HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Monday, Congressman Bill Huizenga (MI-02), Co-Chair of the Great Lakes Task Force, released the following statement after voting in favor of legislation to ensure fees collected in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund are utilized for their intended purpose. H.R. 2240, permits revenue collected in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to be allocated more effectively for water infrastructure projects across the nation. Revenues in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund are collected via user fee from shippers accessing and using the ports.
“The federal government needs to live up to its obligation to Great Lakes communities,” said Congressman Bill Huizenga. “Currently, more than $9 billion is sitting in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund instead of being allocated to rebuild our nation’s water infrastructure. This legislation is a responsible and bipartisan way to more effectively utilize the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund without raising one more dime in taxes. Implementing this much needed reform will provide the Army Corps with the ability to reduce the $550 million backlog of harbor dredging, channel maintenance, and breakwater repair that currently exists across the Great Lakes. I hope my friends in the Senate will act quickly to make this bipartisan legislation a priority.”
