[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 6 (Tuesday, February 1, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E50]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRUTH IN BUDGETING ACTS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BUD SHUSTER

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 1, 2000

  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, with several of my colleagues from the 
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, today I'm introducing the 
third in a series of ``Truth in Budgeting Acts.'' This bill focuses 
solely on water transportation--specifically the Harbor Maintenance 
Trust Fund (HMTF) and the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF). As you 
know, the previous bills also included the Highway Trust Fund and the 
Airport and Airway Trust Fund.
  All of the bills have a common theme: taking transportation trust 
funds ``off budget'' to help meet our Nation's critical infrastructure 
needs and to inject some truth serum into the budgeting process. If we 
take the HMTF and the IWTF off budget, we not only restore the trust of 
those who pay into the funds, we remove the budget-driven incentive to 
build a surplus to mask potential deficits and justify other types of 
spending.
  No one should question the wisdom of investing in our Nation's water 
transportation infrastructure. Our coastal ports and inland waterways 
have shaped the country's commercial and cultural history and, if 
properly developed and adequately maintained, will be critical to our 
country's leadership in the global economy of the 21st century. For 
example, the tugboat, towboat, and barge industry, which has operations 
along the Nation's 25,194 miles of inland and intracoastal waterways, 
contributes $5 billion a year to the Nation's economy and moves 15 
percent of the Nation's freight for less than 2 percent of the Nation's 
total freight bill. Ports generate significant local and regional 
economic growth, as well, and move nearly 93 percent of all U.S. 
waterborne commerce in a given year. With the volume of imported cargo 
moving through U.S. ports expected to triple by the year 2020, 
investment in our Nation's port infrastructure is all the more 
critical.
  The infrastructure needs continue to grow. The Nation's locks and 
dams are aging. Many are more than 50 years old. Long delays at inland 
locks add to the cost of transporting goods from our farms, mines, and 
mills to our coastal ports. The Nation's harbors and seaports need 
continued maintenance and improvement as well. Dredging channels, like 
clearing snow from highways, is a necessary fact of life--particularly 
in an age when domestic and international trading depends on adequate 
intermodal connections. The size and number of vessels in the world's 
fleet continue to increase; America's ports need to accommodate these 
changes to ensure a position of leadership in the global economy.
  While current and future needs continue to grow, unfortunately the 
trust funds continue to accumulate surpluses. The current balance of 
the HMTF is approximately $1.9 billion and is expected to rise to $2.5 
billion by FY 04. The IWTF current balance is approximately $370 
million, and we are told the Corps has the capability of spending $300 
million annually by 2004. Something is wrong when the needs increase, 
the funds are available, and the moneys remain ``locked up'' in the 
trust funds.
  Mr. Speaker, this is important legislation that, if properly 
implemented, would make significant reforms in our current 
transportation infrastructure financing policy. Let me assure my 
colleagues, however, this bill is not meant as the single solution or 
response to the many issues surrounding the Supreme Court's March 1998 
ruling in U.S. v. U.S. Shoe Corporation, which invalidated the Harbor 
Maintenance Tax as applied to exports. That issue has prompted 
significant debate and controversy, particularly the Administration's 
proposed harbor services user fee and harbor services fund. There are 
other proposals as well that deserve our serious consideration. I am 
also aware that final changes to the budgeting process involving the 
IWTF will need to be discussed with Members and the various 
constituencies involved in inland waterways transportation.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues, including the Ranking 
Member of the Committee (Jim Oberstar), the Chairman of the Water 
Resources and Environment Subcommittee (Sherry Boehlert), the Ranking 
Member of the Subcommittee (Bob Borski), the Administration, and 
others. Water transportation infrastructure will be a priority for the 
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee throughout the Second 
Session, particularly as we press for truth in water transportation 
budgeting and for enactment of a Water Resources Development Act of 
2000.

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