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9/11," said Mr. Nagle. "The program has always been woefully underfunded, pay- ing less than one-fifth of what ports have requested for reimbursements of eligible facility security investments. Just look at what airports have received since 9/11 in federal security assistance, and seaports- which handle 99 percent of our country's overseas freight volumes-appear to be a poor stepchild in comparison. Dedicating a small portion of the Customs revenues already being collected on maritime com- merce is an appropriate funding source."

Like the existing Port Security Grant program, the Collins/Murray bill would maintain a risk-based approach in deter- mining the grants. Unlike the existing program, however, the Collins/Murray bill ensures that any entity subject to an area maritime transportation security plan could compete for funding. AAPA strong-

December, 2005 • MarineNews 7

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AAPA:

Corps Funding

Bill is 'Critical'

The American Association of Port

Authorities (AAPA)-the organization representing public ports throughout the

Western Hemisphere-praised Congress for passing the $5.383 billion Energy and Water Development appropriations bill for fiscal year 2006 and urged Pres- ident Bush to sign the legislation, which provides funding for the U.S. Army

Corps of Engineers' Civil Works pro- gram. "This record Civil Works appropria- tions bill is critical to the U.S. economy, because it pays for the timely construc- tion and maintenance of our nation's navigation system," said Kurt Nagle,

AAPA president and CEO. "The navigation system supports our ports and harbors, which accommodate more than $2 trillion worth of water- borne commerce each year. The same system also helps ensure our national security, so we must not allow it to dete- riorate or become obsolete."

After weeks of negotiations, House and Senate conferees this week agreed to a historic funding level for the Corps'

Civil Works program, exceeding the

Administration's recommendation by nearly $1 billion.

The increased funding level was the result of an additional allocation from the House Budget Committee to cover some Hurricane Katrina-related funding relative to the bill. Congress sent the bill to the White House for the President's signature. "We're obviously very pleased with the funding level and the positive effect this will have in future years," said the

Corps' Director of Civil Works, Maj.

Gen. Don Riley. Gen. Riley, appearing on a panel yesterday at the AAPA-Corps

Project Managers Workshop, held in

Charleston, S.C., thanked AAPA and its members for taking a lead role in suc- cessfully advocating for a more robust

Civil Works budget.

Gen. Riley went on to say that while the conference report was not clear on the use of continuing (multi-year) con- tracts and re-programming of funds from project to project, he believed the

Corps would be able to develop guid- ance for field offices that would be acceptable to the Congress.

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