[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.

                          ____________________