85R5075 BPG-D     By: Hinojosa S.C.R. No. 37       CONCURRENT RESOLUTION          WHEREAS, Seaport activities generate more than $4 trillion in   economic activity each year, representing more than a quarter of   U.S. 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 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 U.S. 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.