2000CRE50 TRUTH IN BUDGETING ACTS
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[Congressional Record: February 1, 2000 (Extensions)]
[Page E50]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr01fe00-46]
[[Page E50]]
TRUTH IN BUDGETING ACTS
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HON. BUD SHUSTER
of pennsylvania
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, February 1, 2000
Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, with several of my colleagues from the
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, today I'm introducing the
third in a series of ``Truth in Budgeting Acts.'' This bill focuses
solely on water transportation--specifically the Harbor Maintenance
Trust Fund (HMTF) and the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF). As you
know, the previous bills also included the Highway Trust Fund and the
Airport and Airway Trust Fund.
All of the bills have a common theme: taking transportation trust
funds ``off budget'' to help meet our Nation's critical infrastructure
needs and to inject some truth serum into the budgeting process. If we
take the HMTF and the IWTF off budget, we not only restore the trust of
those who pay into the funds, we remove the budget-driven incentive to
build a surplus to mask potential deficits and justify other types of
spending.
No one should question the wisdom of investing in our Nation's water
transportation infrastructure. Our coastal ports and inland waterways
have shaped the country's commercial and cultural history and, if
properly developed and adequately maintained, will be critical to our
country's leadership in the global economy of the 21st century. For
example, the tugboat, towboat, and barge industry, which has operations
along the Nation's 25,194 miles of inland and intracoastal waterways,
contributes $5 billion a year to the Nation's economy and moves 15
percent of the Nation's freight for less than 2 percent of the Nation's
total freight bill. Ports generate significant local and regional
economic growth, as well, and move nearly 93 percent of all U.S.
waterborne commerce in a given year. With the volume of imported cargo
moving through U.S. ports expected to triple by the year 2020,
investment in our Nation's port infrastructure is all the more
critical.
The infrastructure needs continue to grow. The Nation's locks and
dams are aging. Many are more than 50 years old. Long delays at inland
locks add to the cost of transporting goods from our farms, mines, and
mills to our coastal ports. The Nation's harbors and seaports need
continued maintenance and improvement as well. Dredging channels, like
clearing snow from highways, is a necessary fact of life--particularly
in an age when domestic and international trading depends on adequate
intermodal connections. The size and number of vessels in the world's
fleet continue to increase; America's ports need to accommodate these
changes to ensure a position of leadership in the global economy.
While current and future needs continue to grow, unfortunately the
trust funds continue to accumulate surpluses. The current balance of
the HMTF is approximately $1.9 billion and is expected to rise to $2.5
billion by FY 04. The IWTF current balance is approximately $370
million, and we are told the Corps has the capability of spending $300
million annually by 2004. Something is wrong when the needs increase,
the funds are available, and the moneys remain ``locked up'' in the
trust funds.
Mr. Speaker, this is important legislation that, if properly
implemented, would make significant reforms in our current
transportation infrastructure financing policy. Let me assure my
colleagues, however, this bill is not meant as the single solution or
response to the many issues surrounding the Supreme Court's March 1998
ruling in U.S. v. U.S. Shoe Corporation, which invalidated the Harbor
Maintenance Tax as applied to exports. That issue has prompted
significant debate and controversy, particularly the Administration's
proposed harbor services user fee and harbor services fund. There are
other proposals as well that deserve our serious consideration. I am
also aware that final changes to the budgeting process involving the
IWTF will need to be discussed with Members and the various
constituencies involved in inland waterways transportation.
I look forward to working with my colleagues, including the Ranking
Member of the Committee (Jim Oberstar), the Chairman of the Water
Resources and Environment Subcommittee (Sherry Boehlert), the Ranking
Member of the Subcommittee (Bob Borski), the Administration, and
others. Water transportation infrastructure will be a priority for the
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee throughout the Second
Session, particularly as we press for truth in water transportation
budgeting and for enactment of a Water Resources Development Act of
2000.
____________________