Page 3 - AAPA Year End Report

2016 KEY ADVOCACY & OUTREACH SUCCESSES
For the third year in a row and despite continuing political gridlock in Washington, AAPA was instrumental in passage of a signi cant piece of legislation that bene ts the entire U.S. port industry.
Following on the heels of the Water Resources Reform & Development Act (WRRDA) of 2014 and the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 2015, Congress in 2016 passed the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act, which included most of AAPA’s top policy priorities.
w Change to cost-share formula will save ports millions of dollars w Guarantee of year-to-year Harbor Maintenance Tax spending
authorization increases includes an $82 million increase for FY 2017
w Extension of Donor & Energy Transfer Ports program with authorization
of $50 million per year
In the face of a climate in Washington that has been focused on reigning in federal spending, ports received approximately $286 million in direct federal grants and payments.
Through a variety of programs, ports were the bene ciaries of grants and other funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
w $160.4 million of rst-year FASTLANE grants were issued to seaports
w $61.8 million of TIGER funds were awarded to seaports
w $27.3 million in FEMA port security grants were given to AAPA members
w $11.5 million of the $26.5 million appropriated for Diesel Emissions Reduc-
tion Act grants were awarded for 12 seaport projects
w $25 million was made available for Donor and Energy Transfer Ports, and the
rst payments for this program were released based on an AAPA-negotiated formula
AAPA seized the opportunities presented by the election season to conduct meaningful outreach to key Washington policymakers and in uencers.
The Association carried the message that ports deliver vital goods and services to consumers, ship U.S. exports, create jobs and support local and national economic growth. In 2016, AAPA
w Created a Presidential campaign document for distribution during the pri- mary and general election campaigns
w Provided information to President-Elect Trump’s transition team highlighting the importance of ports and port industry priorities
w Worked with member ports to hold in uencer roundtables and tours for media and Congressional and federal agency staff
w Organized spring and fall y-in advocacy days to meet with key policymakers w Held brie ngs for Congressional staff in conjunction with the Congressional
PORTS Caucus.