Members of Northwest Delegation demonstrate support for small ports; send letter to the President

 

Today, five Members of our Northwest Congressional delegation sent a letter to President Obama, calling for improved funding for small ports in the FY2014 budget. PNWA worked with Rep. Peter DeFazio's office on the bicameral letter, which was signed by Sen. Ron Wyden, Sen. Jeff Merkley, Rep. Kurt Schrader, and Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler. The letter highlights the local, regional and national benefits small ports provide, and the critical role they play in their communities.

 

Northwest small ports, their tenants, and supporting businesses are providing family wage jobs and economic development activity in communities which are struggling to achieve an economic recovery. Despite the important role they play in our region and nation, their affiliated federal navigation channels and jetties remain vastly underfunded. In FY2013, most of the small ports on the Oregon and Washington coasts were zeroed out in the Administration's budget. Now that we've entered the second year without earmarks, the pain is starting to set in. In their FY2012 and FY2013 Energy & Water Appropriations bills, both the House and Senate recognized this lack of funding and included $30M of additional Operations & Maintenance (O&M) funding specifically for small ports. In their FY2013 bills, Congress also included language directing the Office of Management & Budget (OMB), the arm of the Administration that writes the budget, to provide more robust funding for our nation's small ports. This is a great show of support by our leaders in Congress.

 

The letter that was submitted today reinforces this message. Direct funding in the President's FY2014 budget, which will be released in February 2013, would ensure that these Northwest projects receive federal funding in the next fiscal year. PNWA applauds this effort by Rep. DeFazio and his colleagues, to stand up for the needs of small ports in the Northwest. We look forward to continuing our work with the entire delegation on this effort as we look to secure funding for these coastal projects.    

 

For a full list of PNWA supported Corps projects, click here.