George+&+Aaron

**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... 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... system.

**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, ... 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 ... 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 ... reduction //

**Increasing exports decrease the trade deficit and makes growth sustainable – prevents investment bubbles and collapses**
) // NK
 * 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 ... 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, ... 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 ... 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 ... priority measures.

**Protectionism will cause 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... new world war


 * Contention 2- LNG**

**The Panama Canal expansion means the US will try to export liquid natural gas to Europe**

 * __Eaton, 2012__** – reporter for the Houston Business Journal (Collin, “Economists differ on Panama Canal expansion's impact “, Houston Business Journal, May 29 2012, []) // MGD

Economists ... game-changer.

** This requires increasing US harbor deepening to be successful **

 * Ebinger et al. 12** -- Task Force Co-Chair of Brookings Institution Natural Gas Task Force("Evaluating the Prospects for Increased Exports of Liquefied Natural Gas from the United States", January, p. 15, Brookings, www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2012/1/natural%20gas%20ebinger/natural_gas_ebinger_2.pdf)//GP

Shipping Capacity... costs to Asia. 40

**Expanding US LNG exports is vital to ending European gas dependence on Russia**

 * Hulbert, 5/26** – a Lead Analyst at European Energy Review and consultant to a number of governments, most recently as Senior Research Fellow, Netherlands Institute for International Relations (Clingendael), was previously Senior Research Fellow at ETH Zurich working on energy and political risk. He started work in the City of London, advising on energy markets and political risk, as Senior Energy Analyst at Datamonitor for leading global utilities, and headed up the Global Issues Desk at Control Risks Group, specializing in political risk, geopolitics and security analysis for multinational companies, governments and institutional investors. He was also seconded to work in Washington, D.C., to enhance CRG's political risk offerings in North America. (Matthew, “Why American Natural Gas Will Change The World”, Forbes, **5/26/12**, [|http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewhulbert/2012/05/26/why-american-natural-gas-will-change-the-world/)//GP]

__Europe will watch .... ____own backyard.__

**Russia’s monopoly on natural gas threatens Eurasian security and pro-democracy efforts**

 * Baran, 7 -** senior fellow and director of the Center for Eurasian Policy at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. **(**Zenyo, “ EU Energy Security: Time to End Russian Leverage,” THE WASHINGTON QUARTERLY AUTUMN 2007, [])

__<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The lack of ... ____<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">would increase. __

**That Causes Eurasian instability**

 * Asmus, 8** - Executive Director of the Transatlantic Center at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, in Brussels, From 1997 to 2000, he served as U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs (Ronald, “ Europe's Eastern Promise; Rethinking NATO and EU Enlargement,” Foreign Affairs. New York: Jan/Feb 2008. [])

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 6pt;">IN THE early... **__<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Russia is on the rise. __**

**That results in Nuclear War**

 * Mcdermott 11** - specializes in Russian and Central Asian defense and security issues and is a Senior Fellow in Eurasian Military Studies, The Jamestown Foundation, Washington DC, Senior International Research Fellow for the Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO), Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and Affiliated Senior Analyst, Danish Institute for International Studies, Copenhagen. McDermott is on the editorial board of Central Asia and the Caucasus and the scientific board of the Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies. He recently wrote The Reform of Russia’s Conventional Armed Forces: Problems, Challenges and Policy Implications (Roger, “General Makarov Highlights the “Risk” of Nuclear Conflict”, 12/6/11, The Jamestown Foundation, [])//GP

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">In the current... __wish **to chew** on.__

**Central Asia is a geopolitical hub –means escalation is guaranteed**
(Arun and Vinod, “Strategic Environment in Central Asia and India”, [])//GP
 * Sahgal and Anand 10 - *** former Army officer who created the Office of Net Assessment in the Indian Joint Staff, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses and ‘Distinguished Fellow’ School of Geo-Politics at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, **

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">The geo-strategic... **__<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">their internal affairs. __**

=**Contention 3: Solvency**=

**The plan will allow the US to double exports in the next 5 years**
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">It's just... __<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">keep us very competitive." <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 6pt;">¶ __
 * 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


 * 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

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Like many... __to come.__

**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, [|http://aapa.files.cms-plus.com/PDFs/Transportation%20and%20the%20Constitution1.pdf)//GP]

<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 7pt;">Over time these ... be recognized and prioritized.