Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today I am introducing the Harbor Maintenance Act, a bill with bipartisan and multi-regional support that would help ensure that funds deposited into the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund would be used for their intended purposes: to properly maintain and operate our Federal harbors and ports. The Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, also known as the HMTF, was created to collect fees in order to pay for the maintenance and operation costs of Federal harbors and ports. While nearly \1/4\ of the U.S. gross domestic product flows through these harbors, over half of these important ports are not maintained to their authorized dimensions. This results in less efficient and more polluting transport, as well as an increased risk of vessel groundings and collisions. One of the ways to ensure a robust and sustainable economic recovery includes strengthening our Nation's infrastructure, which includes our navigational infrastructure. Every year, hundreds of millions of dollars are collected into the HMTF but never spent, even though there are critical navigation needs. For example, the Army Corps of Engineers estimates a backlog of about 15 million cubic yards of dredging needs at commercial federally- authorized Great Lakes harbors and channels.…”