by Michele Catahay

Guam - Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo and several of her colleagues have requested dedicated funding for ports in future infrastructure grants. The group sent a letter to Secretary Ray Lahood of the U.S. Department of Transportation requesting that the department commit at least 25% of national infrastructure investments grants for port infrastructure.

Congress appropriated $600 million for the National Infrastructure Investment Discretionary Grant in the 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act (also known as the TIGER 2 Grant). Given the limited resources dedicated to ports, as well as the recent denial of a $50 million TIGER grant to the Port of Guam were reasons to highlight the lack of support for port funding.

Bordallo says these grants provide the only opportunity to make significant investments to our nation's port, most especially on Guam in light of the military buildup.