H.Res. 1059

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I thank the distinguished chairman, my good friend, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes.

(Mr. HASTINGS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I am going to truncate my original remarks.

Mr. Speaker, today's legislation is yet another callous attempt by my friends on the other side to undermine healthcare for millions of Americans, all while recklessly adding billions of dollars to the deficit.

This legislation not only guts vital provisions of the Affordable Care Act, but also weakens the requirements on employer-provided healthcare. I might add, even though we may not be bringing it up, we do support the conference report and will be willing to go forward in that regard.

The time has come for our friends across the aisle to abandon their tired playbook, a playbook full of tactics and strategies bent on sabotaging and undermining healthcare, rather than plans to make our healthcare system stronger and more inclusive.

Mr. Speaker, we are also here today, as I just said, on the conference report, for a three-bill spending package, funding a portion of our government, which runs out of funds at the end of this month.

This funding package isn't perfect, and while I would have preferred we consider appropriations bills one at a time through regular order, as the Speaker promised, this effort represents how this House should operate when we consider legislation. We hold hearings, markups, go to conference, negotiate in good faith, and finally, emerge with a bipartisan compromise.

Good process makes for good policy. While this bill may not be one Democrats would have written, I am glad this conference report rejects House Republicans' and President Trump's extreme budget cuts and harmful antienvironmental riders.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to say this: We have learned that, as Hurricane Florence closes in on millions of Americans, the administration has raided the coffers of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in order to move money to ICE. I am not going to spend a lot of time on that. I think it is just wrong.

Mr. Speaker, this Republican-led Congress sets yet another record with today's 97th closed rule. Week after week, my friends across the aisle continue to make history for all the wrong reasons, but we should not let this latest milestone go unrecognized because it is yet another sad point in this Chamber's history.

In this historically closed-off Congress, Republican leaders have used restrictive rules to block measures to create jobs, bring down the cost of prescription drugs, and make education more affordable for our children.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding me the customary thirty minutes for debate, and I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to debate the Rule for H.R. 3798, the Save American Workers Act and the Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 5895.

Mr. Speaker, last year Republicans took one on the chin when their Affordable Care Act repeal bill--a bill they spent all of 17 days working on--went down in flames in a most public and spectacular fashion. They learned that conspicuously snatching health insurance from millions of people would probably cost them some votes.

So, instead of continuing with their more open, though admittedly failed tactics, my friends across the aisle are pursuing an altogether shiftier strategy today.

That strategy, with its aim of ridding the American people of their healthcare coverage, can be summed up in one word: sabotage.

Today's legislation is yet another callous attempt by Republicans to undermine healthcare for millions of Americans, all while recklessly adding billions of dollars to the deficit. This legislation not only guts vital provisions of the Affordable Care Act, but also weakens requirements on employer provided healthcare.

Now is the time for us to face facts and accept truths. Fact, the latest Kaiser Health Tracking poll found that 50 percent of Americans hold a favorable view of the Affordable Care Act.

Fact, 75 percent of Americans want to keep the Affordable Care Act's provisions that prevent health plans from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions. Fact, 72 percent of Americans want to retain the provision of the ACA that prevents insurers from charging sick people more.

The time has come for my friends across the aisle to abandon their tired playbook--a playbook full of tactics and strategies bent on sabotaging and undermining healthcare rather than plans to make our healthcare system stronger and more inclusive.

Mr. Speaker, we are also here today to consider H.R. 5895, a conference report for a three-bill spending package--funding a portion of our government--which runs out of funding at the end of this month.

This funding package isn't perfect, and while I would have preferred we consider appropriations bills one at a time through regular order as the Speaker promised, this effort represents how this House should operate when we consider legislation: we hold hearings, markups, go to conference, negotiate in good faith, and finally emerge with a bipartisan compromise.

Good process makes for good policy, and while this bill may not be one Democrats

would have written, I'm glad this conference report rejects House Republicans' and President Trump's extreme budget cuts and harmful anti-environmental riders.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to say this, we have learned that as Hurricane Florence closes in on millions of Americans, the Trump Administration has raided the coffers of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in order to move money to ICE for the continued immoral detention of children.

The ability of this Administration to reach new lows is astounding.

To my fellow Americans who are in Hurricane Florence's path, our thoughts and prayers are with you.

As a Floridian, I know all too well the effects these devastating storms can have and I urge everyone to take all necessary steps to be prepared, be safe, and listen to the direction of local authorities as this storm impacts the Southeast.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this Republican led Congress sets yet another record with today's 97th Closed Rule. Week after week, my friends across the aisle continue to make history for all the wrong reasons. But we should not let this latest milestone go unrecognized, because it is yet another sad point in this Chamber's history.

In this historically closed-off Congress, Republican leaders have used restrictive rules to block measures to create jobs, bring down the cost of prescription drugs, and make education more affordable.

These policies deserve consideration on the House Floor, yet they are continuously blocked by the Republican Majority.

This discouraging record not only suppresses the voices of Democratic and Republican Members, it also suppresses the voices of millions of Americans.

Mr. Speaker, my Republican friends may claim today's three-bill spending package gets the ball rolling to fully fund the government.

But we need to put into context what it means to fully fund the government, it means that we must pass 12 appropriations bills in order to fully fund our government.

So, before they take a victory lap over today's spending package, I will simply remind the Majority that with precious few legislative days remaining, we still must pass the remaining seventy-five percent of bills that will fund our government.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on the rule, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1059 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), my dear friend, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule and the underlying legislation.

The rule provides for consideration of H.R. 3798, the Save American Workers Act of 2018, and H.R. 5895, Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act of 2019.

Mr. Speaker, today is quite an unusual day, not only for our Nation, but also for Members of Congress. As a result of that, I have had a discussion with my dear friend, Judge Hastings, and we have decided we are going to try to expedite that which we do today, so all Members need to be advised we might finish the process of the rule on the floor some 55 minutes early

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this rule and the underlying legislation. The rule provides for consideration of H.R. 3798, the Save American Workers Act of 2018 and H.R. 5895, Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veteran Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019.

Since 2010, the American people have been dealing with the impacts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare. As we now know, Obamacare contains a number of provisions that have greatly impacted the labor market, the workforce, and employers of all sizes. At the broadest level, the bill created massive mandatory spending spending programs that have contributed greatly to the

country's debt and financial burdens on the American tax payer.

At the center of this is the employer mandate. The employer mandate impacts hiring and employees' hours because it requires employers with 50 or more full-time employees to provide health insurance and carries a specific fine for noncompliance. Under this, employees who work 30 or more hours per week are considered full-time. In addition, complex reporting requirements make the burden of this provision even greater for employers.

The employer mandate requirement has resulted in employers reducing workers' hours to 29 hours per week or less in an attempt to minimize the mandate's devastating impacts. These reduced hours have caused millions of workers to receive less take home pay.

The 30-hour rule does little more than discourage employment and financial stability for American workers--especially low wage workers. According to a Hoover institution study, 2.6 million Americans making less than $30,000 were at risk of having their hours and wages cut as a result of Obamacare's 30-hour rule.

H.R. 3798 would give employers and workers more flexibility by changing Obamacare's definition of full-time worker from 30 hours per week to 40 hours per week and from 120 hours per month to 174 hours per month for full-time equivalents. In addition, the bill gives employers retroactive relief from the employer mandate penalty. Thus, any employer that owed a penalty for failing to provide coverage during that period would no longer owe it, a big help to some our small businesses.

The bill also includes a provision that will delay the implementation of the Obamacare tax on high-cost health plans, known as the ``Cadillac tax,'' until 2023, granting employers one additional year of relief from the tax.

Finally, in light of the repeal of the individual mandate penalty, H.R. 3798 removes burdensome regulatory requirements on some providers of minimum essential coverage.

Mr. Speaker, this rule also provides for consideration of H.R. 5895, Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019.

This three-bill Appropriations package provides funding for fiscal year 2019 in three very important categories. This bill is a product of members working across the aisle in a wonderful display of bipartisanship and I am pleased to see this body take up such an important measure.

The agreement addresses one of our fundamental responsibilities here in Congress, taking care of our veterans. The bill provides $5.3 Billion above FY18 levels and ensures funding for VA medical care. It funds VA medical care at $72.3 Billion, providing for 7 million veteran patients to be treated in FY19. The bill strengthens veteran programs like mental health care services, opioid abuse prevention, suicide prevention, and rural veterans health initiatives. Additionally, the legislation continues to rebuild infrastructure for our service members and their families with $10.3 Billion for military construction projects, an increase of $241 Million.

The second part of this appropriations package, energy and water, prioritizes our national security and invests in American infrastructure. The bill supports a strong nuclear national security strategy with a total $560 Million above FY 18 levels for the Department of Energy's nuclear weapons security programs. It also provides a much-needed influx of funds into our nation's water resources infrastructure by directing $7 Billion to the Army Corps of Engineers.

Finally, the legislation directs a much-needed increase of $29.8 Million for our extremely dedicated and brave Capitol Police Officers. This money will ensure their safety, the safety of our Capitol complex, and the thousands of guests who visit every day.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the distinguished gentleman, his work with me is appreciated. On behalf of not only Judge Hastings and myself, really, the Rules Committee, which both of us represent, with great anxiety, we recognize, as our Members do, about the storm that is headed to the United States of America.

We want to wish all the people who are in the storm's way the very best, but we are attempting to do what we can to make sure we complete our work properly.

Thus, I ask for my colleagues to vote for this conference report, which will do so much to move us not only to the point where we can continue to work together, but to fund the important activities that need to take place.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues support this bill and the underlying bills.

Mr. Speaker, this is a good rule and so are the two underlying bills. it has become abundantly clear that Obamacare has failed the American people. Our nation's healthcare system is broken and only getting worse.

The American people are counting on us to empower individuals, families, and employers to spend their health care dollars the way they want. They are counting on us to remove the federal government from their health care and the first bill is another step in the right direction.

The second bill is a wonderful example to bipartisanship--the package isn't perfect, but it is a good bill. It takes care of our veterans and our military, it provides much-needed funding for our infrastructure and our waterways, and it ensures we are providing the Capitol Police officers the funding they need.

I urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying bills.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

The previous question was ordered.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1059, I call up the conference report on the bill (H.R. 5895) making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present the conference report for H.R. 5895.

This conference report includes the Energy and Water Development, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Legislative Branch Appropriations bills for fiscal year 2019. It is a product of months of negotiations between the House and the Senate.

This conference report is a responsible compromise that addresses shared priorities: funding for programs that benefit all Americans, including national security, energy development programs and water resources infrastructure, care for veterans, and operations of the legislative branch. Critically, this conference report represents the next step toward fully funding the Federal Government for fiscal year 2019.

This is the first time since fiscal year 2017 that Congress will have passed any Appropriations bill before the end of the year and the first time in over a decade--since fiscal year 2007--that Congress will be sending more than one Appropriations bill to the President's desk before September 30.

We have done our best to repair a broken appropriations process. This is a welcome and long overdue return to regular order and fulfills our promise to the American people to deliver results.

Passage of this legislation also provides certainty to the Federal Government--most importantly, for our troops and their families, who rely on military infrastructure to sustain their quality of life and accomplish their missions, and for our veterans, who deserve full access to their benefits and healthcare.

It is my sincere hope that we will continue this progress with the consideration of additional conference reports.

The Energy and Water portion of the report provides $44.6 billion for Department of Energy, Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Defense's nuclear programs.

Investments in national security programs help our Nation maintain its strongest possible nuclear deterrence posture, support our Navy's nuclear-powered fleet, and keep nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists.

And the bill also targets an array of energy programs that support our goal of energy independence and directs much-needed funds to water resources infrastructure across the country.

The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs portion of the report totals $98 billion in discretionary funding. This includes the largest dollar amount ever for the Department of Veterans Affairs, $86.5 billion, a substantial investment that will improve access to and quality of care for veterans.

Importantly, this also includes additional funding for the VA MISSION Act and will support ongoing care for our veterans through community care centers, caregivers, and other medical services. This funding is provided within the existing discretionary spending caps.

Also, the bill provides strong investments for our defense infrastructure and military installations. This will support the rebuilding of our Armed Forces, help counter threats and aggression abroad, and support our troops and military families.

The third portion of this conference report includes the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill. This legislation continues the operations of Congress and its support agencies, ensuring that Members of Congress are best able to serve the American people.

Within the total of $4.8 billion, provided for both the House and the Senate, funding is prioritized for security and safety within the Capitol complex, including increases for the Capitol Police.

The legislation helps the legislative branch improve its functions. Of note, for the first time, we hav included dedicated funding for paid internships, which will allow more young Americans and students from all backgrounds to serve Congress.

I want to express my deep gratitude to the chairs and ranking members of the three subcommittees who spearheaded this legislation--Energy and Water Chairman Simpson of Idaho and Ranking Member Kaptur of Ohio; Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Chairman Carter of Texas and Ranking Member Wasserman Schultz of Florida; and Legislative Branch Chairman Fortenberry of Nebraska and Ranking Member Ryan of Ohio--along with all our conferees.

I also want to especially thank Ranking Member Lowey for her service, support, and friendship throughout many years on the Appropriations Committee.

Lastly, I would like to thank our committee's hardworking professional and associate staff. Over the past months, they have been working without a break to complete negotiations and get this conference report and other reports to the floor. They are a

remarkable group of men and women, and I salute them.

Support for this conference report today indicates that Congress is willing and able to get its work done on behalf of the American people on time, under regular order, and within our set budget limits.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this conference report, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson), who is the chairman of the Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Fortenberry), who is the chairman of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Carter), chairman of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

I would like to thank Mrs. Lowey for our close working relationship of well over 24 years.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank all the ranking members who put this package together here, the remarkable men and women who make up our professional staff on the Appropriations Committee, and our personal staff who dedicated most of their August, part of July, and certainly this part of September to doing the work of

the people. I am enormously grateful to all of them for their hard work and their dedication.

Mr. Speaker, I salute my colleague, Mrs. Lowey, and all members and staff for their work.

Particularly, I'd like to thank:

Nancy Fox, Maureen Holohan, Shannon O'Keefe, Jason Gray, Marta Hernandez, Tammy Hughes, Rachel Kahler, Parker Van de Water, and Tom Doelp in the Front Office; Angie Giancarlo, Loraine Heckenberg, Perry Yates, and Amy Murphy on the Energy and Water Subcommittee; Sue Quantius; Sarah Young; and Kiya Batmanglidj from the MilCon/VA Subcommittee; Jenny Panone and Tim Monahan from the Legislative Branch Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I will include my complete remarks for the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to say how thankful I am for Chairman Frelinghuysen and Ranking Member Lowey for their leadership on this bill, and for all the subcommittee chairmen and ranking members on both sides of the rotunda for the work they have done to complete this bill.

Mostly, I want to thank the staff that the chairman has already thanked for the hard work they did. Most people don't realize that, when we are at home in August, they are here working hard every day, sometimes all night long, trying to come up with a compromise that maintains our House priorities.

I think they have done a good job in this. It meets the NDAA requirements that were passed in the House and the Senate, and it meets the requirements of the Nuclear Posture Review and other things. So they have done a great job protecting House priorities.

We didn't get everything we wanted in this bill. The Senate didn't get everything they wanted in the bill either. That is kind of the nature of a compromise. But this is a good bill. It should pass. It is our first step in restoring regular order, and I want to thank everybody who has been involved in creating this.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the conference report for H.R. 5895, the fiscal year 2019 Energy and Water Development, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act.

Before I get into the details of the bill, I would like to thank several Members involved in this effort--my Ranking Member, Marcy Kaptur; our Senate partners, Lamar Alexander and Dianne Feinstein; our full committee leadership, Chairman Frelinghuysen and Ranking Member Lowey here in the House and Chairman Shelby and Ranking Member Leahy in the Senate; and all the conferees who participated in producing this final product.

I'd like to assure my colleagues that the House conferees on this minibus worked diligently to ensure that House priorities were well represented in the final package. The Energy and Water bill totals $44.64 billion, which is $1.44 billion more than last year's level. Increases over last year are targeted to those areas where they are needed most to provide for our national defense and to support our nation's infrastructure.5895, the Fiscal Year 2019 ilitary Construction

The conference report reflects the House priority of strong support for the Department of Energy's nuclear weapons security programs, including Weapons Activities, Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, and Naval Reactors. It aligns with the Administration's Nuclear Posture Review, or NPR, which calls for maintaining a strong nuclear deterrent to meet the challenges of a changing security environment, revitalizing the nuclear complex, and supporting effective arms control and nonproliferation efforts. Since the NPR was released after the budget submission, the House worked hard to ensure funds above the budget request were included for critical NPR recommendations.

Overall funding for the national nuclear security programs totals $15.23 billion--an increase of $560 million above the fiscal year 2018 enacted level and $138 million above the President's budget request. Within this amount, $65 million is provided to support the NPR's recommendation to pursue a lower-yield ballistic missile warhead to enhance the credibility of our nuclear deterrent and $1.07 billion is provided to address the growing backlog of deferred maintenance and to recapitalize aging nuclear weapons infrastructure. Also within this amount, the budget request for Naval Reactors is fully funded, an increase of $169 million above fiscal year 2018, to support the Navy's nuclear propulsion program.

The conference report provides funding increases across the Department of Energy to defend against cyber attacks and to strengthen energy sector cybersecurity preparedness, response, and recovery.

Addressing our nation's critical infrastructure needs is another House priority strongly reflected in the final conference report. Funding for the Army Corps of Engineers totals $7 billion. Harbor Maintenance activities are funded at $1.55 billion, which is $150 million more than fiscal year 2018. The level exceeds the WRDA annual target and represents 92 percent of estimated revenues compared to the fiscal year 2019 target of 77 percent established in WRRDA 2014.

Within the Bureau of Reclamation, the bill provides an additional $343 million for water

conservation and delivery projects, including $134 million for water storage projects authorized under the WIIN Act and $99 million for rural water projects.

The bill advances an ``all-of-the-above'' energy strategy that will support a strong national economy well into the future. Specifically, the bill promotes innovation and growth in nuclear energy, funding research, development, and demonstration activities at $1.2 billion, an increase of $108 million above fiscal year 2018. Research to advance coal, natural gas, oil, and other fossil energy technologies is funded at $740 million.

Basic science research funding totals $6.6 billion, $325 million more than last year. Increased funding will advance U.S. leadership in high performance computing and improve science research infrastructure at our national laboratories.

Finally, the conference report registers the grave concerns of many Members of Congress over judicial interference in the operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System hydroelectric dams.

All in all, this appropriations package, including the Energy and Water division, is a strong bill that incorporates many high priorities of the House. I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5895, the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act. In an era of partisanship, bipartisan legislation like this bill is sorely needed.

A little over a year ago, Houston was devastated by Hurricane Harvey. Recovering from a storm of that magnitude doesn't happen in a single year. The Houston ship channel is still in need of dredging just to return to the authorized depth that we were at before the storm hit. That is why bills like this one are so important.

In this legislation, the Army Corps of Engineers will receive just under $7 billion, $171.5 million above the 2018 enacted level. The Army Corps works hand in hand with local organizations like the Port of Houston and Harris County Flood Control in our district to repair damage from previous storms and mitigate future risk.

It is essential that we fund the corps at an adequate level that ensures that we are constructing projects that limit future damage, not just repair the damage already there.

I am pleased to see that funding levels have increased in this year's bill, but more needs to be done. This issue is not a partisan one and affects districts far and wide.

I am also pleased to see that the harbor maintenance trust fund will receive $1.55 billion, $149 million over the 2018 allocation and $584 million above the request. Ports are the economic drivers are our country. At the Port of Houston, we had drafting restrictions that affected safety and commerce for months because of Hurricane Harvey.

While I am pleased that we are increasing the allocated money this year, there is still an injustice that needs to be corrected with the harbor maintenance trust fund. Around $1.8 billion in harbor maintenance tax is collected every year through port user fees. When Congress enacted this fund, it intended to use the revenue to ensure that no port would be in need of dredging and that the people who use the port have a hand in funding the maintenance. It is essential that, in future years, Congress rectifies this issue and ensures that all money collected from usage of our ports goes directly to funding their maintenance, generating further economic activity.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5895, the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act. In an era partisanship, bipartisan legislation like this bill is sorely needed.

A little over a year ago, Houston was devastated by Hurricane Harvey. Recovery from a storm of that magnitude doesn't happen in a single year. The Houston ship channel is still in need of dredging just to return to the authorized depth that we were at before the storm hit.

That is why bills like this one are so important. In this legislation, the Army Corps of Engineers will receive just under $7 billion, $171.5 million above the 2018 enacted level. The Army Corps works hand in hand with local organizations like the Port and Harris County Flood Control in our district to repair damage from previous storms and mitigate future risk.

It is essential that we fund the Corps at an adequate level that ensures that we are constructing projects that limit future damage, not just repair the damage already there. I am pleased to see that funding levels have increased in this year's bill, but more needs to be done. This issue is not a partisan one and affects districts far and wide.

I am also pleased to see that the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund will receive $1.55 billion, $149 million over the 2018 allocation and $584 million above the request. Ports are the economic drivers of the country. At the Port of Houston we had drafting restrictions that affected safety and commerce for months after Harvey. While I am pleased that we are increasing the allocated money this year, there is still an injustice that needs to be corrected with the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund.

Around $1.8 billion in Harbor Maintenance Tax is collected every year through port user fees. When Congress enacted this fund it intended to use the revenue to ensure that no port would be in need of dredging and that the people who use the port have a hand in funding the maintenance.

It is essential that in future years Congress rectifies this issue and ensures that all money collected from the usage of our ports goes directly to funding their maintenance, generating further economic activity.

While there is work still to be done, this bill moves the ball forward and I urge my colleagues to support it.