AAPA responds to Trump's proposed 2021 budget cuts

Association says it will work with Congress to meet or exceed the fiscal 2020 appropriation levels for fiscal 2021 funding of port-related federal programs.

Port of Long Beach
The Port of Long Beach in California

In response to President Trump’s fiscal 2021 budget, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), Alexandria, Virginia, says it has registered “strong concerns” over significant declines to federally funded port-related programs when compared with this year's appropriation funding levels. However, the AAPA welcomed budgetary support for two U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) competitive infrastructure grant initiatives, known as BUILD (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) and INFRA (Infrastructure for Rebuilding America).

“We’re very apprehensive about the President’s fiscal 2021 budget,” says Chris Connor, AAPA president and CEO. “Adequate federal investments into U.S. port-related infrastructure, on the landside and the waterside, are crucial for the safe, efficient movement of goods so the nation can remain globally competitive, and this budget doesn't get us there.”

In a 2016 survey, AAPA says it found that U.S. ports and their private-sector partners planned to spend approximately $31 billion per year through 2020, provided the infrastructure outside the ports’ jurisdiction, such as roads, rails, bridges, tunnels and navigation channels, would support those investments.

“Activities at U.S. seaports account for more than a quarter of the nation’s economy, support over 31 million American jobs and generate more than $378 billion a year in federal, state and local tax revenue,” Connor says. “It’s vital the federal government uphold its end of the partnership with ports to ensure the country has a 21st century goods movement system in place.”

Proposed for the budget chopping block is the USDOT’s Port Intermodal Infrastructure Program (PIIP), which began as the Port Infrastructure Development Grants program in fiscal 2019. By the end of this fiscal year, PIIP will have awarded more than $500 million in grants to improve the safety, efficiency and reliability of multimodal movement through our nation’s seaports, the AAPA says. The Department of Homeland Security’s Port Security Grants Program (PSGP), which Congress last funded at $100 million, also would be eliminated if the president’s budget were implemented.

Additionally, Trump has proposed cutting the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) budget by 31 percent. The EPA’s budget funds the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) grants, which would be slashed by 89 percent compared with fiscal 2020 enacted levels. These grants have proven helpful in decreasing port-related diesel emissions in near-port communities and have helped ports to make investments in clean diesel equipment that have resulted in reduced air emissions at the ports themselves, the AAPA says.

Led by a 20 percent increase in construction funding, the President’s fiscal 2021 budget for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers coastal navigation program would increase by 10 percent compared with his 2020 budget request. While AAPA says it acknowledges this increase, the amount is nearly 40 percent less than the 2020 appropriated level. 

“We live in an interconnected world, and overseas trade … 99 percent of which moves through ports … is absolutely vital to our economy,” Connor says. “Federal investments into port-related infrastructure, security and environmental programs pay huge dividends in terms of economic growth, good American jobs and supporting activities that generate sizable tax revenues. AAPA will be working with Congress on behalf of its members to meet and exceed FY'20 appropriation levels for fiscal 2021 funding of all port-related federal programs.”

 

 

 

 

 

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