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Huizenga Builds Bipartisan Coalition To Protect Great Lakes Harbors & Coastal Ports

Below is a bipartisan op-ed written by Congressman Huizenga & Congresswoman Janice Hahn of California discussing the bipartisan effort to hold Washington accountable and ensure the federal government lives up to its obligations to dredge harbors throughout the Great Lakes as well as the ports along our nation’s coasts. Harbor dredging is vital to communities across the Great Lakes Region and plays a critical role in Michigan's economy. 


Can Americans trust Congress on the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund?
The Hill - Reps. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) and Janice Hahn (D-CA)
April 22, 2015 

To keep our nation’s ports operating efficiently and competitively, we need to make sure they are fully dredged and properly maintained.

Often when policymakers identify funding priorities, the question “How are we going to pay for it?” poses a challenge. But when it comes to dredging our ports and harbors, the way to pay for it is straightforward.

Nearly thirty years ago, Congress established the Harbor Maintenance Tax, paid for by a 0.125 percent user fee on the value of cargo shipped. The intent of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund is to guarantee that no U.S. port would suffer from a lack of dredging and that those who utilize the port pay for it.

About $1.8 billion in “Harbor Maintenance Tax” revenue is collected every year, enough to cover the cost of keeping the ports and harbors we rely on in good working order. However, much of that funding never makes it back to the ports.

Each year Congress appropriates only a fraction of the funding, leaving approximately $9 billion behind in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund which is often spent on things other than harbor maintenance. As a result, ports along our nation's coasts and harbors throughout the Great Lakes are filling with silt and becoming less productive.

In fact, the full depth and width of our ports along the coasts are available less than 35 percent of the time. This means ships are forced to carry less cargo or wait for high tide to safely enter the harbor. Failing to properly dredge our ports and harbors costs our economy billions of dollars each year, but this problem is entirely preventable.

Last year, Congress took an important step to help our ports receive the funding intended for them and when some in Washington said it was ok to let things slide, we worked across the aisle to make sure the federal government lived up to its word.

By passing the bipartisan Water Resource and Reform Development Act (WRRDA), we established a path to increase harbor funding to its legislated level, leading to full usage of the Trust Fund by 2025.

Less than a year after WRRDA became law with overwhelming bipartisan support (passing 412 to 4 in the House), the fiscal year 2016 Energy and Water appropriations bill under consideration this week provides funding $76 million below the 2016 WRRDA target level.

Failing to hit the WRRDA target this year establishes a dangerous precedent. If we do not hit the target this year, it is likely we never will. We will veer off the sensible path laid out to reach 100 percent usage of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund in ten years, and America’s ports and economy will suffer.

When we properly maintain our ports and harbors, we allow them to be engines of economic growth that create jobs for American workers and enable American farmers, manufacturers, and other businesses to export American products to overseas markets.

Congress must live up to its obligations, which is why we are again calling on our colleagues to join us in holding Washington accountable. The FY 2016 Energy and Water appropriations bill is our opportunity to show the American people that promises made can be kept. We must reprioritize funding to hit the harbor maintenance target agreed to in WRRDA. Our nation’s economy is counting on it.

Hahn represents California‘s 44th Congressional District and has served in the House since 2011. She sits on the Small Business and the Transportation committees. Huizenga has represented Michigan’s 2nd Congressional District since 2011. He sits on the Financial Services Committee and is Chairman of the Monetary Policy & Trade Subcommittee.
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