Go Ahead for Brownsville Ship Channel Deepening
President Barack Obama signed into law the Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) of 2016, authorizing the Brownsville Ship Channel deepening project, making it eligible for federal funding, as announced by the Port of Brownsville. The Brazos Island Harbor Channel Improvement Project was one of 28 water infrastructure projects nationwide included in the WRDA and submitted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to Congress for approval. The project calls for the Port of Brownsville channel to be deepened to 52 feet from its current design depth of 42 feet. When complete, the Port of Brownsville
Smith Named Director of NOAA Coast Survey
President Barack Obama has approved the promotion of Shepard Smith, from captain to rear admiral (lower half), a prerequisite for Smith to become director of NOAA's Office of Coast Survey, after his selection by Department of Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. Smith's appointment to director will be effective on August 26, 2016. Smith will oversee NOAA's charts and hydrographic surveys, ushering in the next generation of navigational products and services for mariners who need integrated delivery of coastal intelligence data. He succeeds Rear Adm. Gerd Glang, who will retire on September 1
GE to Move US Engine Plant to Canada
. But few projects involving these engines currently use EXIM financing, so the move is more aimed at finding government export credit for other businesses, the GE spokeswoman said. GE's plan to end manufacturing at the plant stands in sharp contrast to a 2014 visit to the site by President Barack Obama, in which he touted its worker training program as "a model for the country." In recent weeks, GE has announced several deals to move thousands of jobs out of the United States following EXIM's closure and to access government export credit from the United Kingdom, France, Hungary
Obama Pushes to Train Veterans for Solar Power
President Barack Obama on Friday unveiled an expansion of U.S. government efforts to train military veterans for jobs in the solar power industry during a visit to Utah. The administration announced a new goal of training 75,000 people to enter the solar work force by 2020. That is an increase from a goal announced last year of training 50,000 workers by the same deadline. Many of those workers would be veterans, administration officials said. The Department of Defense plans to have "Solar Ready Vets" programs at 10 bases across the country to train military
Status of US West Coast Port Dispute Unclear
it said in a tweet. Earlier it had tweeted word of a deal had been spreading, citing unnamed sources. Calls by Reuters to the U.S. Labor Department for comment were not immediately returned. U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez joined the talks in San Francisco on Tuesday at the behest of President Barack Obama, who has come under growing pressure to intervene in a dispute that has rippled through the trans-Pacific commercial supply chain and could cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union, representing 20,000 dock workers, has been locked in negotiations
Obama Urged to Help Resolve Port Negotiations
In a letter today to President Barack Obama, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) urged the president to take the necessary steps to assign federal mediators to help resolve the ongoing contract negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), representing West Coast dockworkers, and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), whose principal business is to negotiate and administer maritime labor agreements with the ILWU. “America’s seaports are absolutely vital to our economy, jobs and international competitiveness. At this tender
