23 Ports Want Congress to Restore HMTF Funding for Berth Improvements

America's biggest port authorities are calling for Congress to restore funding allocations from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF), a frequent battle in the appropriations process. If maintenance funding is not restored to levels approved in a bipartisan agreement back in 2020, the U.S. port system will lose $1 billion in federal investment over the course of the rest of President Donald Trump's current term, according to the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA).

The HMTF is funded by a small 0.125% value-added tax on goods entering U.S. ports. The HMTF's proceeds pay for maintenance dredging, jetties, breakwaters and related projects, all for the purpose of keeping federally-supported harbor navigation open. About half of all HMTF tax proceeds come from big "donor" ports and energy ports, which generate millions per year each in fees - but historically, these ports have received only about two percent of the appropriations back from the fund.

In 2020, Congress agreed to allocate funds on a percentage basis among different types of ports, sharing the resources more equitably. Emerging harbors would get 20 percent, Great Lakes Ports would get 12 percent, and donor ports would get 10 percent for "expanded uses" like berth dredging, in-water repairs for wharfs, or projects to ensure slope stability at a berth. So far, that formula has only been applied in practice once, according to AAPA: it was used in FY2024 for a $330 million allocation for donor ports. However, the funds were omitted in the FY2025 USACE Work Plan, and the administration left them zeroed out again in its FY2026 budget request Work Plan as well.

"Donor and energy transfer ports, which were expecting to receive nearly $330 million in Section 102 funding to continue the important work started with FY24 funding, ultimately received no funding for this program in the Work Plan," 23 signatory ports said in an open letter to key House and Senate subcomittee leaders. "Similarly, the FY26 budget request includes no funding to carry out Section 102."

The Trump administration's budget request for USACE civil works for FY2026 is $2 billion less than the enacted budget in the last two fiscal years. The administration's total request for HMTF funding comes to $1.7 billion, $1 billion less than last year's enacted budget. In an explanatory statement, the administration noted that $1.4 billion from the FY2024 HMTF appropriation remained unobligated in early 2025; since there are unspent funds still on the table, "there is no need to request more funding than necessary, which is why the Budget reduces funding for HMTF" for FY2026, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said in a statement.

"In this [White House budget] request, spending on projects that are not a Federal responsibility (e.g., dredging of berths) is limited, whereas projects like maintaining commercial navigation on Federal channels are prioritized," OMB said.