Political Quotes

“I rise to address the Water Resources Development Act that we passed today. This important legislation authorizes Army Corp of Engineers projects that provide flood control, ensure navigation to get our goods to market, and help restore our ecosystems and environment. One component of this bill deals with the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. Shippers pay a Harbor Maintenance Tax, which goes into the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and is then appropriated for operations and maintenance at ports throughout our country. Now, although this legislation does not address the Harbor Maintenance Tax, I want to take a moment to talk about it. Because unfortunately, this policy is encouraging cargo diversion from our ports. A Federal Maritime Commission report released last year, which I requested with Senator Cantwell, indicated that cargo coming into U.S. ports cost, on average, an additional $109 due to the Harbor Maintenance Tax. I find this report extremely troubling. While this bill does not address the tax, it does address the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. The bill sets goals for additional expenditures from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, and it includes a provision that I worked on closely with Chairman Boxer and Senator Cantwell.…”