September 18, 2013
www.gfb.org
Vol. 31 No. 38
BIDEN VISITS PORT OF SAVANNAH, WATERWAYS BILL ADVANCING IN HOUSE In developments that could affect farmers’ ability to ship their products both domestically and abroad, Vice President Joe Biden visited to the Port of Savannah this week as a bill to upgrade U.S. inland waterways infrastructure is being considered in the U.S. House of Representatives. Biden visited the Port of Savannah on Sept. 16, accompanied by U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, Georgia Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, Rep. Jack Kingston, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and Savannah Mayor Edna Jackson. In a speech at one of the port’s container berths, Biden called for expediting port improvement projects on the U.S. East Coast, noting that 75 percent of the world’s commerce relies on container ships and that the economic effects of modernized shipping capabilities trump other considerations. The state of Georgia has allocated $231 million toward the deepening of the Savannah port, which is needed to accommodate larger ships that will be coming through the Panama Canal after its expansion is complete in 2015. The deepening project is budgeted at $652 million. The Port of Savannah is the East Coast’s busiest port for containerized exports, which make up 62 percent of the port’s containerized tonnage. Major portions of Georgia-grown cotton, peanuts and poultry products are shipped overseas through the Port of Savannah. The Water Resources Reform Development Act (WRRDA) was scheduled for markup in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Sept. 19. The WRRDA, or H.R. 3080, will help modernize the lock and dam infrastructure on the inland waterways system while also making necessary investments in the nation’s shipping ports. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, upgrades to the marine transportation system will help ensure the reliability of the nation’s most affordable, energy efficient and environmentally sustainable mode of transporting agricultural products. AFBF noted that 41 states, including all states east of the Mississippi River and 16 state capitals are served by commercially navigable waterways. More than 60 percent of America’s grain exports move through the inland waterway system. “Farm Bureau believes having an efficient and reliable inland waterway system linked to competitive ports is vital to America’s ability to provide affordable agricultural products domestically and to compete internationally,” AFBF President Bob Stallman said in a letter to selected members of Congress. “Given their ability to move large amounts of cargo, the nation’s inland waterways are a strategic, economic and military resource.”