IN-DEPTH: Baltimore Disaster Adds Urgency to Calls for US Maritime Policy Reform, Port Investment by John Haughey – US Politics News

President Joe Biden, in an executive order this February, directed $20 billion in allocations from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill (BIL) into a five-year grant program dedicated to modernizing America’s 361 commercial ports.
The money is welcome but not nearly enough to overcome decades of neglect in comprehensive federal port investment and a half-century absence—some say abdication—by successive administrations and Congresses in sustaining a cohesive national maritime policy, a growing chorus of critics contend.
“If you talk to anyone in the ports, they are extremely excited about this. It’s more money than they’ve received in decades,” said Capt. John Konrad, founder and CEO gCaptain.com, a maritime commerce news and analysis site….