WASHINGTON — The U.S. Congress moved closer to hitting port funding goals set last year after a Senate committee this week passed a bill that would send $1.25 billion to ports in fiscal 2016.
Although landmark water resources legislation passed in 2014 set increased funding targets, congressional appropriators missed the mark the first year out of the gate by about $66 million.
With the bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee and the House hitting the HMT goal through legislation passed in May, U.S. ports are in striking distance of getting the dollars for maintenance dredging and jetty work promised through the Water Resources Reform Development Act. The fiscal year begins July 1.
“With over a quarter of our economy accounted for by port cargo activity, it’s vital that adequate investments are made in the infrastructure at, and connecting to, our nation’s seaports to enhance our international competitiveness,” Kurt Nagle, American Association of Port Authorities president and CEO, said in a statement.
Under the WRRDA road map, Congress would increasingly give more money of the collected Harbor Maintenance Taxes — a 0.0125 percent levy on the value of imported goods — for port work and less to fill general budget holes. If appropriators follow the WRRDA guidance, U.S. ports would receive all the HMT dollars by fiscal 2025. Roughly $1.8 billion in HMT is collected annually, but that will likely grow as imports are slated to rise because of a strengthening U.S. economy.
The Senate bill also includes $50 million in funding for ports that contribute more to the HMT trust fund than they get back. Extra funding for so-called donor ports was pushed by Democratic Washington senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, who want to use the dollars to reimburse shippers for the HMT they pay. That’s a move to counter shippers’ diversion from Pacific Northwest ports to Canadian ports, which don’t charge the HMT.
