Current Issues
A key issue that AAPA is focusing on is the reorganization of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF). AAPA hopes that the fund can be applied in a way that fully benefits ports and their surrounding communities. Since the creation of the fund in 1986, HMTF tax revenue has been used by the government to fund projects unrelated to port development. AAPA believes that the funding should go directly to ports in order to complete maintenance dredging. Regular maintenance dredging is crucial to most navigable waterways, harbors, and ports. Each year, several hundred feet of sand, gravel, and silt must be removed from waterways and harbors to maintain navigability—enough for a four-lane highway four feet deep stretching between New York City and Los Angeles, California, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
AAPA also supports the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Freight Policy framework, which focuses on increasing public and private investment in freight infrastructure through tax incentives. It also seeks to improve public and private collaboration on freight-related issues by increasing public-sector awareness about trends in private-sector freight operations and investment.
Read more about this topic: American Association Of Port Authorities
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