Jim Rich traveled to Washington DC this week along with Randy Reese and Clayton Henderson, staff for the Sabine Neches Navigation District and fellow Commissioner Joe Johnson. We were also joined by our professional consultants. Meetings were held with Senators John Cornyn, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Senator Mary Landrieu, Senator David Vitter, Congressmen Bob Gibbs, Michael McCaul, Lamar Smith, John Carter, Bill Flores, and Ted Poe. We met with the staff for Congressman Kevin Brady, Senator Jim Inhofe, and Senator Barbara Boxer. Each have a role or are part of the committee leadership with oversight over the Sabine Neches Waterway. In addition, we met with Janet Kavinoky, Executive Director of Congressional and Public Affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for Transportation Mobility.

In summary, we are the only waterway on the Gulf Coast with a completed U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Chief's Report, endorsed by the Secretary of the Army and the Office of Management & Budget to authorize channel improvements. It is the first completed report in more than ten years. We are well positioned and supported to get Congressional approval to proceed once Congress moves on a water infrastructure bill. Such a bill is not likely until after the election and with the 2013 Congress. Our project is the only multi-state project with benefits for Texas and Louisiana. Our effort with the visits was to educate on the importance of the waterway and to update on new investments such as Cheniere's $10 billion dollar expansion. Our message to emphasize the national importance of the waterway and the need for improvements will be reinforced over the coming year.    

On Friday,  Jim Rich spoke to the Texas Society of Professional Engineers in Beaumont for their state annual conference. He presented the past, present, and future of the oil industry. Jim Rich will attend the board of directors meeting for the Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives on Saturday and their annual conference on Sunday and Monday.            

By Tim Eaton

Published: 8:54 p.m. Monday, June 18, 2012

Texas' primary coastal windstorm insurance provider might not be able to pay claims if a major hurricane hit the coast, and a leading state lawmaker wants residents to be aware of the consequences they would face if a disaster occurred.

State Rep. John Smithee, chairman of the House Insurance Committee, sent a letter Monday to Texas Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman about the precarious position of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, a quasi-governmental organization that acts as the property insurer of last resort for individuals and businesses unable to obtain coverage on the private market. It is commonly referred to by its initials, TWIA.

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