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[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.
____________________
