[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 64 (Thursday, April 30, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2016

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. STEPHEN F. LYNCH

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 29, 2015

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2028) making 
     appropriations for energy and water development and related 
     agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016, and 
     for other purposes:

  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support and as a cosponsor of 
the Huizenga-Hahn Amendment to increase funding in the 2016 Energy and 
Water Development Appropriations Bill for the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers Operations and Maintenance Account by $36,306,000. This 
modest increase, offset by reducing funding for the Department of 
Energy, Departmental Administration, by $36.7 million, will benefit 
Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund related projects.
  I have the good fortune to represent the city of Boston and its Port. 
Like many ports in this country, the port of Boston is vital to the 
local and regional economies, generating $2.4 billion in economic 
benefits annually and supporting 34,000 jobs.
  In fact, every one of our 50 states relies on seaports for imports 
and exports, totaling some $3.8 billion worth of goods moving through 
U.S. seaports each day, supporting more than 13 million jobs across the 
country.
  The Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund was created in 1986 to ensure that 
we could maintain and expand our ports and harbors in order to 
facilitate commerce and drive our economy. For too long Congress has 
engaged in budgetary shell games, starving the fund and hampering our 
ability to undertake dredging projects critical to maintaining this 
vital infrastructure.
  The Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013, which the 
House passed overwhelmingly last year by a vote of 412-4, moved to 
rectify this situation by setting incremental target expenditures from 
the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund that reaches 80% in 2020.
  Mr. Chair, our amendment is simply in line with the amount 
overwhelmingly supported by my colleagues, increasing from $1.178 
billion to $1.25 billion the amount allocated from the Harbor 
Maintenance Trust Fund, in order to support the critical needs of our 
nation's ports. The balance in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund at the 
beginning of fiscal 2016 will be approximately $8.9 billion. The money 
is there. With the re-opening of the Panama Canal slated for next year 
we need to re-double our efforts to make certain that U.S. ports are 
prepared for increased commercial opportunities and will remain 
competitive.
  All of our constituents benefit from the success of U.S. ports. It is 
time that we provide the resources to ensure that success. I urge my 
colleagues to support this amendment.

                          ____________________