Late last night, the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees released the omnibus spending package for FY 2018, and there’s good news for federal programs that support America’s ports. Congress will vote today, and the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) is urging U.S.-member port authorities to ask their Congressional delegations to vote yes, due to the increases in infrastructure spending.
Earlier in the year, the budget agreement included $10 billion for infrastructure in FY 2018, with details to be worked out by the Appropriations Committees. AAPA urged appropriators to support port landside and waterside funding needs for infrastructure. AAPA is pleased that the omnibus reflects those priorities.
The Federal Highway Administration division of USDOT would provide $45 billion from the Highway Trust Fund, $1 billion above the FY 2017 enacted level. This funding mirrors the FAST Act-authorized levels. In addition, the bill provides an extra $2.5 billion in discretionary highway funding – a total increase of $3.5 billion for roads and bridges over FY 2017. Funding for USDOT’s Maritime Administration is $980 million, $457 million above the FY 2017 enacted level.
On the waterside, AAPA is pleased to see the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers received additional funding in this omnibus. The Harbor Maintenance Tax spending would increase to $1.4 billion, $600 million over last year’s level. The bill also includes new starts for up to five new navigation studies and four new construction projects. Donor and energy transfer ports are funded at $40 million, up from $28 million in FY 2017.
The bill also funds other AAPA priority programs, including the Department of Homeland Security’s Port Security Grant Program (PSGP) and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) grants. For PSGP, the package includes $100 million; for DERA, the omnibus includes $75 million, an increase from last year’s $60 million.
Seaport cargo activity throughout the nation accounts for 26 percent of U.S. GDP, over 23 million American jobs, and generates over $320 billion annually in federal, state and local tax revenues. To ensure these jobs, tax revenues and freight volumes continue to grow and support the American economy, AAPA has worked with its member ports to identify $66 billion in federal port-related infrastructure investments over the next 10 years, on both the waterside and the landside. These federal investments are necessary to supplement the approximately $155 billion in capital improvements that U.S. port authorities and their private-sector partners are planning between 2016 and 2020.
