Bill has been a leader in fighting to hold Washington accountable to harbor communities. Over the past several years, Bill has led the bipartisan charge to stop other lawmakers from raiding the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) for things other than harbor dredging and maintenance.
The Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund has a direct impact on Lakeshore communities across West Michigan. In fact last week, the Army Corps announced that Grand Haven would be receiving money from the fund to restore the Grand Haven Pier and dredge the harbor.
After the announcement was made Bill stressed that “properly maintaining water infrastructure, such as the iconic Grand Haven pier and Grand Haven harbor, is critical to both safety and economic development in the Tri-Cities area.”
Before Bill was elected to Congress, only 47% percent of the money designated for harbor maintenance was actually used for its intended purpose. The rest was siphoned off for other projects putting West Michigan’s economy at a disadvantage.
Today, because of Bill’s bipartisan leadership, approximately 74% of the HMTF is used for maintaining infrastructure and there is a plan in place to reach 100% without adding costs to taxpayers.
Bill added, “the federal government has a constitutional obligation to harbor communities across the Great Lakes, and I will continue to work in a bipartisan manner to hold Washington accountable to that commitment.”
Click here to read more about this important West Michigan infrastructure project.