The federal government provides a wide array of infrastructure and services in support of the nation's marine transportation system (MTS). It does so through a number of federal agencies in several cabinet-level departments. In 1998, Congress directed the Secretary of Transportation to convene a broad-based task force to assess the adequacy of the MTS to operate in a safe, efficient, secure, and environmentally sound manner and to assess the federal role in furthering these goals. In reporting back to Congress, the MTS Task Force identified a number of challenges facing the system and urged improved coordination among the federal agencies and other suppliers and users of marine transportation infrastructure and services. The task force's recommendations led to the creation of the MTS National Advisory Council (MTSNAC), consisting largely of maritime industry representatives, and the Interagency Committee for the Marine Transportation System (ICMTS), consisting of representatives from the 18 federal agencies with responsibilities related to the MTS. The creation of MTSNAC and ICMTS has prompted closer examination of the federal role in the MTS and how the efforts of individual federal agencies relate to one another and to broader national interests that underlie federal involvement in the system. Both bodies seek to ensure that federal decisions are consistent, complementary, and responsive to these national interests. Hence, in September 2002, several of the federal agencies and departments that are members of ICMTS commissioned the National Research Council (NRC), under the auspices of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and its Marine Board, to examine the federal role in the MTS and develop an analytic framework for federal policy makers to use in assessing system needs and informing and coordinating decisions to meet them.