Statement on Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund

For Immediate Release

The House of Representatives is voting Monday on H.R. 2440, the Full Utilization of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund Act. The bill would exempt spending from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) from the budget caps, which were adopted only three months ago. This would allow up to $10 billion in additional spending by the end of the next fiscal year. 

The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:

This measure is a perfect example of a broken political culture in Washington. Having just increased spending caps massively, policymakers are already trying to circumvent them. Rather than prioritizing within spending caps, which could easily accommodate a greater focus on infrastructure funding, House leaders are trying to take the easy way out yet again.

We’re already headed for a trillion-dollar deficit this year, thanks to unpaid-for tax cuts and spending increases.

The last thing we need is more budget gimmicks and further deficit increases. Policymakers should oppose efforts to circumvent the caps using the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. 

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For more information, please contact Patrick Newton, press secretary, at newton@crfb.org.