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Legislation focuses on waterways, ports and competitiveness Co n g r e ss i s Co n s i d e r i n g t wo pieces of legislation that would boost the economic health of ports and inland waterways—promoting job creation and U.S. trade. The first is H.R. 3080, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013 (WRRDA), which was unanimously approved by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure during a markup session last month. The bill aims to streamline the process for lock, dam and waterway infrastructure improvement projects overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Through WRRDA, Congress authorizes the USACE to develop, maintain, and support U.S. port and waterways infrastructure needs, as well as address flood protection and environmental restoration requirements. Historically, Congress has passed such legislation every two years to provide clear direction to the Administration and the USACE, but no bill has been signed into law since 2007.
Following the committee markup, the legislation now goes to the full House for a vote. WRRDA was introduced through a bipartisan effort—no that’s not a misprint—in the House by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee by Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA), Committee Ranking Member Nick J. Rahall, II (D-WV), Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Bob Gibbs (R-OH), and Subcommittee Ranking Member Tim Bishop (D-NY). Lawmakers highlight that the WRRDA deauthorizes $12 billion of old, inactive projects that were authorized prior to the current law, and fully offsets new authorizations. Additionally, it sunsets new authorizations to prevent future backlogs. W R R DA a l s o r e f o r m s a n d p r e serves the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, to better ensure that the fees collected from users of these systems are utilized for their intended purpose.
rePLACing THe HMT The second piece of legislation, Maritime Goods Movement Act for the 21st Century, was introduced by U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA). The bill’s main focus is the repeal of the Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT). Senators say that while the HMT was designed to fund the operation and maintenance of American ports, it incentivizes shippers to bypass American ports and move U.S. bound goods through Canada and Mexico instead. The legislation would replace the HMT with the Maritime Goods Movement User Fee. All of the proceeds from the user fee will be spent annually for port operation and maintenance. Currently, only half of the tax revenue collected through the HMT each year is actually spent on port upkeep. The legislation would also set aside portions of the user fee to support critical low-use ports and to create a competitive grant program to improve the U.S. intermodal transportation system.
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