Today the Senate passed the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2013 by a vote of 83 to 14. This legislation will ensure the continued investment in our coastal and inland waterways.

It’s no secret that our nation’s aging system of inland waterways and ports are in need of modernization. The lack of investment is catching up to us. Our inland waterways system averages 52 service disruptions per day throughout the system. Manufacturers rely on these waterways to move commodities, finished products and inputs vital to their supply chains. Continued disruptions in the system drive up costs and makes manufacturers less competitive.

The WRDA bill passed by the Senate includes important reforms to improve project delivery and streamline the environmental review process for infrastructure projects sponsored by the Army Corps of Engineers. The legislation also includes a Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) pilot program which will help to leverage investments in critical water infrastructure projects. And importantly the bill assesses the critical issue of under-investment in our ports and harbors by increasing authorized funding from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for harbor maintenance dredging.

The National Association of Manufacturers sent a Key Vote letter to Senators yesterday urging them to support this important bill. We strongly urge the House to take up and pass a WRDA bill as soon as possible. America’s infrastructure is in great need of investment and WRDA provides us an opportunity to start making investments no in our waterways and ports.

Today the Senate will take up the bipartisan Water Resources Development Act of 2013, S. 601, also known as WRDA. This legislation is critical to the competitiveness of manufacturers throughout the United States and will ensure investment in our 12,000 miles of inland and coastal waterways.  Our nation’s navigable rivers help keep transportation costs competitive and are vital for manufacturers’ supply chains to move products and commodities such as coal, petroleum, chemicals, steel, fertilizer and grain among others valued at approximately $78 billion.

Manufacturers strongly support the measures included in S. 601 to streamline environmental reviews that build off the success of coordinated reviews for federal highway and transit projects. It’s a proven process that works, saving time and money. The Federal Highway Administration recently found that environmental streamlining has cut the time to permit a highway project in half, from 73 months down to 37 months. Reducing red tape to deliver Army Corps-sponsored infrastructure projects is important progress.

We are also hopeful that S. 601 will be enhanced in the days ahead to make the nation’s vast inland waterway system more efficient and competitive. The framework provided by the Reinvesting in Vital Economic Rivers and Waterways (RIVER) Act of 2013, S.407 should be included in the final version of S. 601. A comprehensive capital development plan is necessary to achieve the full potential of a robust inland waterway system.

Too often, funds derived from Harbor Maintenance fees are diverted elsewhere instead of going into our ports and harbors for regular upkeep. The WRDA bill will ensure that the fees collected are fully used for intended harbor maintenance projects. More than 90 percent of the nation’s top 50 ports require dredging and by neglecting ports and harbors we are putting our nation’s manufacturers and industries at a competitive disadvantage.

The Senate’s anticipated swift action this week should signal to the House the importance of soon moving on its version of WRDA legislation.

Manufacturers rely on our nation’s inland waterways and ports to support jobs and grow. Our nation will fall even further behind if we do not make the necessary investments in critical transportation infrastructure.

Robyn Boerstling is director of transportation and Infrastructure Policy, National Association of Manufacturers.

Manufacturers appreciate the President’s recognition that transportation investments are critical to creating jobs and strengthening the economy. We look forward to working with the Administration to advance the nation’s infrastructure and to deal with the most pressing challenges facing the transportation network.

The President’s proposal to dedicate $50 billion for the most urgent repairs , however,  will not fully address the diverse range of needs facing the system. Manufacturers believe that Congress and the Administration must work together to address the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund and seek to pass a well-funded, multi-year authorization immediately following the expiration of MAP-21 in 2014.

Manufacturers oppose the Administration’s proposal to introduce new user fees on inland waterway barge operations.  The diesel fuel tax is the best way to finance inland waterways investments as a 50-50 industry partnership with the federal government.  And it is now time to update the current revenue stream in order to support a comprehensive capital development plan that will guide future inland waterway investments.  Manufacturers understand the value of the nation’s 12,000 miles of navigable inland and coastal waterways and rely on its efficiency to compete and grow.

Manufacturers also oppose the President’s proposal to introduce a $100 per flight aviation user fee. Aviation supports economic activity at many levels and a new tax is contrary to the goal of maintaining a robust aviation industry that helps keep manufacturing competitive.

Improving infrastructure helps businesses compete, succeed and grow. Certainly, the private sector can play an important role but we face an important choice ahead of us. As a nation, do we allow the continued deterioration of infrastructure that is used every day by manufacturers or do we begin to make those critical investments in this budget?

Furthering its commitment to sustainability, NAM member Bayer Corporation last week opened an electric vehicle charging station for employees at its U.S. headquarters in Pittsburgh. The Bayer charging station is one of the 45 stations that will be built along Pennsylvania Interstate 376 as part of the “Energy 376 Corridor” project. The project’s goal is to create one of the most extensive charging station networks in the country. The station is located next to Bayer’s EcoCommercial Building Conference Center, which is a net-zero energy facility.

Dan Santmyer, Director of Operations at the Bayer Pittsburgh site, said in a press release, “the installation of the EV charging station is part of the company’s global commitment to sustainability. We are proud to provide our employees with the infrastructure that supports their efforts to drive, rent or purchase EV’s and reduce their personal footprint on the environment.”

Learn more about Bayer’s comprehensive sustainability program here.

A pipeline intended to transport oil from Canada through the middle of the United States must first run through Washington.  That’s the unfortunate reality that is holding up construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.

The pipeline will create jobs–thousands of them–and add billions to the economy, yet it continues to get tangled in red tape.  Optimism that the Administration would approve the pipeline by the end of this year has turned to frustration after President Obama announced a decision would wait until 2013.

This project has waited long enough.  When TransCanada (the company building the pipeline) filed for its permit, it expected a wait of about 23 months.  Now, it’s looking at a delay that could exceed 50 months.

That’s one of the points that will be made by TransCanada at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on the pipeline today. Other witnesses include representatives from organized labor, which also backs the project. You can watch the hearing here.

And earlier this year the House passed legislation that would force the President to make a decision by November 1.  It’s too late for that obviously, but Congress continues to press on.  A bill in the Senate would require a decision in 60 days–there’s more on that legislation in a post below.

The upside of this project is enormous–jobs, energy security, billions contributed to the U.S. economy.  So why wait?

This morning in a Rose Garden address President Obama called for Congress to pass an extension of the surface transportation and aviation programs which are critical to the daily transportation needs of manufacturers. Manufacturers welcome President Obama’s engagement and call for Congress to pass a bipartisan reauthorization which expires on September 30, as well as an extension of the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization which expires on September 16.  These critical national infrastructure programs require certainty and adequate funding levels to ensure the safety of the public, economic growth and jobs. 

Temporary extensions are not a long-term substitute; the Administration and Congress still need to act on a multi-year surface transportation reauthorization at robust funding levels and a multi-year reauthorization of our civil aviation programs.

The President’s announcement that federal agencies will be tasked to expedite environmental and permitting reviews of high-priority infrastructure projects that will create and sustain jobs now was a welcome first step.  Rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure will require additional and fundamental policy changes in how we finance, permit, build and manage our investments.  Manufacturers expect a bipartisan approach to these issues that will deliver results. 

As our international competitors continue to ramp up investments in transportation infrastructure from modernizing air traffic control systems to expanding highway and transit capacity to accommodate growth, the House and Senate in the coming months must fully embrace these important domestic initiatives that Americans require to keep manufacturers competitive and our economy moving.  Manufacturers grow when the country adopts meaningful policies that support economic growth and expansion.  

Rosario Palmieri is vice president for infrastructure, legal and regulatory policy.

Last week the State Department took a positive step on the long road to approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, which will bring oil supplies from Canada into the U.S. Construction of the pipeline seems like a no-brainer. We get access to reliable energy supplies from our neighbor and ally to the north—and, as an added benefit, construction of the pipeline will create 20,000 jobs and add billions to our economy.

The pipeline, however, has its detractors, who have “made Keystone into a cause celebre,” as Robert Samuelson puts it in today’s Washington Post.

He goes on:

Actually, the reality is more complex. If Obama rejects the pipeline, he would — perversely — increase greenhouse gas emissions. Canada has made clear that it will proceed with oil sands development regardless of the American decision. If the United States doesn’t want the oil, China and other Asian countries do. Pipelines would be built to the West Coast. Transporting the oil by tanker to Asia would almost certainly create more emissions than moving it by pipeline to closer U.S. markets.

Samuelson highlights the stark choice: “Do we say yes to oil sands? Or do we increase our exposure to unstable world oil markets?”

It’s past time for approval of this project, which has been awaiting the government’s sign-off since 2009.  Manufacturers—and everyone who depends on affordable, secure energy is waiting for the administration to move forward.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) conducted a study of the events of the Fukushima disaster and generated a report  on the fallout and what could be done to prevent it. Additionally, they reviewed the safety features of nuclear energy facilities in the United States as a reliable source of power.

This report will be part of discussions moving forward on how to maintain the strong safety record of the nuclear industry in the U.S. As the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) continues to review the report, it is important to keep in mind that adding costly, unnecessary and reactionary regulations, simply for the sake of regulations is not the solution. This will only prevent job creation and growth within the industry.

The NAM has long been an advocate of nuclear power as one of the many sources of energy needed to meet the growing demands of our nation. We agree with President Obama that Nuclear energy is a “necessary investment” in the future of our nation. The NAM believes in an “all of the above” approach when it comes to our nation’s energy portfolio, and nuclear power has shown to be a safe, effective, clean and reliable source that generates roughly 20 percent of the energy our nation uses.

Coverage of the Report:

•  UPI: Differences between U.S. and Japanese nuclear regulations

Today, the House Republican Technology Working Group outlined its policy priorities for the 112^th Congress. The announcement, initiated by the Speaker of the House, John Boehner (R-OH) and Technology Working Group Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), was delivered to a packed room of high-tech company representatives, including many NAM member companies.

These proposed policies serve as a starting point for congressional debate, and echo the positions manufacturers have been advocating to help grow their businesses and create jobs.

Technology can be found in all aspects of manufacturing and it is vital that Congress stays abreast on the latest developments to ensure manufacturers have the ability to compete and win in today’s global economy. U.S. manufacturers have a long standing tradition of an entrepreneurial spirit and being at the forefront of innovation. Manufacturers will continue to work with Congress to continue this legacy that has proven to be a job-creating engine for our economy.

Manufacturers are pleased that Congress has acknowledged the vital role technology plays in manufacturing and our economic health. Congress must adopt a strategy that will reduce the aggressive regulatory burden of the federal government and reform our tax code, while providing the infrastructure and common-sense policies needed to allow our technological advances to flourish.

The NAM’s Director of Technology Policy Brian Raymond discussed some of the proposals this afternoon:

Improving our nation’s cyber-infrastructure is of critical importance for national and economic security. Cyber-attacks can have a devastating impact on both government agencies and manufacturers, which dampens our economic growth and competiveness. Manufacturers are pleased President Obama has put forward a plan to help improve our nation’s defenses against harmful attacks.

The plan announced by the Administration includes many key reforms sought by manufacturers, including better collaboration between private industry and the government to identify and respond to threats and attacks. Policies which draw on industry wide best practices and partnership with the government are vital for manufacturers continue to lead in responding to new threats. 

We look forward to working with both the Administration and Congress as they begin to discuss cybersecurity reforms. 

Brian Raymond is director of technology and domestic economic policy, National Association of Manufacturers.