Timely responses are important to the US Maritime Administration (MARAD), a spokesman told TradeWinds after lawmakers on a powerful committee blasted the agency’s lack of responsiveness to its queries and proposed trimming headquarters funding.
TradeWinds reported on Friday that the House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriations approved a bill that aims to cut headquarters funding for the upcoming 2024 fiscal year, which starts on 1 October of this year. The panel complained of “unsatisfactory” responses to its requests for information.
“The Maritime Administration values its relationship with the Congress, and we prioritise providing prompt and accurate responses to those inquiries,” agency spokesman TV Johnson said.
“And we look forward to working with the appropriators to ensure that they have all the information they need in a timely fashion.”
The Republican Party-led committee proposed bringing funding for MarAd’s headquarters operation in the next fiscal year to $60.9m, which $13.9m less than the $74.8m requested by the administration of US President Joe Biden.
The bill proposes trimming MARAD’s overall operations and training account, which includes headquarters funding and the US Merchant Marine Academy, to $210m from $213m in the current fiscal year, despite the nearly $290m requested by the Democratic administration.
The bill’s ultimate fate is unclear, with a competing appropriations proposal approved last week by the US Senate, where the Democratic Party is in the majority.
Meanwhile, Johnson said that while timely responses to Congress are important, so are port security and infrastructure funding, with greater investment translating into stronger supply chains.
According to the House Appropriations Committee report, the Biden Administration has asked for an increase in MARAD’s port infrastructure budget from $212m in the current fiscal year to $230m in the next.
But the committee has proposed slashing the figure to just $69.7m.
