With the omnibus spending bill passed by Congress last week, Congresswoman Janice Hahn celebrated the success of her port policy priorities included in the package.
The omnibus legislation included Congresswoman Hahn’s provision to boost the funding for the country’s ports out of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF).
“ This is a major victory for our ports, allowing them to invest in dredging, maintenance and other improvements that will enable them to operate more efficiently and remain globally competitive ,” said Congresswoman Hah n. “ With this spending level made into law, we are one step closer to ensuring all the money collected at our ports is spent at our ports. ”
The omnibus allocates $1.2 billion from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to go back to the ports. This is an unprecedented level ($299 million above President Obama’s request) and something that Congresswoman Hahn has made a priority during her time in Congress.
Large ports like the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will get a greater percentage of this funding than they did previously.