US ports lose out on Obama budget

The President’s proposed budget features some positive changes, including an increase in the Transportation Infrastructure Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants programme to US$21.25bn per year – 150% more than last year’s US$500m appropriation.

It also calls for a US$478bn, six-year surface transportation reauthorisation proposal, to be paid for with transition revenue from business tax reform, as well as providing US$18bn over six years for a dedicated regional freight infrastructure investment programme. This programme would support multi-modal, corridor-based projects designed to eliminate existing freight transportation bottlenecks and improve the efficiency of moving goods.

But Kurt Nagle, president and CEO of AAPA, told Port Strategy: “These potential benefits to landside freight transportation could be heavily for naught if the budget’s proposed cuts to waterside infrastructure programmes are adopted.”

“If we can’t get the goods efficiently and competitively into and out of our country through seaports and waterside navigation channels, American manufacturers won’t be able to receive the materials and/or components they need, and they as well as US farmers, won’t be able to competitively export their products globally. In addition, US retailers and consumers will suffer,” he added.

The proposed budget would reduce the US Army Corps of Engineers’ funding from the US$2.33bn appropriated last year to the US$1.95bn budget requested for fiscal 2016.

AAPA says it’s also disappointed with the President’s Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT)-related budget request remaining unchanged from last year, meaning the HMT funding targets and formulas for equitable distribution established in the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) of 2014 were far from met.

Now, the AAPA told PS it’s pressing for appropriations in a ‘Hit the HMT Target!’ campaign. The FY 2016 HMT target is US$1.32bn, but the US$915m requested by the President equates to only 47% of the estimated calendar year 2015 HMT revenue of US$1.93bn. Additionally, the President’s request is 16 percent less than the US1.1bn appropriated by Congress for fiscal 2015.

“The Corps of Engineers’ budget proposal falls well short of the waterside maintenance and modernisation needs of this country,” added Mr Nagle. “Our nation is at a critical point in maintaining our international competitiveness, and implementation of the FY2016 budget request would result in trade-related infrastructure losing further ground at a time when we are already behind many of our competitors.”