On March 7th & 8th, members of the American Great Lakes Ports Association stormed Capitol Hill (peacefully) as part of the organization’s 2024 Washington Fly-In. The event coincided with Great Lakes Day in Washington and the annual Great Lakes Congressional Breakfast sponsored by the Great Lakes Commission and Northeast-Midwest Institute.
Ports met with Members of Congress, Congressional committee staff, and federal agency leaders. The highlight of the fly-in was a private meeting with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg during which ports raised concern over the equitable distribution of Port Infrastructure Development Program grants. In 2023, the Department distributed more than $653 million from the grant program, but Great Lakes ports only received 2% of the funding.
