§2238b Funding for Harbor Maintenance Programs

Summary

Sets yearly minimum funding goals from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to pay for harbor upkeep. It defines two short terms: "total amount of harbor maintenance taxes received" means the dollar amount credited to the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for a fiscal year as shown in the President’s budget estimate for the next year; "total budget resources" means the money from that Trust Fund made available by Congress for spending under section 9505(c) of title 26. For fiscal year targets, the law requires the Secretary get at least these shares of the prior year’s taxes: FY2015 — 67%; FY2016 — 69%; FY2017 — 71%; FY2018 — 74%; FY2019 — 77%; FY2020 — 80%; FY2021 — 83%; FY2022 — 87%; FY2023 — 91%; FY2024 — 95%; and FY2025 and later — 100%. The money can only be used for spending under section 9505(c). If a year’s target (FY2015–FY2024) would fall below the previous year’s target, it is bumped up to the lesser of 103% of last year’s appropriated resources or 100% of last year’s taxes received. Any increase should come from bigger overall Corps civil works appropriations, not by cutting other Corps programs, and the targets apply only when civil works funding actually rises enough to cover them.