AAPA urged key House and Senate Appropriators to adequately fund the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) navigation program in a final FY 2019 Energy and Water Development (E&WD) Appropriations bill.

In a letter to Congressional leaders delivered yesterday, AAPA supports specific funding levels for Corps’ accounts from both the House and Senate passed E&WD appropriations bills. An AAPA top priority for a FY 2019 E&WD bill is the continued annual progress towards the goal of full use of Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT) funding for navigation channel maintenance, which both the House and Senate bills accomplish. After comparing the House and Senate bills, AAPA recommends the following funding above the President’s budget for the Corps’ coastal navigation program:

  • $612.902 million for Operations and Maintenance account in the House bill,
  • $525.067 million for Construction account in the House bill,
  • $18.823 million for Investigations account in the Senate bill, and
  • $50 million for Donor and Energy Transfer Port funding in the House and Senate bills.

AAPA also requested that the final E&WD bill includes language in the House and Senate bills rejecting the Administration’s request to establish a separate account for HMT funding, as this would adversely impact dredging work during Continuing Resolution periods.    

The House E&WD bill passed on June 8, and the Senate passed its version of the bill on July 11. A Congressional Conference Committee is resolving differences in the bills.