Sens. Casey and Fetterman announce $217 million for PhilaPort
The funding will help expand the Port of Philadelphia’s capacity and make the maritime facility more competitive, federal lawmakers said.
As commonwealth leaders work to significantly expand the Port of Philadelphia’s capacity and compete with the East Coast’s largest maritime facilities, Pennsylvania congressional lawmakers announced on Sept. 20 that the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority will receive $217 million from the federal government.
Democratic U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman and Reps. Mary Gay Scanlon, Dwight Evans and Brendan Boyle made the announcement and said the $217.2 million will expand the SouthPort terminal’s capacity. The infusion of hundreds of millions of dollars will create a new space for ships at the terminal located on the Delaware River and expand onloading and offloading capacity, according to a press release from the lawmakers.
The funding comes from the National Infrastructure Project Assistance Program, which was created by President Joe Biden’s 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The law allocated billions of federal dollars to invest in waterway infrastructure like the Philadelphia port, called PhilaPort; repair roads; replace lead water pipes; and expand internet access in rural areas.
“The infrastructure law is helping the port transport more goods, which will create good jobs in southeastern Pennsylvania,” Casey said in the press release. “This game-changing investment in PhilaPort will ensure that the port remains a critical force in the nation’s supply chain and the commonwealth’s economy. “I will always fight to improve our shipping hubs to ensure that the commonwealth’s waterways boost economic growth and create and sustain good jobs.”
The Philadelphia port supports more than 10,000 jobs and works with ships carrying imports of cars, cocoa, paper products, fruit and other produce, frozen meats, pharmaceuticals, and electronics, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
In 2020, Philadelphia port officials announced a plan to expand the facility with the intent of making it more able to compete with other East Coast ports such as New York and Baltimore. It has received hundreds of millions of dollars in state and federal funding, including previous funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
“I’m proud to see this $217 million funding coming to the SouthPort terminal,” Fetterman said in the press release. “By expanding the terminal and increasing capacity, the Department of Transportation is investing in Pennsylvania as a leader in grade and infrastructure and supporting the communities that rely on these jobs every day. I thank the Biden-Harris administration for their continued investment in Pennsylvania’s future.”
The lawmakers who announced the port funding emphasized the critical role that the infrastructure law played in the facility receiving the federal dollars and said they were proud to have voted for the law. While the infrastructure legislation received some bipartisan support, a majority of the votes in favor of the bill came from Democrats. Nearly all the votes against the bill came from Republican lawmakers.All nine of Pennsylvania’s congressional Democrats supported the legislation. All but one of the state’s eight House Republicans, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, voted against the bill.
