Template revised September 22, 2016.
COMMISSION
AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Item No.
8d
ACTION ITEM
Date of Meeting
January 9, 2018
DATE: January 2, 2018
TO: Dave Soike, Interim Executive Director
FROM: Pearse Edwards, Government Relations Director
Eric Schinfeld, Sr. Manager, Federal & International Government Relations
Ryan McFarland, Manager, Federal Government Relations
SUBJECT: 2018 Federal Legislative Agenda Approval
ACTION REQUESTED
Request Commission approval of the Port’s 2018 federal policy priorities and for staff to engage
with federal officials in support of these priorities.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Since January of this year, Port of Seattle government relations staff has worked with
Commissioners, executive team members, and internal subject-matter experts to execute the
2017 maritime and aviation federal agenda approved at your January meeting. In one of the
most unique years in federal government history, the Port has been able to both make progress
on core, long-held priorities while simultaneously adjusting to the new realities that this
Congress and Administration present. While many of the 2017 agenda items remain as part of
the proposed 2018 agenda, a number of items have been reprioritized in reaction to local and
national activity.
Staff presented the draft 2018 federal agenda to Commission on November 28, and have
incorporated suggested changes below. Staff is now requesting approval of the 2018 federal
legislative agenda.
PROPOSE FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
Priority Agenda Items
Portwide
• Welcoming and Competitive Immigration & Trade Policies:
a. Support permanent legal protections for immigrant children currently eligible for
the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
b. Stay engaged in policy and legal decisions related to immigrants and refugees
from countries targeted by the “travel ban” executive order.
c. Be a leading voice on immigration policies that ensure the Port, its partner and
its customers have the workforce to succeed in the global economy.
Item No. 9a_attach_2
Meeting Date: February 13, 2018
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8d Page 2 of 6
Meeting Date: January 9, 2018
Template revised September 22, 2016; format updates October 19, 2016.
Aviation
• Sufficient Infrastructure Funding and Flexibility:
a. Advocate for more federal dollars for airport infrastructure projects, via a long-
term FAA Reauthorization and/or a federal infrastructure investment package.
b. Provide leadership on efforts to raise the federal cap on the Passenger Facility
Charge (PFC) from $4.50 while maintaining the Port Commission’s ability to
determine whether or not to change the user fee based on locally determined
needs and competitive dynamics.
• Efficient and Safe Airport Operations:
a. Support TSA efforts to increase the number of deployed passenger screening
canine teams, while advocating for airports to be allowed to procure and train
canines for local TSA use.
b. Preserve TSA funding for Law Enforcement Officer reimbursement grants.
c. Increase funding for Customs and Border Protection officers, as well as
increasing allocation of current CBP officers to airport-specific jobs.
• Increased Community Focus:
a. Support and engage in federal efforts to study future regional air capacity.
b. Increase FAA responsibility for direct engagement with local communities near
airports, both to respond to community concerns as well as inform residents of
any proposed changes.
c. Confirm the eligibility of airport-area public schools for FAA AIP noise insulation
grant funding.
d. Support efforts to have the FAA and other federal agencies research the
relationship between aviation activity and ultrafine particulate emissions, as well
as their associated impacts.
e. Support changes to regulations that would create greater flexibility for airports
to address community needs – including workforce & economic development,
Project Labor Agreements, and disadvantaged business contracting.
• Expanded Aviation Biofuels Deployment:
a. Ensure clarity and authority for airports to use airport revenue to support the air
quality and carbon reduction benefits of fuel switching.
b. Seek new and expanded incentives for the development of relevant feedstock
and production facilities.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8d Page 3 of 6
Meeting Date: January 9, 2018
Template revised September 22, 2016; format updates October 19, 2016.
Maritime
• Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT) Reform:
a. Continue efforts to reform the HMT to ensure US tax policy does not
disadvantage US ports and to provide greater equity for HMT donor ports
through expanded use of Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund revenues.
b. Support $50 million appropriation for the “donor port” HMT rebate program
authorized under Section 2106 of the 2014 Water Resources Reform and
Development Act to compensate for the current structure and impacts of the
HMT.
• Fishing Fleet Modernization:
a. Advocate for reforms to NOAA’s Fisheries Finance Program (FFP) that would
remove prohibitions on loans and loan guarantees for the construction and
reconstruction of fishing vessels and that would include safeguards that prevent
overfishing, including limitations on the use of replaced vessels in international
fisheries; support increasing the FFP loan authority, which is presently $100
million annually.
b. Support other policies and programs that improve access to financing in order to
facilitate modernization of the North Pacific fleet.
• Seattle Harbor Deepening:
a. Support authorization and appropriation for design and construction to deepen
the federal channels serving T-18, T-30 and T-5.
• Hiram M. Chittenden Locks Funding:
a. Support funding for continued federal operation and maintenance of the locks,
as well as additional funding for priority, non-routine maintenance like the filling
culvert valve replacement.
• National Freight Policy and Funding:
a. Support implementation and increased federal funding for a strengthened
national multimodal freight strategy and related grant programs, including
continued authorization and funding for the TIGER Discretionary Grant program.
• Terminal 5 Modernization Project:
a. Support federal funding for the Terminal 5 Modernization Project to meet
changing container industry requirements, ensure the long-term
competitiveness of the gateway and meet our environmental and community
goals.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8d Page 4 of 6
Meeting Date: January 9, 2018
Template revised September 22, 2016; format updates October 19, 2016.
• Safe and Efficient Cargo Screening:
a. Support adequate Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) staffing levels to ensure
efficient movement of cargo through the Puget Sound gateway. The port seeks
increased federal funding for CBP staffing at maritime ports of entry and reforms
to expedite the hiring of new CBP officers.
b. Pursue efforts to ensure that the federal government retains responsibility for
funding CBP services, equipment and facility development.
• Puget Sound Restoration:
a. Support increased federal resources for Puget Sound restoration, including
appropriations for the Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project,
the National Estuary Program, the Puget Sound Geographic Program and the
Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund.
Additional Priority Issues the Port of Seattle is Supporting or Engaging on:
Port-wide
• Sufficient Infrastructure Funding and Flexibility:
a. Participate in relevant discussions with key members of Congress regarding
overarching changes to current US tax code as it relates to solutions that would
create revenue to fund infrastructure programs, reduce Port bond financing
costs and address the competitive imbalances caused by the Harbor
Maintenance Tax.
• Welcoming and Competitive Immigration & Trade Policies:
a. Advocate for trade policies that open new markets and level playing fields for
Washington employers and others who use the Port as their international
gateway, while creating verifiable, measureable and enforceable standards to
protect workers and the environment.
• Increased Community Focus:
a. Secure additional federal funding and policies that support and enhance the
Port’s economic development, tourism development and workforce
development programs.
b. Ensure federal support for efforts to improve the environmental impact of the
Port’s maritime and aviation activities, including funding for the port’s emissions
reduction and water quality programs.
c. Partner with federal agencies to improve human trafficking prevention and
intervention efforts.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8d Page 5 of 6
Meeting Date: January 9, 2018
Template revised September 22, 2016; format updates October 19, 2016.
Aviation
• Sufficient Infrastructure Funding and Flexibility:
a. Ensure that federal agencies and members of Congress are supportive of in-
progress (such as NorthStar and IAF) and future (including SAMP and South
Satellite) capital projects and plans.
• Efficient and Safe Airport Operations:
a. Oppose changes to our nation’s Air Traffic Control (ATC) system that 1)
negatively impact a fully functioning statewide airport ecosystem; 2) create
uncertainty or reduction in job quality for current federal employees; 3) reduce
responsiveness to community needs related to aircraft impacts; and 4) reduce
funding and long-term investment predictability for ATC infrastructure.
b. Encourage FAA to provide structure and systemic context to safety management,
and to require airports to establish and maintain a Safety Management System
to manage airfield risk.
• Increased Community Focus:
a. Ensure federal support for a broad range of innovative strategies to offset the
local air quality impacts and greenhouse gas emissions associated with increased
air traffic growth.
• Welcoming and Competitive Immigration & Trade Policies:
a. Coordinate with federal agencies on a reasonable timeframe for implementation
of REAL ID.
Maritime
• Diesel Emissions Reductions and DERA:
a. Support authorization and full funding for the EPA Diesel Emissions Reduction
Act (DERA) program, which provides funding for emissions reduction programs.
• Pebble Mine at Bristol Bay:
a. The Port of Seattle Century Agenda commits the Port to actions and policies to
ensure the long-term vitality of the Northwest fishing industry and to being the
greenest, most energy efficient port in North America. The EPA has determined
the proposed Pebble Mine at Bristol Bay would jeopardize one of the world’s last
wild salmon nurseries, a finding the fishing industry has endorsed. The Port
believes the proposed activity is inconsistent with its Century Agenda goals. The
Port of Seattle opposes mining activity and other development proposals in the
Bristol Bay watershed that put Bristol Bay fisheries at risk.
• Jones Act:
a. Support the Jones Act and its crucial role in providing the institutional framework
that helps keep the US domestic maritime industry viable. The Port endorses
maintaining limited flexibility to grant waivers from Jones Act regulations in
extraordinary cases when domestic shipping capacity is insufficient to respond to
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8d Page 6 of 6
Meeting Date: January 9, 2018
Template revised September 22, 2016; format updates October 19, 2016.
a given need and when Puget Sound domestic maritime stakeholders validate
that a waiver is necessary to support the vitality of their industry.
Additional Priority Issues the Port of Seattle is Monitoring:
Port-wide
• Increased Communities Focus:
a. Local Government Partnerships: Play a supportive role on key federal priorities
of our local partners that have a Port nexus, such as increasing federal funding
for homelessness & housing affordability, securing federal transportation
investments, and policies that improve the environment and quality of life for
our region’s residents.
Aviation
1. Efficient and Safe Airport Operations:
a. Support TSA efforts to expand PreCheck, as well as additional technology
solutions – such as self-service/remote bag drop – that maximize security and
efficiency.
2. Increased Community Focus:
a. Follow the potential 2018 release of the comprehensive, multi-year FAA study
evaluating changes to the current 65 DNL standard for noise mitigation.
Maritime
• Goods Movement User Fees:
a. Support the concept of establishing a sustainable source for freight
infrastructure and monitor individual user fee proposals to ensure that 1) fees
should not hurt the competitiveness of the Northwest trade corridor relative to
others in North America; 2) fees should be mode neutral; and 3) funds should
spent on improvements that benefit users who pay the fees and not diverted to
other uses.
ATTACHMENTS TO THIS REQUEST
(1) Presentation slides
(2) 2017 Federal Maritime Agenda
(3) 2017 Federal Aviation Agenda
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS
October 10, 2017 – The Commission was briefed on the 2018 State Legislative Agenda.
October 24, 2017 – The Commission authorized staff to pursue legislative priorities during
the 2018 state legislative session.
November 28, 2017 – The Commission was briefed on the 2018 Federal Agenda.
