The National Association of Manufacturers is putting its muscle behind advancing legislation intended to spur the development of waterway infrastructure projects.
NAM called on the top lawmakers on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to get the Water Resources Development Act out of committee and onto the House floor.
The WRDA, which comes up for reauthorization every two years and has significant bipartisan support, enables the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to shore up U.S. ports, harbors and inland waterways.
NAM’s Christopher Phalen and Kirbie Ferrell made the case for the bill in letters to the committee’s chairman, GOP Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri, and the ranking Democrat, Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington.
They argued that ports, inland waterways and flood control systems are not just water management issues, but core economic infrastructure: they keep American manufacturing running, support reliable supply chains, help the U.S. stay competitive globally, and even factor into national security.
The underlying message is that these infrastructure projects need continued investment and modernization to keep pace with their role in the broader economy.
This year’s bill “represents an important investment in America’s long-term economic competitiveness through improvements to navigation infrastructure, flood risk management and project delivery,” they told the committee ahead of a scheduled markup of the legislation. The markup was later postponed due to other House activity.
Congress has adopted a bipartisan WRDA every other year since 2014.
The legislation this year highlights reinforcing ports and inland waterways and making more tools available to nonfederal project sponsors, improving project delivery and making the USACE more effective and efficient.
“These investments are critical to maintaining the reliability of the nation’s freight transportation network and supporting the movement of raw materials, energy products, agricultural commodities and manufactured goods,” Mr. Phalen and Mr. Kirbie said.
Report takes on AI jobs doomsday fears
A recent report from the Competitive Enterprise Institute said fears of AI causing mass job loss across the country are historically unfounded.
Lawmakers such as socialist icon Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont, Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia and GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri have sounded the alarm about AI creeping into different industries and wiping out jobs. But CEI, a Washington-based libertarian think tank, said history shows innovation creates jobs, not just destroys them.
In one example, the organization cited the 1913 moving assembly line created by industrialist Henry Ford to build his Model T automobiles, which reduced labor needs per car, though U.S. automotive manufacturing jobs rose from 175,000 in 1917 to 1 million in 1979.
“Technology advances like artificial intelligence can breed fear that ’progress’ will destroy jobs and livelihoods,” said Sean Higgins, CEI research fellow in labor studies and author of the report, “Don’t Panic! A Skeptic’s Guide to the AI Jobs Doomsday.”
“History teaches us labor-related technology fears are usually misplaced,” he said. “Innovation has not, historically, caused widespread unemployment in the broader economy. In fact, labor-saving innovations in one industry, like manufacturing, can create new opportunities and jobs in related industries, like service or hospitality.”
The report noted that US unemployment fell slightly (from 5.9% to 5.3%) between 1979 and 1989 despite manufacturing automation and a growing labor force.
Additionally, it described how previous predictions of AI replacing skilled jobs were wrong, including a Nobel-winning scientist’s 2016 prediction that AI would replace radiologists, which never happened, as radiologists remain in demand and are still well-paid.
Businesses call for employment-based visa reform
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce pressed Congress to start fixing the legal immigration system now that border security has been strengthened under the Trump administration.
“President Trump’s commitment of unmatched resources and attention to securing the border has laid the foundation for the critical next step: securing our economy by growing our workforce,” the open letter stated.
The Chamber made the plea on behalf of a coalition of business organizations across sectors known as the “American Alliance for Workforce and Border Security.”
The group of over 300 members said that the country is facing a shrinking workforce demographic reality and that, according to the Congressional Budget Office, population growth has slowed in the U.S. to an average of just 0.2% per year.
“That is less than one-fifth the rate our country sustained from 1975 to 2024. By 2031, annual deaths in the U.S. will exceed annual births for the first time in America’s history,” the letter said. “The U.S. population will be 4.5 million people smaller by 2035 and 5.4 million smaller by 2055 than previously projected.”
The alliance said that there are millions of open jobs across nearly every sector and there is a shrinking pipeline of workers to fill them, so Congress needs to pass a “modernized immigration system that can meet workforce needs and sustain growth.”
This can happen, they said, by first sustaining border security and treating it as the foundation but not the finish line.
The Chamber urged Congress to build a cross-sector visa system by amending the Immigration and Nationality Act to create employment-based visas for industries that currently lack legal pathways, while protecting American workers from displacement.
The group also suggested establishing a practical process to retain workers who have been contributing to the U.S. economy, for long-contributing workers, specifically those previously authorized to work in the U.S.
• The Advocates column is a weekly look at the political action players who drive the debate and shape policy outcomes in Washington. Send tips to theadvocates@washingtontimes.com. Click here to receive The Advocates in your inbox each week.
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