Washington Waves: Waterway News From D.C.

By Jim Myers

WJ Washington Correspondent

Following his earlier action to allow Transportation Security Administration workers to be paid during the partial shutdown, President Donald Trump issued a memorandum to do the same for the rest of the employees of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“This callous treatment of DHS employees must end in order to ensure that America is not susceptible to security threats and maintains readiness to respond to emergencies,” Trump said, singling out Coast Guard civilians and workers at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

His memo directs the secretary of homeland security to coordinate with the director of the Office of Management and Budget to use funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to the functions of DHS.

When asked about the status of the president’s action, a DHS spokesperson said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is working to get the rest of the frontline workers at the agency paid as soon as possible.

“The department remains shut down, and far too many employees remain furloughed,” the spokesperson said, calling on Democrats to help reopen DHS immediately.

President’s Budget Request

President Donald Trump released his budget request for fiscal year 2027, proposing to boost defense spending to $1.5 trillion and cutting programs serving the waterways industry.

Citing a “sharp shift in federal spending priorities” included in the budget request, the National Waterways Conference (NWC) noted it proposes significant reductions across the core Civil Works accounts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. NWC used a news alert to remind its members that the White House document sets the starting point for the budget.

“The president’s budget is not law,” NWC said. “It signals policy direction and funding priorities, but Congress will ultimately determine final funding levels through the appropriations bills.”

Two top Senate appropriators hit that same theme in their responses to Trump’s proposal.

“The president’s budget request is just that, a request,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the Republican chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “Congress holds the power of the purse.”

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the committee’s vice chair and the ranking member of its Energy and Water Development Subcommittee, was even more blunt.

“The vision President Trump has outlined for America in his budget is bleak and unacceptable,” Murray said. “The only responsible thing to do with a budget this morally bankrupt is to toss it in the trash.”

A document signed by Assistant Secretary for the Army (Civil Works) Adam Telle said the president’s fiscal year 2027 budget for the Corps’ Civil Works program reflects the administration’s key priorities, with a strong emphasis on completing ongoing projects efficiently.

It includes funding requests for two new studies, the South River and Intrenchment Creek in Georgia and Chincoteague Inlet in Virginia, and the completion of four ongoing investigations efforts and two flood damage risk reduction construction projects in Idaho and Kentucky. “The budget does not include any new construction starts in order to prioritize the completion of existing projects,” the document states.

The budget request provides $6.663 billion in discretionary funding for the Civil Works program, including $2.027 billion for commercial navigation, $931 million for flood and storm damage reduction and $410 million for aquatic ecosystem restoration.

EPA Port Inspections

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to step up its inspections at ports of entry across the country with greater cooperation with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a key official said.

After a recent visit to the Port of NewYork/Newark, EPA Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Jeffrey Hall spoke of the agency’s crackdown on illegal toxic and polluting imports.

“A core commitment of our environmental enforcement program is ensuring that foreigners do not profit by importing illegal toxins and polluting products that poison our communities,” Hall said. “Securing clean air, land and water for all Americans means vigorously enforcing our nation’s laws and vigilantly policing the products that come across our borders.”

The EPA said the expansion of its imports investigative capacity and enforcement has blocked more than 1.6 million pounds of illegal pesticide imports at ports across America during the first year of the Trump administration.

Passenger Ferry Grants

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced the opportunity to apply for approximately $657 million in competitive grants for the Fiscal Year 2026 Passenger Ferry Program, Electric or Low-Emitting Ferry Pilot Program and Ferry Service for Rural Communities Program.

Proposals must be submitted electronically through the grants.gov ‘‘apply’’ function by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time May 11.

The full text of the Notice of Funding Opportunity can be found on FTA’s website at https:// www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grants/ notices and in the ‘‘find’’ module of grants.gov.

The funding opportunity IDs are FTA–2026–005– TPM-Ferry, FTA–2026–007–TPM– FERRYPILOT and FTA–2026–006– TPM-FerryRural.

For additional information, contact Matt Lange at 202-366-2053 or FTAFerryPrograms@ dot.gov.