Page 63: of Marine News Magazine (November 2017)

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INLAND WATERWAYS OUTLOOK n Capitol Hill, October 1 are leading this work. spend $1 billion on construction, the was the ? rst day of 2018, at Appropriations bills involve money House and Senate $1.7 billion. For least for the federal govern- and establish policy and programs. operations and maintenance, the Pres-

O ment’s ? scal year. In theory, on 10/1, Congress would spend $6.16 billion, ident would spend $3.1 billion, the the federal budget is supposed to be compared to the President’s $5 billion. House $3.5 billion, the Senate $3.4 ? nalized with appropriations – i.e., Of the totals, the President would billion. The balance of funds covers spending – established for the next year. In practice, of course, it rarely works that way. Budget deliberations frequently last through December.

And even on New Year’s Eve, Con- gress may be forced to vote on a Con- tinuing Resolution to keep the gov- ernment operating.

The 2018 budget is of particular in- terest and it’s particularly important.

It’s the ? rst budget for a new Presi- dent, representing President Trump’s priorities and resources, not just for 2018, but for at least the next three years. And, inland stakeholders will not soon forget the President’s recent speech on the Ohio River, when he promised, “Together, we will ? x it. We will create the ? rst-class infrastructure our country and our people deserve.”

The President campaigned on pushing for an infrastructure package to the tune of $1 trillion. Hence, inland op- erators and their clients probably feel like there’s no time like the present.

USACE Wish List

For the Army Corps of Engineers

Civil Works programs, there are three main spending proposals. First, there is the President’s budget document, in- troduced last May, proposing to spend $5 billion on Civil Works. Then, there are two Congressional bills – HR 3266 and S 1609 – both introduced in July, by Rep. Michael Simpson (ID 2-D), and Sen. Lamar Alexander (TN).

Importantly, each legislator is on the

House or Senate Appropriations Com- mittee and, even more signi? cantly, each is chairman of the subcommittees on energy and water development.

The point is; Simpson and Alexander 63 www.marinelink.com MN