AIIS applauds passage of Water Resources Development Act by Senate
Steel News | 2013-05-20 23:56:33
The full US Senate passed S601, the Water Resources Development Act by a vote of 83-14 on a strongly bipartisan vote.
By Paul Ploumis
NEW YORK (Scrap Monster) : The full US Senate passed S601, the Water Resources Development Act by a vote of 83-14 on a strongly bipartisan vote.
The bill includes provisions related to the Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF) that would substantially increase funding for dredging and maintenance at US ports to $1 billion in FY 2014 and would increase funding for dredging and maintenance by $100 million per year until all the funds collected under the HMF are fully allocated for their intended purpose in FY 2020.
“AIIS thanks Senators Boxer (D-CA) and Vitter (R-LA) for their fine leadership in this effort to pass this critical legislation. AIIS was encouraged last year when the Congress authorized $1 billion for dredging and maintenance in the Highway Bill, but because a final budget was not passed for FY 2013, the increased funding was not appropriated. We believe that this new effort, while not the perfect solution that would immediately allocate 100 percent of the HMF to its intended purpose, is an important step in reaching that goal. We are hopeful that the House will take up this legislation in short order,” said John Foster, chairman, AIIS.
“The dredging needs of the port system have become more and direr due to insufficient funding for dredging and maintenance over many years. The passage of this bill is is a welcome major step in returning our ports to their needed level of international competitiveness and we applaud the Senate for passing this bill. Given the overwhelming bipartisan support for the legislation, we are confident that the appropriators will at a minimum fund the needs of the ports at the $1 billion level for FY 2014 – depending on how the House finally acts on the legislation. All sectors of the economy and every American consumer will benefit from the increased efficiency of our port system from this bill,” commented Kevin Castagnola, chairman, AIIS Ports Committee.
Courtesy: The American Institute for International Steel (AIIS)
