A letter from the Port of Corpus Christi to President Donald Trump seems to have worked. For the first time, the port’s Ship Channel Improvement Project has been included in a Presidential Budget. The president’s Fiscal Year 2019 Budget for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Coastal Navigation Construction was released by the White House on Feb. 12.
“This is a historic day for the port, and we are honored to have the CIP included in President Trump’s budget,” said Sean Strawbridge, Port Corpus Christi CEO.
Strawbridge sent his letter on top of another letter from CEOs of six of the nation’s top energy companies. Both letters, which were sent to Trump on Jan. 30, requested $60 million for the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the ship channel to make way for bigger ships.
The president’s $4.4 trillion budget includes $13 million for the port’s CIP. The money has been 30 years in the waiting. Each year, as the port has sought funds to dredge the channel, the price has gone up. Currently, the project is expected to cost $327 million.
Inclusion in the president’s budget is not the final step in the process. Congress has to approve the expenditures, which it has failed to do in the past when presented with requests from the Army Corps of Engineers.