NWC Federal Spotlight July 8, 2022 CONGRESSIONAL SPOTLIGHT OVERVIEW. Congress is currently out this week for their July 4 recess. Both chambers are scheduled to return next week for several weeks before they leave for August recess, coming back in September for several weeks, before leaving in October for the campaign trail. All said and…
Read MoreFACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Releases Permitting Action Plan to Accelerate and Deliver Infrastructure Projects on Time, On Task, and On Budget MAY 11, 2022 | Whitehouse STATEMENTS AND RELEASES The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is making a once-in-a-generation investment in America’s infrastructure and competitiveness that will create good-paying union jobs, grow our economy, invest in communities, combat…
Read MoreProposals by Non-Federal Interests, for Feasibility Studies, Proposed Modifications to Authorized Water Resources Development Projects and Feasibility Studies, and Proposed Modifications to Environmental Infrastructure Programs for Inclusion in the Annual Report to Congress on Future Water Resources Development U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD. Notice. Section 7001 of the Water Resources Reform and Development…
Read MoreWicker Inquires on DOT Data Sharing Initiative for Freight Transportation April 20, 2022 | U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today sent a letter to Secretary Pete Buttigieg seeking information about the Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW)…
Read MoreDOT Lays Out Actions to Strengthen Supply Chains and Revitalize the Economy Thursday, February 24, 2022 (full link below) Today, on the one-year anniversary of President’s Executive Order on Supply Chains, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is publishing a report that lays out vulnerabilities in our freight and logistics supply chain and clear-cut actions…
Read MorePresident Biden and U.S. Department of Transportation Announce Historic New Funding to Strengthen Port Infrastructure and Supply Chain Resiliency Wednesday, February 23, 2022 Thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) Grants receives $450 million, its largest investment ever WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced…
Read MoreCourtesy of National Waterways Conference In November 2021, President Biden signed into law the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58) which provides funding for 250 federal programs in more than a dozen federal agencies. Since its passage, NWC members and others had questions about when various grant programs would be implemented. Recently, the…
Read MoreFebruary 4, 2022 | Waterways Journal Washington, D.C.-The Biden administration released its first edition of a Bipartisan Infrastructure Law guidebook to provide a “one-stop shop” to help local and state governments and tribes access the more than 375 programs in the trillion-dollar law. “Our primary goal with this is to help our partners across the…
Read MoreJanuary 19, 2022: Courtesy of National Waterways Conference and Waterways Council Inc. USACE releases IIJA (infrastructure) work spend plan In November 2021, President Biden signed into law the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) which provided $17 billion in funding to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) civil works projects. USACE had 60 days to…
Read MoreArmy Civil Works Studies, Projects and Programs to Be Accomplished with Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding Published Jan. 19, 2022 | ASA CW’S OFFICE (full link below) WASHINGTON – The U.S. Army announced today the Civil Works studies, projects and programs that the Corps would implement in Fiscal Year 2022 with the $22.81 billion…
Read MoreIRPT Legislative Caucus
On February 15, Inland Rivers, Ports and Terminals Board of Directors voted to adopt a new IRPT Legislative Caucus.
The IRPT Legislative Caucus brings together IRPT Members that have the like-minded vision and passion to make recommendations to Congress and Federal Agencies that focus on maritime transportation in order to strongly advocate for common legislative objectives that affect inland interests and to support the inland river transportation system.
Our first meeting will be via zoom meeting on April 6th at 10:00 am central time to discuss:
- IRPT’s vision for this caucus;
- Ask for volunteer assignments;
- Plan an in-person event in Washington.
IRPT had been building its relationships with many lawmakers in Washington during our successful attempt at passing legislation to provide funding opportunities for inland and small coastal ports and terminals. Immediately following that, COVID hit and as you may have experienced, it has been quite difficult to connect with lawmakers to propel additional initiatives forward. Now that restrictions have loosened in Washington and many conversations are taking place about certain pieces of legislation that affect inland river transportation and the ports and terminals that use them, this is an excellent opportunity to reconnect and hit the hill.
The IRPT Legislative Caucus Members plan to make their first in-person visit to Washington in May 2022.
If you have served on IRPT’s Board of Directors, you are familiar with our handling of such events, in that IRPT will schedule all of the Congressional visits, prepare your itinerary (not including travel) and materials for dissemination and much more.
Our current roster of IRPT’s Legislative Caucus includes:
- Anthony Gex, IRPT President, River Bend Transport
- Jim Kearns, IRPT Secretary/Treasurer, Jones Walker
- Molly Bourgoyne, IRPT Board Member, Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development
- Dave Riggs, IRPT Board Member, Watco
- Mary Ann Bucci, Port of Pittsburgh
IRPT Members interested in serving should email Aimee Andres at aandres@irpt.net.
IRPT Legislative Caucus Initiatives