,,iv  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #bcf  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of
 ,,representatives  ,may #bc1 #bjac ,ms4
 ,hahn 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,poe of       
,texas1 and ,ms4 ,brown of ,florida7    
submitted the following resolution2     
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,transportation and ,infrastructure     
,,resolution  ,expressing the sense of  
the ,house of ,representatives on fully 
spending the receipts of the ,harbor    
,maintenance ,trust ,fund on ,united    
,states ports and harbors each year1 and
 for other purposes4  ,whereas ports and
 harbors play a vital role in the       
,united ,states economy2 ,whereas ports 
move #b4c billion tons of cargo a year  
in the ,united ,states2 ,whereas the    
,united ,states assesses a harbor       
maintenance tax of approximately #a4f   
billion a year on goods imported through
 the ,nation's ports for the express    
purpose of keeping ,united ,states ports
 strong2 ,whereas only a fraction of the
 harbor maintenance tax has been spent  

on maintaining the ,nation's harbors2   
,whereas the ,harbor ,maintenance ,trust
 ,fund has built a surplus of over #h   
billion1 even as ,united ,states ports  
and harbors are egregiously             
undermaintained and underdredged1       
reducing the ,nation's competitiveness  
in the world and increasing costs for   
businesses and consumers2 and ,whereas  
the failure to spend the receipts of the
 ,harbor ,maintenance ,trust ,fund to   
keep the ,nation's ports and harbors    
strong breaks a trust with the people of
 the ,united ,states3 ,now1 therefore1  
be it  ,that the ,house of              
,representatives--  7#a7 commits itself 
to fully spending the receipts of the   
,harbor ,maintenance ,trust ,fund on    
,united ,states ports and harbors each  
year2  7#b7 affirms that the surplus in 
the ,harbor ,maintenance ,trust ,fund   
should be spent down to zero on the     
,nation's ports and harbors as soon as  
possible2 and  7#c7 urges ,united       
,states ports and the ,corps of         

,engineers to make all necessary        
preparations for the expansion and      
acceleration of port and harbor dredging
 to be made possible by #ajj percent use
 of the receipts of the ,harbor         
,maintenance ,trust ,fund4