WASHINGTON, D.C. — On March 24, Rep. Janice Hahn continued her efforts to have Congress increase the amount of Harbor Maintenance Tax revenue returned to the nation’s ports during the debate on the Republican budget resolution and earlier during time set aside for one-minute speeches.
She noted that the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund now has a surplus of about $9 billion because for years only about 50 percent of the tax on shippers collected at the nation’s ports was returned to the ports.
Hahn gained bipartisan support this past year for her amendment to the Water Resources and Reform Development Act, which set targets for annual increases in the usage of the trust fund, leading to 100 percent use by 2025. Since then she has worked to ensure Congress meets those targets.
Hahn yesterday filed an amendment to the House Republican budget resolution to meet the Water Resources and Reform Development Act targets, but the Rules Committee did not allow it to be considered.
Hahn stated the budget is a matter of priorities and choices, and she stressed the value and necessity of investing in ports.
Recently, Hahn and Louisiana Republican Rep. Charles Boustany sent a letter signed by a bipartisan group of 86 Representatives calling on increased appropriations to meet the targets Congress passed into law last year. Many of the signers are members of the Congressional PORTS Caucus, which Hahn co-chairs.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus proposed an alternative budget that incorporates Hahn’s proposal to fully meet the targets for harbor maintenance funding established in the 2014 Water Resources and Reform Development Act bill.