WHITE HOUSE TAGS MILLIONS FOR DEEPENING PORT CHANNEL

The White House

Washington, D.C.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Invests $2.7 Billion from President’s Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to Strengthen Port and Waterway Supply Chains and Climate Resilience

Department of the Interior Invests $1.7 billion in Rural Infrastructure for FY 2023

The Biden Administration is also investing nearly $11 million in the Port of Galveston in Texas by deepening a portion of the Galveston Harbor Channel to accommodate larger vessels throughout the Port that will increase capacity, while also enabling improved operational safety.

Further, the $68 million investment to deepen the Brazos Island Harbor Channel at the Port of Brownsville in Texas will enable increased cargo movements, reduced transit times and improved operational safety.

"This announcement is exciting, not only for the Port of Brownsville but for the entire Rio Grande Valley," said Esteban Guerra, most recently named as liaison to South and Central America to promote business and commerce and chairman of a newly created committee focused on enhancing economic development opportunities at the Port of Brownsville to benefit the people in our communities. 

"We will continue to work with our federal, state and local officials to bring more of these types of opportunities to our Port."

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also announced that it will invest $2.7 Billion from President’s Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to Strengthen Port and Waterway Supply Chains and Climate Resilience

Recognizing the vital role of modern, resilient infrastructure in reducing costs for American families and businesses, President Biden secured unprecedented investments through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to improve the country’s ports and waterways – critical links in our supply chains. 

President Biden’s infrastructure law provides the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers investments to modernize ports and waterways after decades of neglect. The funding will not only make them more resilient to climate change impacts, but strengthens supply chains, keeps goods moving through the economy, and enables the U.S. to compete.

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing that it will invest more than $2.7 billion in funding to [300] Army Corps projects through the country focused on strengthening ports and waterways. The announcement follows the Biden Administration providing $14 billion from President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other appropriations to strengthen port and waterway supply chains and bolster climate resilience earlier this year. With today’s announcement, the Biden Administration will have invested a total of nearly $17 billion in new Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding and other supplemental appropriations in fiscal year 2022 and 2023 for over 800 projects across 55 states and territories.


The investments announced today further advance the President’s Justice40 Initiative commitment to ensure that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments, including in the areas of climate change and critical clean water and wastewater infrastructure, flow to historically marginalized, underserved, and overburdened communities to build their economies and reduce their disproportionate environmental burden. The investments also underscore how President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is delivering results to communities across America, advancing racial equity, combatting climate change, and creating job opportunities for American workers.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will initiate projects in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 that:

STRENGTHEN DOMESTIC SUPPLY CHAINS

American ports and waterways are a cornerstone of the U.S. economy. According to the 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure Report issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), in 2018, America’s ports supported more than 30 million jobs and approximately 26 percent of our nation’s GDP. However, decades of neglect and underinvestment have strained their capacity and jeopardized supply chains.

Building on the work this Administration has done this past year to get goods flowing from ships to shelves faster, including $6.6 billion in funding announced through the fiscal year 2023 Budget, today the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is committing $321 million through the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to expand capacity at key ports and waterways to allow passage of larger vessels and further enhance the country’s ability to move goods.

 These waterside investments will compliment landside investments at our ports and across the goods movement chain such as the Port Infrastructure Development Grants announced in December.

To read entire statement, click on link: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/03/29/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-additional-infrastructure-funding-for-ports-and-waterways/