Rivers, Waterways Unite All Americans
We write often about America’s unparalleled system of rivers and inland waterways and how they connect farmers, exporters and manufacturers with markets overseas. When they are operating smoothly, even though they can be invisible to those consumers who most depend on them, they help unite the country as an essential part of its transport web.
But the rivers and waterways do more than unite producers and customers. They also help connect and unite political factions and parties. What we mean is that support of our rivers and waterways in Congress and statehouses alike has a long, proud tradition of bipartisanship. Our advocacy organizations have an enviable track record of working well with both political parties and finding friends and partners across the political spectrum. They accomplish this with a laser focus on the issues that concern our industry and by avoiding extraneous controversies. The latest example of this bipartisan cooperation has been the near-unanimous support by both parties in California’s legislature of AB 1122, a bill that would protect harbor craft from the unfortunate effects of a short-sighted mandate by the California Air Resources Board.
That’s not to say there are no politics involved in supporting our rivers and waterways systems. Any glance at their history would tell even a casual observer otherwise. Past issues of The Waterways Journal are filled with the record of many contentious debates about waterways projects. With our form of government, any public infrastructure that requires large amounts of investment must be political.
The rivers and waterways have had many friends and supporters in both parties, but their occasional opponents have likewise cut across the political spectrum. Even when leaders agree on the need to support them, they may disagree in good faith on how best to do that. For instance, one issue that directly affects how locks and dams are funded is the decades-long debate over Congressional earmarks, which were reinstated in 2021 after a 10-year moratorium, albeit under a new name, “congressionally directed spending.”
Nevertheless, the fact remains: true bipartisan cooperation is a welcome feature of each Water Resources Development Act, which Congress traditionally passes every two years. Our waterways advocates are known and respected on both sides of the aisle.
Bipartisanship alone does not always ensure perfect agreement, especially when the issues around funding of locks, dams, buoy-tenders, dredging and Coast Guard vessels can be so complicated. But in this polarized election season when partisan agendas are in the spotlight, it can be refreshing to remember that our rivers and waterways really can unite all of us.
