T he   American Association of Port Authorities  ( AAPA), of which the Port of Redwood City is a member,  is voicing concern on behalf of American ports over the potential of significant declines for most federally funded, port-related programs in President Trump's fiscal 2018 budget released last week.

"We're apprehensive about the fiscal 2018 budget," said  Kurt Nagle, AAPA president and CEO. "Adequate federal investments into U.S. port-related infrastructure, both on the landside and waterside, are crucial for the efficient movement of goods so the nation can remain globally competitive. Activities at U.S. seaports account for more than a quarter of the nation's economy, support over 23 million American jobs and generate more than $320 billion a year in federal, state and local tax revenue. It's vital the federal government uphold its end of the partnership with ports so the country can have a 21st century goods movement system in place."

Proposed for the budget chopping block is the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants program, which last year awarded U.S. ports $61.8 million in multimodal infrastructure grants such as dock, rail and road improvements. Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security's Port Security Grants Program (PSGP), which Congress last funded at $100 million and which provided 35 port security-related grants in fiscal 2017, is expected to experience a significant cut.

President Trump has also proposed cutting the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) budget by 31 percent. EPA's budget funds the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) grants. While no details were released on the fate of this program, which is authorized at $100 million, DERA grants have been especially helpful in decreasing port-related diesel emissions in near-port communities. These federal grants have helped ports to make investments in clean diesel equipment and reduction strategies at the ports themselves, and they've used them to help businesses buy newer, cleaner-burning trucks, locomotives and vessels.

While the president's proposed budget calls for increasing the overall U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) budget by $400 million over the previous administration's request of $4.6 billion, the request still represents a 16 percent decrease in the Corps budget when compared to the Continuing Resolution fiscal 2017 level. Details for the Corps' Coastal Navigation portion of the budget aren't yet known, but are expected to be available in May. The Coastal Navigation program funds improvements and maintenance in America's harbors and deep-draft shipping channels.

Below are AAPA's key recommendations for the fiscal 2018 budget:

AAPA's recommendations provided to the Trump Administration and the 115th Congress on key seaports priorities and is available at  http://bit.ly/2ghLJPn.  Details on AAPA's America: Keep It Moving campaign are available at http://bit.ly/2m7cvOm.