Page 21: of Marine News Magazine (November 2021)

20 22

Column

Washington Watch

Rear Adm. Ann

Phillips USN (Ret.) has been tapped to lead the Maritime

Administration (MARAD)

Photo: U.S. Navy public sectors with respect to freight issues; (3) conducting and overseeing research by USDOT agencies on improving multimodal freight mobility; (4) assisting cities and States in developing freight mobility and supply chain expertise and (5) coordinating with other Federal departments and agen- cies. By creating a uni? ed authority with oversight over the entire U.S. supply chain, the infrastructure bill could resolve the disconnected planning of Federal modal agencies that has contributed to the present capacity issues.

Notwithstanding the potential opportunity to create an of? ce that could contribute to alleviating supply chain ca- pacity issues, as of the time of writing the fate of the in- frastructure bill remains unknown. Progressive Democrats have stated that they will not support the infrastructure bill until there is a deal on the larger $3.5 trillion reconciliation spending bill, which includes measures to address climate change, paid family and medical leave, Medicare expansion, and universal pre-K education. Numerous Republicans and some moderate Democrats view these provisions as “poison pills” leading to a continuing standoff on the both the infra- structure and reconciliation bills. This standoff led to a short- term extension of surface transportation funding through

October 31, which kept large parts of USDOT open. How- ever, the clock is ticking to reach a long-term deal to avoid a shutdown of many USDOT agencies, which would further exacerbate the supply chain capacity issues. Clearly strong leadership is needed within the beltway to over these issues.

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