Securing Smart Investments in our Ports Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill amends the Port Infrastructure Development Program so project selection and administration account for equitable geographic distribution among United States regions. That shifts the grant program from a purely project-by-project review toward a portfolio rule that can help smaller, inland, Gulf, rural, or historically underrepresented port regions compete for federal port infrastructure awards.
Who Benefits and How
Ports in underserved regions, port-dependent communities, inland and Gulf ports, smaller coastal ports, and regional freight users benefit because grant decisions must consider whether awards are spread fairly across the country.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Maritime Administration grant staff and Department of Transportation reviewers must comply with a new geographic-distribution criterion, while large historically successful ports may lose some grant opportunity as awards are spread across regions.
Key Provisions
- Adds equitable geographic distribution as a port grant selection criterion.
- Requires program administration to consider distribution among United States regions.
- Directs federal port-infrastructure reviewers to weigh regional balance when selecting projects.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Adds equitable geographic distribution across United States regions as a Port Infrastructure Development Program selection and administration factor.
Key Policy Areas
Transportation, Government, State & Local Government
Primary Purpose
Adds equitable geographic distribution across United States regions as a Port Infrastructure Development Program selection and administration factor.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Ports in underserved regions
- Port-dependent communities
- Inland ports
- Gulf ports
Identified Costs
- Maritime Administration grant staff
- Department of Transportation reviewers
- Large historically successful ports
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
Mr. Joyce of Ohio (for himself, Mr. Kennedy of New …
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Introduced in House
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology