New legislation proposed in Congress would eliminate the appropriations bottleneck affecting the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, taking it “off budget” to ensure the nation’s ports are properly maintained.
Currently, Congress must make appropriations in each budget cycle to the Army Corps of Engineers from the trust fund to maintain and operate port infrastructure.
The bill, introduced in April by Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., would change the process and set up automatic appropriations based on the tax revenue collected.
The Harbor Maintenance Tax is an excise tax collected from shippers specifically to maintain harbors and ports. Currently the tax generates about $1.7 billion annually, but Congress has restricted spending on harbor maintenance due to budgetary constraints, resulting in “crumbling infrastructure and harbors choked with sand and silt.”
The tax was created as part of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 and was levied upon shippers for port use associated with imports, exports and the movement of cargo and passengers between U.S. ports. In 1998, the Supreme Court ruled that taxing export products was unconstitutional.
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Mariner's role still unknown as autonomous shipping gains speed
Mariners’ role still unknown as autonomous shipping gains speed
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Casualties
NTSB: Dredge hit Texas gas pipeline, causing fire that killed four
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A recent report from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) reveals that global shipping emissions increased nearly 10 percent from 2012 to 2018, with the industry facing a growing challenge concerning methane slip.
Bay State brothers find industry niche by making old into new
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Signals
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Seastreak newcomer pushing through dip in demand
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In a matter of days, the decorative time balls will drop, “Auld Lang Syne” will fill the air, and ships at anchor will sound their horns as the world welcomes in the new year.
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