Political Quotes

“In 1986, Congress created the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and the harbor maintenance tax, a dedicated user fee, to provide a steady revenue source for the Army Corps of Engineers to carry out the dredging of our critical navigation channels to meet their authorized specifications with regard to depth and width. In the year 2011, the harbor maintenance tax that was collected was $1.4 billion, but only slightly over half of that was directed to the intended purpose: the operations and maintenance purposes. Yet less than 35 percent of our top Nation's harbors and ports are dredged adequately. This is hurting American competitiveness. It's hurting American exports. It's hurting American commerce. Frankly, as the Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee chairman, I find this an egregious abuse of this tax. My amendment does this: it basically ties the harbor maintenance tax revenue receipts to expenditures. All funds collected shall be utilized for the purposes that they were intended, and that is for the maintenance of our Nation's ports and harbors. Mr. Chairman, in January 2012 alone, five ships ran aground in the lower Mississippi River, which is our Nation's largest export artery. This funding is critical to prevent draft restrictions, which have negatively affected our commerce. It is critical for expanding exports, and it is critical in its support for the American exploration and production of American energy.…”