At the hearing, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Mike Connor, USACE Chief of Engineers General Scott Spellmon, and Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton were invited by the committee to testify on the budget request. If interested, you can view a recording of the hearing by clicking here.

One item we are tracking closely is the allocation of funding provided by Congress in previous appropriations bills and and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). When asked about their workforce capacity, General Spellmon discussed the USACE workforce issues as both a challenge and an opportunity. USACE has hired 5,000 new engineers, however they have lost an estimated 4,000 to retirements or transfers to other federal agencies. This workforce gap is requiring the Corps to increase their workload with outside firms while changing their internal culture to meet demands of the historic levels of funding for USACE. 

Looking forward, the great unknown is how the debt limit discussions will impact the development of the final FY24 appropriations bills but we should learn much more this month with the upcoming meetings between President Biden and House and Senate leadership. The first round of in-person meetings is scheduled for May 9. We remain cautiously optimistic that the debt limit will be raised in the upcoming weeks which will allow for the appropriations process to continue during the summer.  Currently, we have projects under contract and moving forward in every state along the waterway and do not have any major concerns that they will be stalled at this time.

On May 2, AIWA Executive Director Brad Pickel was invited to meet with Scott Bauby, Vice President of Marine Operations for American Cruise Lines (ACL), and Captain Tim O’Connor aboard the American Star docked in Savannah, Georgia. The ACL is a proud member of the AIWA  and represents a unique and growing segment of AIWA stakeholders through their cruising operations. 

Brad was invited to tour the vessel to better understand the value of ACL’s operations to the national and local economies. ACL’s cruisers are typically seasoned cruisers who are choosing between spending their money on U.S. or European river cruises, enjoy supporting local economies through on-site excursions, generally more affluent and willing to pay for a 5-star experience, and often repeat customers.  Local communities welcome the ACL vessels and some locations truly roll out the red carpet.

We are excited to work with the ACL team to further our understanding of their operations, where their customers come from, and the economic benefits they provide to our nation. They are committed to being an active partner of AIWA. If you are interested in learning more, we invite you to visit the American Cruise Lines website and view the presentation by Kristin Meira, Director of Government Affairs, from the 2022 AIWA Annual meeting in Norfolk, VA.

The AIWA is a national non-profit organization with the mission of securing funding and support for the maintenance of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. We are the only organization dedicated to ensuring the future of the AIWW and proudly represent all stakeholders of the waterway. 

Contact:
5A Market
Beaufort, SC 29906  
(843) 379-1151 ️ atlanticintracoastal.org