Seaports Contributed $2 Trillion To U.S. Economy in 2006, Study Says

Deep-draft seaports and seaport-related businesses in the United States contributed about $2 trillion to the U.S. economy and were responsible for about 8.4 million jobs in 2006, according to a study released Aug. 28 by the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA). The study, conducted by Martin Associates, details the economic impacts of coastal and Great Lakes ports, examining aspects ranging from jobs and wages to business and tax revenues. Based on 2006 U.S. port cargo statistics and thousands of recent port-sector interviews, the study found that of the 8,397,301 U.S. citizens working for ports and port-related industries in 2006, nearly 7 million were employed by firms involved in handling imports and exports, such as retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers, distributors, and logistics companies. "The tremendous growth in overseas trade volumes moving through our ports in the past decade has been a huge boon to the American economy," said Kurt Nagle, AAPA president and chief executive officer.  To view a summary of the study's findings, visit the AAPA Web site at http://aapa.files.cms-plus.com/PDFs/Port%20Sector%20Economic%20Impacts%20Chart.pdf

Senate Appropriations Bill Passes with Amendments Regarding State Funding for Bridges

The United States Senate passed the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Appropriations bill by a vote of 88-7. The $106 billion spending bill includes an amendment by Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington) that allocates $1 billion to help states upgrade deteriorating bridges.  The amendment, which passed by a vote of 60-33, would aid bridge repair by increasing the amount states can obligate from the Highway Trust Fund.  The bill also includes an amendment banning Mexican-domiciled trucks from operating on U.S. roadways, which was passed late Tuesday.  The Senate bill now heads to conference committee to be reconciled with the House version. President Bush has threatened to veto the final bill because of its cost.

U.S. Department of Transportation Names Six Interstate Routes as "Corridors of the Future" to Help Fight Traffic Congestion
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced last week that six interstate routes that will be the first to participate in a new federal initiative to develop multi-state corridors to help reduce congestion. "We are using a comprehensive approach to fighting congestion along these major interstate routes. What we are doing represents a real break from past approaches that have failed to address growing congestion along our busiest corridors," said Deputy U.S. Secretary of Transportation Thomas J. Barrett. This announcement ends a year-long competition to select a handful of interstate corridors from among the 38 applications received from public and private sector entities to join the Department's "Corridors of the Future" program aimed at developing innovative national and regional approaches to reduce congestion and improve the efficiency of freight delivery. The selected corridors carry 22.7 percent of the nation's daily interstate travel. The routes will receive the following funding amounts to implement their development plans: $21.8 million for I-95 from Florida to the Canadian border; $5 million for I-70 in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio; $15 million for I-15 in Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and California; $15 million for I-5 in California, Oregon, and Washington; $8.6 million for I-10 from California to Florida; and $800,000 for I-69 from Texas to Michigan.

House Approves FAA Bill, 267-151, leaves Most Policy Battles for Later

The House approved a four-year, $68 billion plan to reauthorize federal aviation programs Sept. 20, with lawmakers agreeing to put on hold for now most of their disputes over policy riders in the legislation. The bill (H.R. 2881), which lawmakers hope to finalize in a conference with the Senate this fall, was approved on a vote of 267-151 after a short debate. The legislation would reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration and extend the ticket taxes that support its programs through FY 2011.