or store shelves will be stocked. ”
It really boils down to infrastructure, not just the bridges that need to be resilient, but tunnels that need to be constructed to remove those obstacles.
We need funding for that, according to Georgia Ports Authority Chief Operating Officer Ed McCarthy, speaking on behalf of the National Association of Waterfront Employers ( NAWE ).” It also depends on the infrastructure of our waterways. Some of our waterways in the country are not deep enough or wide enough” to accommodate mega-ship cargo containers.
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According to him, the “lessons learned ” from the Baltimore Harbor disaster demonstrate what NAWE and other maritime commerce advocates have been saying for years that “what we need to do as far as the cost and the funding goes is a comprehensive investment “in the trillions of dollars ” for the United States to “get moving in the right direction.” ”
House Homeland Security Committee’s Transportation & Rep. Chair of the Senate Committee on Maritime Security Carlos A. Giménez (R-Fla. Ports are “gateways to the world ” that have been underfunded for years, according to the former Miami Mayor who served 25 years as a Miami firefighter before becoming city manager.
Major disruptions at a port like those we are currently seeing in Baltimore are severe, he said, and he vowed to find ways to increase port improvement funding beyond the$ 20 billion.
About a third of the total$ 1 is made up of that. 2 trillion in upcoming years of infrastructure funding will be earmarked for the entire country to ensure… the nation’s ports have what they need to operate safely effectively and securely ” and be competitive.
U. S. Associate Ports andamp;amp; Administration ( MARAD ) Waterways William Paape and others shared the view that the Baltimore Harbor tragedy demonstrated how crucial our maritime transportation system is to our economic and national security. Biden’s$ 20 billion earmark, port infrastructure had been under-funded.
The Port Development Program ( PRD), a discretionary grant program for improvements, was managed by MARAD, which received 153 applications for projects in 37 states in Fiscal Year 2023 ( FY23 ), with requests totaling more than$ 2. 8 billion but “with only$ 662 million available, MARAD awarded grants to fund 41 port infrastructure projects. ”
These figures clearly demonstrate the overuse of this grant program and highlight the need for urgent actions to continue strengthening the nation’s supply chains, he said, noting that the president’s executive order dipping into BIL/IRA infrastructure will increase PRD funding.
Crowley Shipping Senior Vice President/General Manager James Fowler said that PRD grants should continue to be expanded to ensure that we do n’t lose momentum in addressing the necessary port improvements across the United States.
Jacksonville, Florida-based Crowley operates more than 170 U. S. -flagged commercial cargo carriers, “mostly in the Jones Act fleet. ” with 7,000 employees in ports in 36 nations.
The business has begun a$ 3. 2 billion improvement plan, he said.
According to Mr. Mr. Mr., “progress has been made in addressing various challenges facing the maritime industry. Fowler said, “but continued vigilance and investment are essential to ensure the safety, security, and resilience of our ports and supply chains. ”
But more money is needed, he said.
Making sure that our nation’s port infrastructure receives the investment necessary to accommodate the movement of trade, both now and in the future is a crucial part of maintaining resiliency in our supply chains, says Mr. Fowler said, adding the PRD grants, “have been critical to expanding electrification efforts in ports like Jacksonville” and should be expanded.
Years of Under-Funding
Frederick Wong Jr., Deputy Port Director for the Port of Miami American ports “need robust federal funding and streamlined construction to expand capacity and reduce emissions at every point in our operations,” according to AAPA, a member of the 80-member American Association of Port Authorities ( AAPA ).
Without your full federal support, we simply cannot do this. ”
And even with the$ 20 billion boost, more investment is needed, he said.
Before this year, Mr. Jackson said,” The ports are concerned because the annual appropriations in the president’s budget requests for the port infrastructure development programs have all decreased.” Wong said, noting funding for port infrastructure, “was lowered by$ 150 million and the appropriations for PRD was lowered from$ 212 million in FY23 to only$ 50 million in FY24” for competitive grants.
“Although ports mainly operate independently, they are part of a larger system.
“A crisis at one port, such as Baltimore, means that all the other ports must absorb all the other cargo flow, ” he said, noting ports are good investments, citing “estimates that for every dollar spent on our maritime supply chain returns$ 3 of economic activity.
We ask Congress to provide funding for port infrastructure projects at a level comparable to those for other modes of transportation in order to significantly improve project delivery at all ports, according to Mr. Wong said.
Among deficiencies is a bloated permitting process and regulatory environment, he said, noting the U. S. Customs & Border Protection ( CBP ) agency’s workload staffing model reveals a shortfall of 1,750 officers and inspectors, and 250 agriculture specialists, a “deficit that significantly impacts processing time at our seaports. ”
The proposed “CBP SPACE Act, ” co-sponsored by Reps Laurel Lee (R-Fla. ) and Laurel Lee (R-Fla. ) has funding to meet these specific needs. ) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash. ) that “will give CBP the authority to use existing user fees to fund federal facilities at seaports and establish standards for what services are expected to be provided at all of our seaports. ” ”
The China Threat
The point is not that our ports generally do n’t meet the needs of today’s, but rather that a persistent lack of competitiveness has not produced the energy to modernize and re-acquire new mariners and shipyard workers, as needed, ” said Mr. Sadler said.
No U. S. Port, which has a length of nearly five football fields and is among the top 25 in cargo handling, is the only port that can accommodate the two largest categories of container cargo ships, he said.
“China holds eight of those [top 25 ] spots. Asia has the most new commercial shipping [investments ] led, again, by China, ” Mr. Sadler said.
“ In short, a national maritime initiative is needed to rectify our over-reliance on non-friendly nations to sustain our economy and ensure safe maritime operations, ” he continued.
”Such an act would first provide adequate American-flag commercial shipping; second, expand shipbuilding, repairing and salvage capacities and associated workforce; third, protect shipping and maritime infrastructure from cyberattacks and material damage. ”
The first necessary step in “incentivizing ” investment in U. S. -flagged shipping is to simplify, not complicate, which federal agencies tend to do, Mr. According to Sadler, citing the century-old federal law that restrains maritime shipping between domestic U.S., he urged regulators to take a “maritime Hippocratic oath to do no harm to the legacy Jones Act domestic maritime industrial sector.” S. reaches the U. S. -flagged ships.
“Delivering on the second [objective], a stronger and global competitive maritime sector that serves as a deterrent to Chinese economic coercion and military adventures ” is needed, he said.
In order for “American trade to proceed with greater confidence and resiliency and better sustain our military, ” Mr. Sadler said.
The legal and regulatory frameworks of the post-9/11 era should be reviewed in order to adapt to the new Cold War we are currently in with China, he said, perhaps most pertinent given recent events.
According to Mr. Trump, that would mean updating the Maritime Security Act of 2002, the container security initiative, and proliferation security initiatives “with China in mind.” Sadler said.
“Safeguarding the nation’s ports economy and defense requires a national maritime initiative, ” he said.
This is difficult nor inexpensive, but failing to address the country’s sea blindness will put our country’s economic and security in the hands of hostile parties. ”
