Senate approves barge diesel fuel user fee bill

The Senate passed legislation, as part of the ABLE Act, to enact a 9-cent increase to the barge diesel fuel user fee.

   The Senate passed legislation Tuesday to enact a 9-cent increase to the barge diesel fuel user fee.  
   The provision was a part of tax extenders legislation that was combined with the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act that creates tax-favored savings accounts for individuals with disabilities. The ABLE Act that included the provision to increase the user fee by 9 cents passed the House on Dec. 3 by a vote of 404-17. The Senate passed the legislation by a vote of 76 to 16.
   The user fee — currently 20 cents per gallon of fuel used while operating on the inland system — will be increased to 29 cents per gallon, effective April 1. The collected fee is then deposited into the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, which is matched by general treasury funds and used in new construction and major rehabilitation on the inland waterway system. 
   The 9-cent-increase is expected to add about $80 million year to the trust fund.  
   The user fee increase was first introduced by Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.,  as A Bill to Revise the Inland Waterways Trust Fund Financing Rate (S. 2955), with co-sponsors Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.; Tom Harkin, D-Iowa; and Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, both Democrats from Minnesota. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., also supported the user fee increase, as well as House Reps. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio; Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn.; Daniel Lipinski, D-Ill.; and Ed Whitfield, R-Ky.
   Most of the country’s locks and dams are in need of upgrades. The user fee increase is the last key recommendation of the Capital Development Plan to be adopted into law, with four of the CDP’s elements adopted through the passage of the 2014 Water Resources Reform and Development Act. 
   “Waterways Council is grateful for the House and Senate passage of the increase to the barge industry’s fuel user fee. Additional money flowing to priority navigation projects could result in earlier completion and delivery of more than $82 billion in related economic activity for the nation over 20 years,” said Michael J. Toohey, president and chief executive officer of Waterways Council, Inc. 
   The organization, which advocates for a modern and well-maintained national system of ports and inland waterways, is supported by waterways carriers, shippers, port authorities, shipping associations, labor and conservation groups, and waterways advocacy groups from all regions of the country.