[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 173 (Thursday, October 31, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1385-E1386]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



     FULL UTILIZATION OF THE HARBOR MAINTENANCE TRUST FUND ACT
                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 28, 2019

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 
2440 the ``The Full Utilization of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund 
Act.''
  In 1986, Congress enacted the Harbor Maintenance Tax to recover the 
operation and maintenance dredging costs for federally-authorized ports 
from maritime shippers.
  This is a direct levy on importers and domestic shippers using 
coastal or inland ports and is typically passed along to U.S. taxpayers 
on the purchase of imported goods.
  These revenues are deposited in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund 
within the Treasury Department, from which Congress appropriates funds 
to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for harbor maintenance dredging.
  According to the Army Corps of Engineers, navigation channels at our 
nation's 59 busiest ports are available less than 35 percent of the 
time.
  The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that our nation's 
ports and harbors will need additional investment of $15.8 billion 
between now and 2020 just to meet the demands of larger and heavier 
ships that will use the Panama Canal.
  H.R. 2440 ensures that the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund is used for 
its intended purpose--the maintenance of federally-authorized harbors.
  This will enable the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge all federal 
harbors to ensure that they are to their constructed widths and depths.
  The act also provides critical federal funding--$34 billion--for 
infrastructure investment for our coastal and inland harbors over the 
next decade.
  The bill achieves this task without raising taxes.
  This bill also authorizes the expenditure of the expected $25.5 
billion in new revenue over the next decade, for our critical port 
harbor needs.
  And, the bill authorizes the appropriation of additional funds for 
harbor maintenance needs.
  As is clear, the need to ensure that this port, and similar such 
ports, stay open and operating as much as practical is vital.
  The failure to do so can impact employment, the economy, and the 
livelihoods of countless individuals and businesses.
  Ports are uniquely vulnerable to any number of disturbances, 
including those produced by weather, abuses by those who utilize the 
ports, and naturally-occurring wear-and-tear to the ports.
  One such example of this naturally-occurring phenomena which requires 
remedial efforts is dredging.

[[Page E1386]]

  According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
dredging is the act of removing silt and other material from the bottom 
of bodies of water.
  NOAA goes further to explain that dredging is a routine necessity in 
waterways around the world because sedimentation gradually fills 
channels and harbors.
  In the aggregate, this filling of channels and harbors can prevent 
the movement of vessels.
  Dredging increases the depth of navigation channels, and thus plays a 
vital role in the nation's economy.
  The Port of Houston is one of the largest in the world.
  The Houston region is the country's top area for exports and the area 
surrounding the Port of Houston is home to the largest petrochemical 
manufacturing complex in the Western Hemisphere.
  Due to its strategically advantageous location, the ingenuity of the 
200 private companies that constitute the Greater Port of Houston, the 
Port of Houston is the number one port in foreignwaterborne tonnage.
  And the most recent available statistics support the primacy of the 
Port of Houston.
  The Greater Port of Houston complex is ranked sixth among U.S. 
container ports by size, and is the largest gulf coast container port--
handling 69 percent of U.S. Gulf Coast container traffic--and is the 
largest Texas port, with 45 percent market share by tonnage, and 96 
percent market share in containers.
  To wit, more than 200 million short tons of international cargo were 
handled in 2018 alone.
  As such, this redounds to the benefit of the economy.
  Nationally, the greater port supports 3.2 million jobs, boasts more 
than $801.9 billion in economic value and produces $38.1 billion in tax 
revenue.
  As a Senior Member of the House Homeland Security Committee, with a 
significant global port near my congressional district, I will work 
tirelessly towards enactment of this legislation.
  That is why I urge all Members to join me in voting for H.R. 2440.

                          ____________________