capital report $9 Billion Cut for Public Broadcasting The U.S. government has cut $9 billion in funding for public broadcasting. Some local public broadcasters rely on federal funding for more than 70 percent of their financing of content, in-terconnection, and support services. Support through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is critical for many local stations, with the most vulnerable in rural and re-mote communities. Public radio and television stations serve as the primary—often sole—source of local news, educational content, and emergency alerts. Nearly 13 million Americans live in communities under threat of losing local public broadcast stations because of federal funding cuts. Many of these stations serve large swaths of the Western, Midwestern, and Southeastern U.S. at risk of wildfires, tornadoes, hurri-canes, and other public safety emergencies. reduce barriers to the development, testing, and ad-vancement of both marine energy and new hydropower technologies. US Marine Highway Program Expands The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Ad-ministration (MARAD) has designated 848 new miles of navigable waterways and approved 14 new sponsors for the U.S. Marine Highway Program (USMHP). The net-work, which now covers 27,139 mi. across 35 designat-ed routes, supports U.S. supply chains, critical infrastruc-ture, and maritime workforce development. A key highlight of this expansion is the strengthen-ing of the M-90 route, which runs 2,345 mi. through the Great Lakes, connecting Minnesota to New York. Seven new sponsors have joined M-90: the State Departments of Transportation for Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, and New York, as well as the Ports of Indiana and the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority. Coast Guard Authorization Act Funding for Beach Safety The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 has been approved by the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill authorizes appropriations for the service through fiscal year 2029. The U.S. Senate approved its version of the bill earlier this year. These authorizations will support Coast Guard oper-ations and the continued recapitalization of its histori-cally underfunded cutter fleet, aviation assets, shoreside facilities, and IT capabilities. The bill is intended to mod-ernize the Coast Guard’s acquisition process, increases transparency and accountability in the service’s recapi-talization efforts, and opens a pathway to the adoption of next-generation autonomous technologies. The bill also aims to create greater parity with the other armed services, including the establishment of a secretary of the Coast Guard and stronger protections for members from sexual assault and harassment. The legislation also strengthens U.S.-build require-ments to support the domestic shipbuilding industry. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will pro-vide to the states of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia a total of $962,000 in grant funding to mon-itor water quality at coastal and Great Lakes beaches and to notify the public if elevated levels of illness-causing bacteria make swimming unsafe. This funding is authorized by the Beaches Environ-mental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act. Three New Survey Vessels for USACE in Georgia Silver Ships Inc. has delivered three new survey ves-sels to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Savan-nah District. The additions to the district’s fleet will sup-port navigation efforts in Georgia waterways, particularly to survey channel conditions, monitor dredging activities and detect underwater obstacles in the waterways. The vessels are also designed to transport staff and equipment to various project sites, including the Savan-nah Harbor, Brunswick Harbor and the 161-mi. stretch of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway along Georgia’s coast. US, Norway Extend Water Power Collaboration The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has extended a commitment to collaboration in water power research and development with Norway’s Royal Ministry of Ener-gy. This is an extension of a previously established mem-orandum of understanding (MOU). In 2020, DOE and Norway’s Royal Ministry of Ener-gy signed a five-year MOU annex that brought together DOE’s Water Power Technologies Office and the Nor-wegian Research Centre for Hydropower Technology to collaborate on hydropower research and development. The latest MOU annex expands the scope of this col-laboration to include marine energy, which has the po-tential to provide locally sourced energy to millions of Americans in the most densely populated regions of the country. Under the extended MOU, the two parties will share foundational information, tools, and technologies that 34 ST | September 2025 DOE Chooses New Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Fellows The U.S. Department of Energy has selected 27 inno-vators and entrepreneurs to join the latest cohorts in its Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program (LEEP). Select-ees will be embedded within four U.S. national labora-tories, where they will work with an extensive network of mentors and experts to develop transformative energy technologies. Since the program’s inception in 2015, 182 LEEP start-ups have attracted $4.2 billion in follow-on funding and created more than 3,800 jobs. During their two-year fellowship, LEEP participants perform critical research and development to hone their startup technologies from lab to market. The program also provides them training in business development, networking opportunities, and access to the resources and expertise of the U.S. national laboratories. ST www.sea-technology.com
Sea Technology September 2025: Page 34
