Waterways Operators Applaud House Passage of Bill to Streamline Worker Certification, Call on Senate to Act Quickly So Legislation Can Become Law.
Thomas Allegretti, President & CEO of the American Waterways Operators (AWO), praised the House of Representatives for its passage of H.R. 3173, a bill that simplifies the process for mariners and other transportation workers to apply for and activate their Transportation Worker Identification Credentials (TWIC). The move would streamline the current cumbersome, bureaucratic regulatory process under which workers must make two trips to a TWIC enrollment center, which in some cases may be hundreds of miles away, to pick up and then activate their TWIC. Under the House bill, only one trip would be required.
“AWO members are very grateful to the House of Representatives for passing this measure, which will provide needed relief to the two million workers currently covered by the program and to future TWIC applicants,” Allegretti stated. “Our members particularly appreciate the bipartisan leadership of Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), the bill’s sponsor, as well as Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King (R-NY) and Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-MS), as they recognized the severity of the problem and took action to address this important issue.”
“The work is not yet done,” Allegretti continued. “Especially as thousands of TWICs will be coming up for renewal throughout the remainder of this year, it is especially important that the Senate quickly pass its version of the bill, S. 1966, to ensure that this needed legislation will become law and provide the time and resource savings it is intended to provide.” S. 1966 is sponsored by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and has three bipartisan co-sponsors.