House to hold heaing waterways funding bill

Lawmakers in the House will begin discussing a new waterways funding bill on Wednesday.

The House Transportation Committee panel on Water Resources and the Environment will hold a roundtable with "maritime transportation and infrastructure stakeholders" to gather ideas for a new Water Resources Development Act (WRDA).

Leaders on the Transportation Committee have indicated that a waterways funding bill would be one the GOP-led panel's first legislative priorities this year. 

The last water appropriations bill was passed by Congress in 2007.

The Transportation Committee's roundtable will be hosted by Reps. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), Nick Rahall (D-W. Va.), Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio) and Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.).

Shuster is in his first year as chairman of the Transportation Committee, and Rahall is the highest ranking Democrat on the panel.

Gibbs is chairman of the Water Resources and Environment subcommittee and Bishop is the panel's top Democrat.

Maritime industry representatives as the roundtable are scheduled to include American Association of Port Authorities President (AAPA) Kurt Nagle; Maersk, Inc. Vice President of Government Relations Clint Eisenhauer and Port of Newport, Oregon General Manager Don Mann.

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