S.C.R. No. 37
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Seaport activities generate more than $4 trillion in
economic activity each year, representing more than a quarter of
United States gross domestic product and yielding more than $41
billion in federal, state, and local tax revenue; and
WHEREAS, To support this critical component of international
trade, the United States Congress established the Harbor
Maintenance Tax (HMT) on shippers in 1986 as a means of funding the
maintenance and improvement of vital harbor infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, HMT revenues deposited into the Harbor Maintenance
Trust Fund now total about $1.6 billion annually, but in recent
years, Congress has appropriated less than half of those funds for
the intended purpose, leading to a decline in dredging and
maintenance by the United States Army Corps of Engineers; the
consequence is an accumulation of sediment that leaves navigation
channels narrower and shallower, and when silted channels constrain
vessels from carrying full loads or force them to wait for high
tide, the costs of imports and exports rise, as does the risk of
vessel grounding and associated oil spills; the Corps of Engineers
has estimated that the full depth and width of our coastal ports is
available less than 35 percent of the time, costing the economy
billions of dollars annually; and
WHEREAS, Each year, the HMT provides an amount sufficient to
meet all of the nation's authorized harbor maintenance needs, but
as a result of lagging appropriations, the Harbor Maintenance Trust
Fund had a balance of more than $9 billion at the start of 2016; in
Texas alone, less than 25 percent of the HMT revenue collected in
the state has been appropriated for harbor maintenance; and
WHEREAS, Our nation's ports are vital to our economic
prosperity and global competitiveness, and these funds, which were
collected for the express purpose of the maintenance and
improvement of the ports, should be put to work; now, therefore, be
it
RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to increase
appropriations from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to ensure
that the nation's ship channels are appropriately maintained and
safe; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 37 was adopted by the Senate
on May 4, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
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Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 37 was adopted by the House
on May 24, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0, two
present not voting.
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Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
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Date
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Governor