GAC Summary for Company News – September 2010<br />
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By: Kristi App<br />
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Billy App, Sandy Frazier, and I recently returned from the NCBFAA Government Affairs Conference in Washington D.C. Day one of the conference educated the attendees about upcoming legislation or regulations that will affect the trade community. On day two, we visited our legislators on Capitol Hill and expressed our concerns as constituents with these bills. We also discussed local problems that affect trade in Louisiana.<br />
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On a federal level, there were two bills we lobbied against. The first is the Ports Bill (H.R. 5967) introduced by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) which would amend the Federal Motor Carrier Act to allow local regulation of the trucking industry in and around port areas for environmental purposes. This bill would not allow owner-operators to haul containers in and out of the port. The drivers would have to be direct employees of a trucking company. The bill has very little to do with the environment and more to do with unionizing local truckers. The bill is anti-small business, costly, and anti-competitive. The environmental goals can be met as evidenced by the Clean Truck Program in California without having to regulate the trucking industry.<br />
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The second bill is the Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act (H.R. 4678, S.1606) which would prohibit imports of designated products unless the foreign manufacturer of the product designates a registered US agent for service of process in US courts. The bill’s goal to hold a foreign manufacturer via a registered agent accountable in US courts is fruitless as most foreign courts will not enforce a US court judgement. US importers are currently held liable for the quality of their imported goods via CBP, CPSC, FDA, USDA, and other government agencies. The bill if enacted would inadvertently hurt US exports as foreign countries and trading partners would soon follow suit and require US companies to register in their countries. Remember ISF? I don’t think exporters would be dealing with the EU’s ENS program and China’s version if not for ISF. The bill’s idea has merit but the means to the end is not good for the trade community.<br />
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Our trip to Washington D.C. proved timely as the Army Corps of Engineers recently informed the New Orleans maritime community that proposed dredging budget of $63 million would be firm. Over the past five years, the average cost to dredge the lower Mississippi River is $85 million. In the past the Corps has reallocated money from other projects to supplement the shortfall. Local, State, and Federal officials are continuing to work with the Corps to address this issue. If no compromise is met, the Mississippi River could soon see draft and transit restrictions. Vessels would not be able to load to capacity thus rolling cargo. This situation hammers home the fact that the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund needs to be used to fully fund dredging and not to supplement the General Fund.