Trump Asked to Act on Harbor Maintenance Tax

A coalition of 75 members of the U.S. House of Representatives have called on President Donald Trump to fully fund harbor maintenance programs in his upcoming budget.

According to the American Great Lakes Ports Association, the letter is an indication of the strong bipartisan support for funding targets established in the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) which call for full utilization of the Harbor Maintenance Tax by 2025. 

“The U.S. needs fully maintained navigation channels for safe and efficient freight transportation to the global marketplace,” states the letter.

“While many transportation infrastructure programs are struggling to identify beneficiary-paid revenue streams to meet their needs, maritime commerce has been paying enough to meet the operations and maintenance needs of all federally-maintained harbors for decades, but the federal government has been withholding one-third to one-half of these payments. We urge you to dedicate harbor maintenance tax revenue for its intended purpose.”

The letter is available here.