Senate Commerce Approves Port Performance Act in Larger Transportation Bill
The Senate Commerce Committee approved the Port Performance Act as part of a broader transportation bill on July 15. Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., merged the port bill into the Comprehensive Transportation and Consumer Protection Act of 2015, S-1732, before the July 15 committee markup. The broader bill passed 13-11 along party lines.
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The committee approved a revised version of the port bill in late June, after introducing the original measure the month before (see 1506230029). The new bill would draw together CBP, the Federal Maritime Commission, other federal agencies and a range of industry representatives into a working group designed to assess a set of port performance criteria. The bill would also require the Obama administration to evaluate the impact of port slowdowns and shutdowns on overall performance in a report released by the Transportation Department. Thune and the legislation’s co-sponsors removed language to require port authorities to submit annual performance reports to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The American Association of Port Authorities recently applauded the revisions, but called for more improvements (see 1507070007).
Committee lawmakers defeated 13-11 an amendment to strike the port bill from the broader transportation legislation. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., led that attempt. Thune intends to merge the transportation bill with other bills to form the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill, known as the Highway Bill, said the committee in a statement (here). The National Retail Federation and other industry associations pushed Thune to approve the port bill hours before the July 15 markup (here).