Ports & Waterways

The bill faces an uncertain future in the House, were lawmakers are concerned about the discretion it would give Obama.

Maritime Administrator David Matsuda said on Monday that he was stepping down from his position in the Department of Transportation (DOT).

Matsuda, who is a former assistant to Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), has been at the helm of the DOT's Maritime Administration since he was nominated by President Obama in 2009. He was confirmed by the Senate in July 2010 vote.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who is also leaving office this year, said Matsuda was a "valuable member of my team."

“I’m particularly proud of his work to improve federal maritime education programs and revitalize the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy," LaHood said in a statement announcing Matsuda's departure from the DOT.

With the final conflict involving the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) sequester budget cuts appearing to be resolved, lawmakers will turn their attention this week to issues involving freight transportation and space navigation.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a “Panel on 21st Century Freight Transportation” on Wednesday. The hearing, titled “Coordinating Federal Efforts to Improve Freight Transportation,” will “examine what efforts the Department of Transportation and the Army Corps of Engineers have made to coordinate freight transportation policy, and what challenges exist for greater coordination among federal departments and agencies,” according to officials committee.

The panel will also hold a hearing on Thursday on the FAA’s progress on implementing safety provisions that were included in the $63 billion funding bill that was passed for the agency last year.

The upper chamber approves four amendments; final vote could be next week.

Currently, funds collected by the Harbor Maintenance Tax are used to plug other holes in the federal budget.

The Senate agreed to five more amendments to the water infrastructure bill by unanimous consent on Wednesday evening.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced one of the amendments, which would give communities with populations smaller than 25,000 people additional help in developing rural water infrastructure projects.

The first GOP amendment voted on for the Senate’s water infrastructure bill was about gun rights.

The Senate is considering the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which would authorize projects related to flood and storm risk reduction, coast and inland navigation, and ecosystem restoration.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) introduced an amendment to the bill dealing with gun use on Army Corp of Engineer’s land.

Coburn’s amendment failed on a 56-43 vote Wednesday — 60 votes were needed for passage. It would have allowed individuals to carry guns at water resources development projects administered by the Secretary of the Army.

Navy leaders are pushing to get the service's shipbuilding workforce off the hook from looming furloughs. 

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) announced Wednesday that he would withdraw one of his amendments to the Senate water infrastructure bill.

Coburn had introduced an amendment that would have required federal studies on guns. That amendment was scheduled to get a vote at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

Sen. Rockefeller wrote to executives of three major cruise lines asking about their standards and the industry's role in the economy.