News Release
FOR RELEASE - July 14, 2005
Contact: Aaron Ellis, aellis@aapa-ports.org
703-684-5700
American Association of Port Authorities
Phone: (202) 792-4033
www.aapa-ports.org
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (July 14, 2005) — After
a successful floor vote in the U.S. House of Representatives today
to approve passage of a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA)
authorization bill, American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA)
President/CEO
“America’s ports depend upon a regular, biennial cycle of new project authorizations to improve federal navigation channels to accommodate calls from a modern world fleet of deep-draft ships,” remarked Nagle. “This bill is critical to maintaining America’s position as a dominate world trading partner and ports as engines of the nation’s economic growth.”
Nagle said that AAPA and its U.S. member ports “are very appreciative” of the support provided by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Don Young (R-AK) and Ranking Member James Oberstar (D-MN), along with Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chair John Duncan (R-TN) and Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX).
The last WRDA bill was signed into law in 2000. In the intervening half-decade, as demand for critical water resources projects has accumulated, so have the costs to implement them, making it more difficult to secure passage of a new WRDA.
Nagle noted that the most important thing HR 2864 does, in addition to needed project authorizations, is set the stage for timely biannual authorization bills in the future. He said that approving a WRDA bill every two years ensures the competitiveness of America’s exports while permitting the country’s access to low-cost imports, which helps control inflation.