The port industry may see a major change as a result of the new Republican majority control of the U.S. House. Although our industry loses a long-term supporter in Rep. James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., it gains new perspective from Rep. John Mica, the Republican from Winter Park, Fla., near Port Canaveral, and the presumed next chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Our message to Mica is twofold:
First, unlock the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and use it for its clearly intended purpose. Second, help us unravel the Army Corps of Engineers bureaucracy so that projects with a clear positive cost-benefit ratio that are environmentally well-considered can move forward without the red tape that does little but hamper economic growth.
Port Canaveral’s own project, primarily to widen our sole channel by 100 feet, is the subject of a Section 203 study we undertook to expedite authorization, and has a federal price tag of $30 million (the local share has been spent).
This project is critical in our world in which cruise ships are not the 600 feet of yesterday but 1,100 feet. It’s a world that is being devastated by job losses from the termination of the space shuttle program, but also a world in which Port Canaveral has continued to shine as an economic engine, as have many ports in these dismal economic times.
Our common plea is, help us unlock the potential of the Water Resources Development Act and the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. Jobs hang in the balance.