The Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program. The federal grant program provides financial assistance to highway and...more
K&L Gates maritime professionals work at the intersection of the U.S. federal government and the maritime business. We asked some of them for their predictions about the year ahead regarding the Trump administration, the...more
In December 2019, the U.S. Congress managed to defy expectations and enact several pieces of significant legislation....more
On Tuesday evening, the House passed S. 140, the vehicle for reauthorization of the U.S. Coast Guard, unanimously by voice vote. The bill’s passage marks a successful compromise in a protracted struggle over the legislation’s...more
Emanuel “Manny” Rouvelas has been on the front lines of the maritime industry in Washington, D.C. for almost 50 years. He started as the U.S. Senate’s primary maritime staffer in 1969, where he helped write major pieces of...more
The massive public attention focused on the Jones Act in Puerto Rico immediately after Hurricane Maria was eerily analogous to the public spotlight on the law during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (the “Gulf Spill”) in the...more
On Thursday, August 3, Admiral Mark Buzby was confirmed by voice vote by the United States Senate to become the Administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD). This is the earliest a MARAD Administrator for an...more
Currently, the focus is on President Trump’s cabinet-level nominations, but a number of vital presidential appointments remain outstanding. Of the more than 4,000 presidential appointments, nearly 1,000 require Senate...more
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) primary method of regulating ballast water and other discharges is the Vessel General Permit (VGP). Under its Clean Water Act authority, the EPA established the VGP to impose...more