September 19, 2022
Source: Pacific Northwest Waterways Association
Senator Maria Cantrell has been very active in the Pacific northwest working with the PNWA and Washington government. A statement from the PNWA outlines her accolades in great depth. The PNWA awarded Maria Cantwell as the 2022 legislator of the year. The full article is listed below.
"PNWA is honored to announce Senator Maria Cantwell (D, WA) as our 2022 Legislator of the Year. We are so pleased to recognize the Senator for her steadfast support of freight mobility, maritime and multi-modal infrastructure investment, and efforts to secure federal funding for salmon recovery throughout the Pacific Northwest. She has supported a number of regional projects to drive our economy, including improvements and maintenance of our small harbors and jetties, the Washington Coast and Puget Sound, and the deep draft and inland Columbia Snake River System. Senator Cantwell was a key Member in Congress, working in partnership with our delegation, to drive passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), a truly transformational investment in our nation's infrastructure. She authored the Megaprojects section and dedicated $5B for the program with projects like the I-5 Bridge Replacement and the U.S. 2 Trestle Replacement in Everett in mind. She supported massive investments in the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure Safety Improvements (CRISI) program, Airport Improvement Program (AIP), the Port Infrastructure Development Program, MARAD’s America's Marine Highway Program, and a 05% increase to the Rebuilding America's Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program. She also supported strengthening the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) through passage of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) and led the charge to appoint a Pacific Northwest member to the Commission. With regard to salmon recovery efforts, Sen. Cantwell has remained focused on funding for infrastructure programs that would directly benefit salmon and their habitat. These funds for salmon infrastructure included a provision she authored to provide $1 billion for a national culvert removal program and another $400 million for fish passage barrier removal grants. It also included significant funding for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery grants, removal of marine debris, trash, and pollution in the ocean, and for the Western Water Infrastructure program including the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan and Odessa Groundwater Replacement program. For these reasons and many more, PNWA is pleased to announce Senator Maria Cantwell (D, WA) as the recipient of this award. We are hoping to recognize her at our 2022 Annual Convention this October, but may be delayed due to the congressional schedule. PNWA will alert our members as soon as we have a date finalized to honor her in person."
Congratulations Maria Cantwell!