October 28, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 170 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session
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INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 170
(House of Representatives - October 28, 2019)
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[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. ____________________
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