News Release
FOR RELEASE - February 1, 2005
Contact: Aaron Ellis, aellis@aapa-ports.org
703-684-5700
American Association of Port Authorities
Phone: (202) 792-4033
www.aapa-ports.org
| What: | National Press Club’s morning "Newsmaker" news conference regarding federal underfunding of seaport security and Corps of Engineers harbor and channel dredging. |
| When: |
Tuesday, Feb. 8,
2005 |
| Who: |
Kurt Nagle |
| Where: |
National Press
Club |
Funding for seaport security in the proposed federal budget to be released early this month is expected to be far below what U.S. public ports need for implementing new, federally-mandated seaport security programs. While airports receive most of the federal attention and funding for security/terrorism prevention, seaports – which support 4 million jobs and annually handle $2 trillion worth of cargo and more than 7 million cruise ship passengers – are largely under-funded. As a result, they often must sacrifice important transportation and economic development initiatives by diverting scarce state and local funds to pay for enhanced security.
Within the next 15 years, industry analysts predict the approximately 2 billion tons of cargo that U.S. ports and waterways handle now 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, seaports across the country are expanding to meet the increased demand for their services, necessitating huge expenditures in infrastructure, equipment and personnel.
Unlike private business however, seaports are public service entities; they can’t simply cut vital programs and eliminate services to pay for implementing new security plans, such as mandated by the U.S. Coast Guard regulations in accordance with the Maritime Transportation Security Act.
Similarly, the Administration’s proposed FY’06 budget is expected to be well short of what is needed for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to maintain adequate channel and harbor depths for America’s shipping industry. The result of this expected underfunding presents major challenges 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 economic perspective. 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.
Kurt J. Nagle, President/CEO of the American Association of Port Authorities, will be on hand to discuss the economic and security impacts of underfunding the Homeland Security Administration’s Seaport Security Grants Program and the Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works Program.
Mr. Nagle joined AAPA in 1985 as Director of Membership Services and was promoted in 1987 to Vice President of Membership Services and Administration and in 1989 to Senior Vice President. He was named President in September 1995. Prior to joining AAPA, Mr. Nagle served as Director of International Trade for the National Coal Association and as Assistant Secretary of the Coal Exporters Association. Previously, he worked in the Office of International Economic Research at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
