[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 103 (Monday, June 25, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S8354]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   GREAT LAKES SHORT SEA SHIPPING ACT

  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I speak in support of the Great Lakes 
Short Sea Shipping Act of 2007. This legislation will exempt from the 
harbor maintenance tax certain commercial cargo loaded or unloaded at 
U.S. ports in the Great Lakes Saint Lawrence System.
  In recent years, transportation planners have been struggling to 
identify ways to move people and goods more efficiently. Congested 
highways, particularly at the Detroit, Michigan/Windsor, Ontario border 
crossing, the busiest border crossing in North America, acts as a huge 
constraint to economic growth.
  The purpose of the Harbor Maintenance Tax, HMT, is to generate 
revenue from port users for port maintenance conducted by the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers. The Corps maintains Federal shipping channels by 
conducting periodic dredging, which is necessary to remove sand and 
silt that occur naturally in shipping channels. HMT receipts are placed 
in the harbor maintenance trust fund, which serves as a source of 
revenue for the Corps' dredging budget. The HMT is assessed on cargo 
transported between U.S. ports and cargo imported to U.S. ports from 
other countries. Exports are not assessed a tax. More specifically, the 
tax is not paid by the vessel owner, nor the port, but by the owner of 
the cargo in each ship. The bill would provide a narrow exemption to 
the HMT for the movement of nonbulk only commercial cargo by water in 
the Great Lakes region, which includes the movement of freight and 
people between the U.S. ports on the Great Lakes and between Canadian 
and U.S. ports on the Great Lakes.
  This very narrow exemption would remove the current disincentive to 
moving freight by water and allow the region's transportation planners 
to develop new shipping services to not only relieve highway 
congestion, but to improve air quality as well. Moreover, the 
legislation could open up new shipping services to be offered on the 
Great Lakes, thus creating jobs in the maritime sector. One of the 
other benefits is that this exemption will offer options for trucks 
that may choose to use the bridges, tunnels, or now ferry service. 
Because the Detroit/Windsor border crossing is the busiest border 
crossing in North America, any alternative mode of transportation that 
allows for commerce to flow more smoothly, quickly, and efficiently is 
beneficial not only to the Great Lakes region, but to the country. 
Also, in this time of us working to be more responsible and have a 
cleaner environment for our children, allowing trucks off of the 
congested highways and onto ferries where they can cut off engines and 
not idle, will reduce air emissions, improve air quality, and cut down 
on gasoline usage.
  Moreover, since trucks currently use roads rather than ferries to 
move around the Great Lakes region, the Federal Government does not HMT 
on their cargo. Under this proposed legislative exemption, if a truck 
boarded a ferry, the Federal Government would still not collect a tax.

                          ____________________