House Bill & Senate Panel Address Harbor Maintenance

Rep. Charles Boustany, Jr. (R-La.) recently introduced the “Realize America’s Maritime Promise Act” (H.R. 335), which will ensure that amounts credited to the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) are used for harbor maintenance. Instead of using the full amount of the Harbor Maintenance Tax collected each year to maintain all federal navigation channels at their authorized depths and widths, only about half of annual HMTF revenues are actually used for their intended purpose. As a result, about $7 billion dollars meant to help keep our ports and harbors open for the efficient and safe marine transport of commerce has been spent on other priorities. On Jan. 31, the Senate Environment & Public Works (EPW) held a hearing on the topic of the HMTF. Committee members overwhelmingly noted their support of using HMT revenues for harbor maintenance. Prior to the hearing, AGC sent those senators a letter noting the need to both act now and  to prepare the nation’s ports and harbors for the increased trade expected in the future, thereby remaining globally competitive. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) estimates that full channel dimensions at the nation’s busiest 59 ports are available less than 35 percent of the time. Additionally, with the Panama Canal expansion, both Mexico and Canada are actively working on improving their ports to handle larger ships carrying more cargo. AGC applauds Rep. Boustany, Senate EPW Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and EPW Ranking Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) for their efforts to advance this issue in the new Congress. AGC will continue to work with members of both the House and Senate to help pass this important legislative measure. For more information, please contact Jimmy Christianson at (703) 837-5325 or christiansonj@agc.org.