[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 170 (Monday, October 28, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H8529-H8530]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 2000
INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING
(Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute.)
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, today the House approved H.R. 2440, the Full
Utilization of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund Act of 2019. Nearly
every segment of our Nation's infrastructure is in disrepair due to
chronic underfunding, including our Nation's water infrastructure, a
true lifeblood of our economy.
This year, as he did last year, President Trump proposed drastic cuts
to the Army Corps of Engineers' budget. Unbelievable. But our
Appropriations Committee rejected his proposals and those cuts. Today I
stand with my colleagues on the Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee to call for greater investment in our water infrastructure.
For our part, the House passed the FY20 Energy and Water
Appropriations bill that included $1.6 billion from the harbor
maintenance trust fund, an increase of $147 million above fiscal year
2019 and $732 million above President Trump's paltry and unrealistic
budget request.
Big, medium, and small ports across our country are efficient
economic engines that anchor jobs and progress. They are hubs of
production for communities everywhere. And, yes, they rely on
leadership from this Congress to fund their maintenance.
I congratulate Representative DeFazio for his hard work in writing
H.R. 2440 and hope we continue the momentum to utilize the Harbor
Maintenance Trust Fund Act.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the Port of
Cleveland.
Port of Cleveland,
October 28, 2019.
Hon. Marcy Kaptur,
Congresswoman, 9th District of Ohio,
Washington, DC.
Dear Congresswoman Kaptur: The Port of Cleveland is pleased
to know that an important bill will be considered on the
House floor on Monday, October 28. The bill, H.R. 2440, the
Full Utilization of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, has
bipartisan support on the Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee and I urge your support for the measure.
As you know, the Port of Cleveland and others in our state
depend on the Corps of Engineers' civil works program. Our
port relies on the maintenance dredging work each and every
year. Around $8 million is needed every year to keep the
Cuyahoga River Federal shipping channel, the port's
breakwater and related infrastructure in a condition that
enables the safe navigation of ships and mariners. Major
American industry and U.S. exports rely on maintenance
dredging that occurs twice each year.
Since 1986, when Congress created the Harbor Maintenance
Tax (HMT) and Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF), most
cargo in American ports is charged an ad valorem tax for the
purpose of covering Federal channel maintenance-related costs
in U.S. seaports. In the first years, the tax revenue was
fully spent on Federal channel maintenance but soon revenues
increased and a surplus was allowed to accumulate in the
trust fund, even as many shipping channels in the country
were not fully maintained to their design depths and widths.
Overtime, the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund balance has been
allowed to grow to over $9 billion while Congress has
continued to under-spend on the infrastructure that is our
national navigation system.
In more recent years, the House and Senate became more
alert to the inadequately maintained American ports and the
existence of the HMT and HMTF. Targets for maintenance
spending were approved in WRDA 2014 and appropriations have
increased. We ports have appreciated that improvement, but
the fact is that the unused HMT revenue continues to
accumulate while maintenance dredging in many parts of the
country, including on the Great Lakes, is insufficient. The
graph below, prepared in 2016, provides a snapshot of
spending versus tax revenue. (In the years since, the trend
is much the same with a projected HMTF balance (per FY 2020
budget) of as much as $10.4 billion.
20 YEARS OF THE HARBOR MAINTENANCE TRUST FUND
[Dollars in millions]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
HMTF Cash Flow: Actual Actual Actual Actual Actual Actual Actual Actual Actual Actual
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOY Balance................................................... 1,106 1,246 1,556 1,621 1,777 1,850 2,001 2,299 2,695 3,234
Receipts & Interest........................................... 651 607 767 816 730 737 946 1,102 1,337 1,427
Outlays....................................................... -511 -297 -702 -660 -657 -586 -648 -706 -798 -910
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EOY Balance................................................... 1,246 1,556 1,621 1,777 1,850 2,001 2,299 2,695 3,234 3,751
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2017
HMTF Cash Flow: Actual Actual Actual Actual Actual Actual 2014 Actual 2015 Actual 2016 Est. Request
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOY Balance................................... 3,751 4,559 5,003 5,474 6,280 6,958 7,806 8,316 8,684 9,064
Receipts & Interest........................... 1,594 1,253 1,299 1,629 1,587 1,696 1,617 1,517 1,662 1,802
Outlays....................................... -786 -808 -828 -823 -909 -848 -1,107 -1,149 -1,282 -986
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EOY Balance................................... 4,559 5,003 5,474 6,280 6,958 7,806 8,316 8,684 9,064 9,980
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page H8530]]
Again, these are collected taxes for which, by law, only
authorized Federal navigation maintenance work is eligible.
That the unspent balance has been allowed to accumulate and
sit in the Federal Treasury as ballast against budget
deficits is especially disturbing at a time when Congress and
the White House have rightly talked about the importance of
tending to the county's essential infrastructure. In the case
of port channels, the money exists. That is an important
consideration. No new revenue stream is required.
As a final note, and for clarity sake, this issue is
unrelated to the funding of the inland waterway system. There
vessels, including as tug and towboats, are charged an excise
tax on fuel expenses. That revenue is accounted for in the
Inland Waterways Trust Fund and is spent on construction work
such as lock and dam improvements. It is noteworthy that
unlike the case with the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, the
Inland Waterways Trust Fund resources are fully spent on that
system's navigation projects.
Please vote for the Full Utilization of the Harbor
Maintenance Trust Fund legislation.
Sincerely,
William D. Friedman,
President & Chief Executive Officer.
____________________