Competitive Grants for Port Improvements to Get Mark-Up in Committee Aug. 1

The Port Operations, Research and Technology Act, a bill from Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., will be given a mark-up in the Senate Commerce Committee Aug. 1. The bill would give federal money to ports that want to improve marine terminal equipment, highway or rail infrastructure, intermodal facilities, or install digital infrastructure systems, freight intelligent transportation systems, or dredge berthing areas. All but the last category would be eligible for grants covering 80 percent of the costs; dredging projects would be eligible for a 50 percent match. The bill language does not describe how much money might be available next year for the grant pool.