Mobile, Alabama, has one of the largest, most productive ports in the country –a port that is pumping billions of dollars into Alabama’s economy every year.  The Port of Mobile has a container terminal linked up with five railroads, two highways, and 15,000 miles of waterways.  An Airbus facility being built nearby --specifically for port access-- will open this year, and hire about 1,000 people.

This is really a reflection of what Mobile wants to be in the future, a place where businesses are locating and where a lot of good jobs are being created and where exports are growing. You see this in all the major renovations that have happened at the Port –new terminals and warehouses.

Mobile is not alone in enjoying the benefits of a major port. According to a recent study, America’s seaports generated $4.6 trillion in total economic activity and supported 23 million jobs in 2014. That's up 43 percent since 2007 and accounts for 26 percent of the nation’s $17.4 trillion economy.

Which sounds like good news. But alarmingly, a survey entitled The State of Freight, released the same day by the Association of American Port Authorities identified a current need of $29 billion in port infrastructure investment just to be able to handle projected freight volumes in 2025. The survey also identified great need for investment in intermodal connectors, with 80 percent of ports needing at least $10 million in investment and 30 percent needing at least $100 million.

“At issue," said AAPA President and CEO Kurt Nagle, "is the condition of land-side connections that serve as vital links between seaports and other segments of the nation’s freight transportation network. These ‘first and last mile’ connectors are the very definition of critical transportation infrastructure. While ports and their private-sector partners are investing heavily into their facilities as international trade continues to grow, many of these connectors are antiquated, in disrepair, and are creating congestion issues that need to be urgently addressed.”

Fortunately, we sent Congress a plan to boost this investment shortfall.  GROW AMERICA, the $478 billion, six year surface transportation reauthorization bill that we introduced in March, provides $18 billion for a national freight program that can be spent on vital port and intermodal connector infrastructure.  GROW AMERICA provides $7.5 billion over six years for the highly successful TIGER Grant program which has already provided ports with approximately $480 million in funding over the last six years.

In addition, we released a study earlier this year, “Beyond Traffic,” that identified the trends and choices facing our Nation's transportation over the next three decades.  According to the report, America’s population is set to grow by 70 million people over the next 30 years, while freight movement is projected to grow by 45 percent. That means more investment in freight transportation.

GROW AMERICA supports that goal.

The folks in Mobile know we can't wait to invest in the roads, bridges, and rails that connect American goods to seaports.  The AAPA knows it.  The truck drivers stuck in traffic know it.  The shippers know it.

The time to act is now.  Members of Congress have a 2-month window to figure out how to fund these priority investments and begin to confront the significant transportation challenges that America faces.  We've provided them a way to do that.

And we continue to stand ready to work with Congress in the critical next two months to address these challenges and ensure America has a world-class transportation system for generations to come.