AAPA Urges Deficit Reduction Committee to Consider U.S. Ports

Federal funding in, around seaports facilitates trade, commerce, jobs, security, environment

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a letter yesterday afternoon to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) President and CEO Kurt Nagle asked committee members to fully consider the benefits of focusing scarce federal resources where they will have the greatest impact, including in and around America's seaports.

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"(America's ports) facilitate trade and commerce, create jobs, help secure our borders, support our military and serve as stewards of valuable coastal environmental resources," said Mr. Nagle.  "Seaports are essential to economic prosperity, and federal funding for seaports pays dividends for our country."

AAPA's letter came on the heels of a speech from the White House Rose Garden yesterday morning, where President Barrack Obama listed ports as one of the important investment areas that America should focus on in the near term and going forward.  

"We have to have a serious conversation about making real, lasting investments in infrastructure, from better ports to a smarter electric grid to high speed rail," President Obama said. "At a time when interest rates are low and workers are unemployed, the best time to make those investments is now, not once another levee fails or another bridge falls. Right now is when we need to be making these decisions."

To view AAPA's letter and accompanying attachment to members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, click here. For information and examples on the contributions of seaports and how they deliver prosperity, click on www.seaportsdeliverprosperity.org.

About AAPA

Founded in 1912, AAPA today represents 160 of the leading seaport authorities in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean and more than 300 sustaining and associate members, firms and individuals with an interest in seaports. As a critical link for access to the global marketplace, each year, Western Hemisphere seaports generate trillions of dollars of economic activity, support the employment of millions of people and import and export more than 7.8 billion tons of cargo including food, clothing, medicine, fuel and building materials, as well as consumer electronics and toys. The volume of cargo shipped by water is expected to dramatically increase by 2020 and the number of passengers traveling through our seaports will continue to grow. To meet these demands, the AAPA and its members are committed to keeping seaports navigable, secure and sustainable.  For more information, visit www.aapa-ports.org.

SOURCE American Association of Port Authorities