16 • MarineNews • March, 2005
Public seaports across the United States
are weighing in this week on the Admin-
istration's requested Fiscal Year 2006 fed-
eral budget. Ports are deeply concerned
about recommended elimination of the
Department of Homeland Security's Port
Security Grant Program by lumping it into
a sweeping new program that combines
the security infrastructure needs of sea-
ports with those of trains, trucks, busses
and other public transit. In addition, ports
are concerned about the Administration's
proposed budget, which would signifi-
cantly under-fund the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers' Civil Works program and
needed deep-draft dredging projects.
"Protecting America's marine facilities
from acts of terrorism must be a top
Administration priority and a shared
responsibility between the ports, govern-
ment and private industry," said Kurt
Nagle, president and CEO of the Ameri-
can Association of Port Authorities
(AAPA). "Another top Administration
priority must be to adequately fund the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to keep the
nation's deep-draft navigation mainte-
nance projects on schedule, ensure exist-
ing construction isn't delayed, and allow
some of the dozens of already-approved
new construction projects to finally get
started."
Nagle noted that our economy, our safe-
ty and even our national defense depends
largely on how well we can protect our
seaports and ensure deep-draft shipping
access to them. "Unfortunately, the pro-
posed federal budget the Administration
released yesterday literally removes port
security as a separate line item and leaves
gaping holes in funding for the dredging
needs of U.S. ports." In the proposed
FY'06 federal budget, the Administration
would eliminate the Port Security Grant
Program, which Congress created after
9/11 to reimburse U.S. maritime facilities
for pre-approved projects required by fed-
eral regulations to enhance national secu-
rity. In its place would be the newly-creat-
ed Targeted Infrastructure Protection pro-
gram that would lump grant proposals
from ports together with requests from a
host of other transportation-related indus-
tries. "What the Administration's recom-
mendation would do is to take a grant pro-
gram that helps fund projects that defend
our borders and has clearly-defined costs,
and roll it into a nebulas new program that
pits border security needs against domes-
tic security programs," said Nagle. "Port
security needs have been identified as so
critical that they've justified federal legis-
lation, specific regulatory requirements,
and up until now, a dedicated grant pro-
gram that addresses those needs."
Since 2002, the DHS's Port Security
Grant Program has provided much-need-
ed support to address immediate security
needs and assessments. But federal
money allocated in the first four rounds of
the program- about $565 million-
accounted for only about one-sixth of
what seaports identified as needs, while a
fifth round of grants totaling $150 million
has yet to be made available to ports. At
the same time, the U.S. Coast Guard has
estimated that ports would have to spend
$5.4 billion over ten years on mandated
security enhancements. That's on top of
the more than $3 billion they already
spend annually on infrastructure improve-
ments and operations, maintenance and
personnel expenses just to keep pace with
burgeoning world trade.
While airports receive most of the fed-
eral attention and funding for security and
terrorism prevention, seaports - which
support 4 million jobs and annually han-
dle $2 trillion worth of cargo and more
than 7 million cruise ship passengers -
remain largely under-funded at the feder-
al level. As a result, they often must sacri-
fice important transportation and econom-
ic development initiatives by diverting
scarce state and local funds to pay for
enhanced security.
"We're encouraged by the intent of the
Dec. 21, 2004, Presidential Directive on
marine security, which is to integrate and
coordinate maritime related security
efforts, such as the Container Security Ini-
tiative and Operation Safe Commerce,"
said Nagle. "We're also encouraged that
the budget proposed increases funding for
certain federal programs to enhance mar-
itime security, such as U.S. Coast Guard
programs, the Container Security Initia-
tive, radiological detectors and the Cus-
toms Trade Partnership Against Terrorism
program. However, we're disappointed
that neither the directive nor the proposed
budget addresses the need for adequate
federal funding assistance to enable state,
county and city-run public ports to imple-
ment timely facility security enhance-
ments without their having to delay or
forego other important projects critically
needed to handle ever-increasing volumes
of international commerce."
In addition to changes to the Port Secu-
rity Grant Program, the Administration's
budget request would cut funding for the
Corps of Engineers' Civil Works program,
which includes money for construction,
maintenance and study of deep-draft
dredging projects in America's harbors
and navigation channels. The Administra-
tion's Civil Works budget recommenda-
tion this year is $4.513 billion, which is 4
percent less than FY'05 appropriated lev-
els.
For FY'06, AAPA urges appropriations
of $735 million for deep-draft navigation
operations and maintenance (O&M), at
least $500 million for deep-draft construc-
tion, and $10 million for new project stud-
ies. That compares with the Administra-
tion's request of $607 million for harbor
and channel O&M, $260 million for con-
tinuing construction and $7 million for
studies. Although the FY'06 revenue into
Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, which
funds O&M projects, is projected to
exceed $1 billion, far less would be spent
and the current $2.6 billion fund surplus
would continue to increase.
According to AAPA's president, under-
funding the Corps of Engineers' Civil
Works program will create major chal-
lenges for public ports, ocean carriers and
their customers to meet the expectations
of the businesses and communities they
serve, both from a safety and an econom-
ic perspective. He says that each year that
new dredging projects are delayed and
existing projects go unfinished, it puts our
nation at a competitive disadvantage to
export its products overseas and causes
the cost of waterborne imports to go up.
Thomas Donohue, president and CEO
of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and
president of the National Chamber Foun-
dation, points to the fact the U.S. is the
world's largest importer and exporter,
accounting for nearly 20 percent of the
annual world ocean-borne trade. "The
nation's transportation system is the
lifeblood of our economy," he said.
"Without additional investment in our
infrastructure, our system of commerce is
impaired, our mobility is restricted, our
safety is threatened, our environment is
endangered, and our way of life is com-
promised." Within the next 15 years,
industry analysts predict the approximate-
ly 2 billion tons of cargo that U.S. ports
and waterways now handle each year will
double. At that rate, the volume of trade
moving through America's port facilities
will grow to as much as one-third of the
Gross Domestic Product. In response, sea-
ports across the country are expanding to
meet the increased demand for their ser-
vices, necessitating huge expenditures in
infrastructure, equipment and personnel.
Port Insights
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