Maddi+&+Malay


 * __ 1ac – plan __**

The United States federal government should substantially increase its investment in expedited port deepening projects in the United States. **__ 1ac – economy __**


 * Contention 1 – seaport competitiveness **


 * The Panama Canal expansion will fundamentally change seaborne commerce – US ports require new harbor deepening or they won’t be able to compete for post-Panamax ships **


 * Bridges 2011 – ** Chairman of the Board of the American Association of Port Authorities and Executive Director of Virginia Port Authority (Jerry A., “Testimony of Jerry A. Bridges Chairman of the Board of the American Association of Port Authorities and Executive Director of Virginia Port Authority before the United States House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Hearing: the Economic importance of Seaports: Is the United States Prepared for 21st Century Trade Realities?”, October 26, 2011, [| http://republicans.transportation.house.gov/Media/file/TestimonyWater/2011-10-26%20Bridges.pdf)//MM]

Since the birth of our nation, … access to seaports. We cannot wait.


 * The perception of a federal commitment to port infrastructure is vital to __retain foreign customers__ – this will collapse the recovery **
 * Calhoun 11 ** -- President of Cargo Carriers (Cargill) and Chairman of Waterways Council, Inc (Rick, “DREDGING FOR PROSPERITY”, Marine Log, August, ProQuest, [] ”) EL

Just like the nation itself… in the future of our inland waterways transportation system.


 * Federal port infrastructure funding is increasing but not substantially for __new__ harbor deepening – the federal government’s __uncertain commitment__ prevents new projects **
 * Szakonyi 12 ** — associate editor of the Journal of Commerce (Mark, “The Hill Ramping Up Dredging Efforts”, Journal of Commerce, 5/7, ProQuest) EL


 * __ The push by U.S. ports __** … more meaningful long-term decisions.


 * Federal regulations __prevent__ other actors from solving – only federal action to streamline the process and increase funding solves **
 * Anderson, 11 ** –Chief Executive Officer of the Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) (A. Paul, “testimony of A. Paul Anderson Chief Executive Officer of the Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) for the Record of the united States House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment Hearing: “The Economic Importance of Seaports: Is the United States Prepared for 21st Century Trade Realities?””, October 26, 2011, [| http://republicans.transportation.house.gov/Media/file/TestimonyWater/2011-10-26%20Anderson.pdf)//MM]

__ With increasingly larger ships calling the East Coast… funding critical infrastructure projects is __**__ fundamentally broken __**.


 * And these federal regulations mean any new projects will take __decades__ unless the federal government expedites construction **
 * Nagle, 2012 ** - President and CEO of the American Association of Port Authorities (Kurt J., “Testimony of Kurt J. Nagle President and CEO of the American Association of Port Authorities Before the United States House of Representatives Appropriations Committee Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Subommittee”, Budget Hearing- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Assistant Secretary, Chief of Engineers, March 7, 2012, [|http://aapa.files.cms-plus.com/PDFs/EWTestimony%20Mar2012%20Final.pdf)//MM]

First, the funding level of the Corps of Engineers’… we can meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.


 * Seaport competitiveness is the vital internal link to US economic growth – seaports represent a quarter of US GDP and contribute __over 3 trillion__ to the economy **
 * Nagle, 11 ** --- president and chief executive officer of the American Association of Port Authorities (December 2011, Kurt, Industry Today, “Association: American Association of Port Authorities; Port-Related Infrastructure Investments Can Reap Dividends,” vol. 14, no. 3, http://www.industrytoday.com/article_view.asp?ArticleID=F370)

It seems __the U__nited __S__tates __willingly…__ is utilized to maintain federal navigation channels.


 * Lack of port deepening forces __light loading__ – this will __break__ the US shipping industry **
 * Weakley 8 ** – Realize America’s Maritime promise, Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund Fairness Coalition, testimony of James Weakley the president of the Lake Carriers’ Association (James, “Realize America’s Maritime Promise”, Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund Fairness Coalition, 4/30/08, [] )//MM

Port-related jobs are critical to… not merely for deficit reduction.

) // NK
 * Increasing exports decrease the trade deficit and makes growth sustainable – prevents investment bubbles and collapses **
 * Istrate et al, 10 ** -- senior research analyst and associate fellow with the Metropolitan Infrastructure Initiative (Emilia, "Export Nation: How U.S. Metros Lead National Export Growth and Boost Competitiveness", July, Brookings, []

Exports Could Contribute… to many long-standing difficulties.


 * Boosting economic competitiveness is vital to preventing military retrenchment – risks great power wars **
 * Khalilzad, ’11 ** – Bush’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, and the UN and former director policy planning at the DOD (Zalmay, “The Economy and National Security”, National Review, 2-8-11, [] )

Today, ** economic and fiscal trends… ** a new, dangerous era of multi-polarity.


 * Expanding port infrastructure is vital to US global economic leadership **
 * Kiefer et al, 2k ** – principal investigator for Planning and Management Consultants– study authorized by Section 401 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1999, report to the US Army Corps of Engineers (Jack, Planning and Management Consultants, “The National Dredging Needs Study of Ports and Harbors Implications to Cost-Sharing of Federal Deep Draft Navigation Projects Due to Changes in the Maritime Industry”, May 2000, [] ) // CB

2.2.2 Other Tangible Benefits Indirect benefits of Corps projects… a handful of coastal states.


 * Strong US growth is key to promoting an American economic model – the alternative is mercantilism, which destroys economic cooperation and risks protectionism **
 * Posen 9 ** – Deputy director and senior fellow of the Peterson Institute for International Economics (Adam, “Economic leadership beyond the crisis,” http://clients.squareeye.com/uploads/foresight/documents/PN%20USA_FINAL_LR_1.pdf)

In the postwar period… concentrate on the following priority measures.


 * Protectionism will cause terrorism and global wars – risks extinction **
 * Panzner 8 ** – faculty at the New York Institute of Finance, 25-year veteran of the global stock, bond, and currency markets who has worked in New York and London for HSBC, Soros Funds, ABN Amro, Dresdner Bank, and JPMorgan Chase (Michael, “Financial Armageddon: Protect Your Future from Economic Collapse,” p. 136-138)

Continuing calls for curbs… beginnings of a new world war.

[Michael, The Case for Goliath: How America Acts As the World’s Government in the Twenty-First Century, p. 192-195]
 * Economic leadership prevents economic collapse—leadership key to resilience **
 * Mandelbaum **, **5** – Professor and Director of the American Foreign Policy Program at Johns Hopkins – 2005

Although the spread of nuclear weapons… resemble a fleet of cars without gasoline.

[Michael, The Case for Goliath: How America Acts As the World’s Government in the Twenty-First Century, p. 224]
 * That goes nuclear without leadership **
 * Mandelbaum, 5 ** – Professor and Director of the American Foreign Policy Program at Johns Hopkins – 2005

At best, an American withdrawal… of nuclear weapons.


 * Contention 2 – agriculture **


 * U.S. agriculture exports are facing a crisis of competitiveness **
 * AgriMoney, 2/20 ** - investors' link to the food chain. The increasing numbers of mouths to feed, the demand for ever-more sophisticated diets, and the potential for turning food into fuel has turned the growing business into big business. Agriculture, to which financial markets owe a debt of history, is back at the forefront of investment thinking. (“US crop exports face 'crisis of competitiveness'”, Agrimoney.Com, 2/20/12, []

US grain exporters… including those which produce vomitoxin.

IMPROVEMENTS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE, [], EL)
 * Sustaining US agricultural exports depends on __capacity upgrades__ in port **** infrastructure **
 * Khachatryan and Casavant 11 ** —Research Associate and Director/Professor at the Freight Policy Transportation Institute at the School of Economic Sciences at Washington State Unviersity (Hayk and Ken, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN U.S. TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE

The efficient and affordable… rest of the world through the 16 ports.


 * The Panama Canal expansion will shift global trade patterns away from the Gulf Coast without port upgrades – this cuts off US grain exports **
 * Stallman, 2012 ** – President of the American Farm Bureau (Bob, “Update Our Ports or Miss the Boat”, American Farm Bureau, April 2012, [] ) //MGD

Someone once said that… we will literally miss the boat.


 * The collapse of U.S. agricultural competitiveness turns every impact and makes extinction inevitable **
 * Lugar, 4 ** – U.S. Senator – Indiana, (Richard, “Plant Power” Our Planet v. 14 n. 3, http://www.unep.org/OurPlanet/imgversn/143/lugar.html

In a world … health of our planet.

**__ 1ac – solvency __**


 * Contention 4 – solvency **


 * The federal government is key – port infrastructure is under __federal jurisdiction__ and federal action is vital to __leadership__ **
 * AAPA, 11 ** - AAPA represents 160 of the leading seaport authorities in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean and more than 300 sustaining and associate members, firms and individuals with an interest in seaports (American Association of Port Authorities, “The U.S. Government’s Historic Role in Developing and Maintaining Landside and Waterside Connections to Seaports”, March 2011, []

Over time these constitutional… be recognized and prioritized.


 * Federal leadership is vital to expediting new projects and coordinating federal agencies – it creates faster infrastructure development **
 * Woodley Jr. 8 ** — Chairman – PIANC (Permanent International Association of Navigation Congresses) USA (John Paul, “Dredging key to keeping nation’s economy afloat”, Seaports Magazine, [], Summer) EL

Like many nations … for generations to come.

It's just before noon… This will keep us very competitive."
 * The plan will allow the US to double exports in the next 5 years **
 * USA Today 11 ** – news agency (Larry Copeland, “A goal to be port of call for all; U.S. sites digging in to accommodate big ships,” USA Today, October 3, 2011, lexis)//CB