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BARGE AND TOWING INDUSTRY OPPOSES ADMINISTRATION PROPOSAL FOR NEW TAX

WASHINGTON, D.C. . The American Waterways Operators, the national trade association for the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, on Tuesday criticized the proposal in the administration's FY.04 budget to assess the Inland Waterways Trust Fund to pay for federal costs of operating and maintaining the nation's interstate river system. These costs have been the responsibility of the federal government since the founding of the nation.

Noting the broad benefits of the nation.s waterways, from commerce to recreation to flood control, AWO President Tom Allegretti called the proposal "an abdication of the traditional federal role in maintaining the U.S. waterways infrastructure." Allegretti went on to say that from the earliest days of our nation, the importance of the "water highways" to America.s domestic commerce and international trade has been the basis of the federal government.s support of this system. Historically, this has been seen as a federal responsibility and no one group of beneficiaries has been singled out for a user tax such as the administration proposes.

AWO's members operating on the inland waterways system already pay more than $100 million per year into the Inland Waterways Trust Fund through a fuel tax of 20 cents-pergallon. The Inland Waterways Trust Fund was established in 1978 to pay for half of the costs of new capital improvements and major rehabilitation on the inland system. "The idea of funding operation and maintenance through the Trust Fund was rejected then and should be rejected now," said AWO Vice Chairman of the Board Craig Philip, President and CEO of Ingram Barge Company, Nashville, Tennessee. He also noted that this operation and maintenance tax proposal has been rejected by Congress on a number of previous occasions.

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