Posted:
April 29, 2015
On April 23, representatives of the U.S. maritime industry gathered to honor Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA), who received the 2015 Salute to Congress Award, presented by the International Propeller Club of the United States. Rep. Garamendi was recognized for his staunch support of the U.S.-flag fleet and tireless efforts to promote and defend the U.S. merchant marine.
Rep. Garamendi is the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation and has provided a strong voice defending the Jones Act, the Maritime Security Program and cargo preference laws and related programs, such as Food for Peace Title II.
During his acceptance speech in Arlington, Va., Rep. Garamendi said he had his eyes set on a prosperous future for the U.S. merchant mariner.
"I want to look forward to the future of this maritime industry being a whole lot better than it has been 30 or 40 years into the past. And we can do it," he said. "If we think about the future and we think about what is possible and put aside what is unnecessary fighting amongst ourselves for what is a very small pie, I think we can see a resurgence in our industry."
Rep. Garamendi focused on the maritime industry coming together to make the case for requiring the shipment of America's energy surplus on U.S. built, U.S. crewed ships. With the recent surge in domestic oil production and the increase in natural gas production, Garamendi pointed out the maritime industry would have all the cargo it needed to help it flourish for decades to come. He said the precedent has already been set by laws requiring oil in Alaska to be shipped on American bottoms.
"All we need is cargo. We can have a lot more ships if we have a lot more cargo," he said. "There is a tremendous amount of energy that needs to be shipped.
"If we are going to ship crude oil from the United States, I say it is on American built ships with American sailors. If it was good enough for the North Slope 50 years ago, it's good enough for America today."
If domestically produced LNG were required to be carried on U.S. ships, a whole new world would be opened up for all in the maritime industry, Rep. Garamendi said. Shipyards would produce new tankers and LNG facilities would sprout up around the nation, producing countless more jobs for Americans, he said.
In order for that vision to become a reality, it would require all facets of the industry to rally together for one cause as one voice.
"We must decide we are going to get together shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm and we are going to write those laws and get it on the President's desk. It can be done if we work together to make it happen," Rep. Garamendi said. "We need to use our power to bring it home, to bring the jobs back to America.
"I want to see our shipyards become the dominant shipbuilding place in the world again. It will take government involvement. The Jones Act is absolutely essential for this nation's mariners, the shipbuilding industry, and for all who are involved on the oceans. It is critical in every way."
Rep. Garamendi also took aim at those attempting to change PL-480 Food for Peace Title II from a food-aid delivery service for those who need it most around the world to a cash voucher system that cuts American farmers and the U.S. merchant marine out of the equation.
The congressman's wife, Patricia, was the U.S. government's national food security coordinator for three years and the couple has a first-person account of how well the current Food for Peace program works when U.S. food aid is delivered directly to people in need.
"I have been to the famine camps in Ethiopia and know the chaos that exists and the desperation that exists. If you bring cash into that, you cannot account for that money. You don't know where it's going," Rep. Garamendi said. "You bring cash into chaos and you cannot guarantee that it will be turned into food. It doesn't work in our own super markets, how do you expect it to work in those kinds of situations? It's foolish."
U.S. maritime industry honors Congressman John Garamendi
On April 23, representatives of the U.S. maritime industry gathered to honor Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA), who received the 2015 Salute to Congress Award, presented by the International Propeller Club of the United States. Rep. Garamendi was recognized for his staunch support of the U.S.-flag fleet and tireless efforts to promote and defend the U.S. merchant marine.
Rep. Garamendi is the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation and has provided a strong voice defending the Jones Act, the Maritime Security Program and cargo preference laws and related programs, such as Food for Peace Title II.
During his acceptance speech in Arlington, Va., Rep. Garamendi said he had his eyes set on a prosperous future for the U.S. merchant mariner.
"I want to look forward to the future of this maritime industry being a whole lot better than it has been 30 or 40 years into the past. And we can do it," he said. "If we think about the future and we think about what is possible and put aside what is unnecessary fighting amongst ourselves for what is a very small pie, I think we can see a resurgence in our industry."
Rep. Garamendi focused on the maritime industry coming together to make the case for requiring the shipment of America's energy surplus on U.S. built, U.S. crewed ships. With the recent surge in domestic oil production and the increase in natural gas production, Garamendi pointed out the maritime industry would have all the cargo it needed to help it flourish for decades to come. He said the precedent has already been set by laws requiring oil in Alaska to be shipped on American bottoms.
"All we need is cargo. We can have a lot more ships if we have a lot more cargo," he said. "There is a tremendous amount of energy that needs to be shipped.
"If we are going to ship crude oil from the United States, I say it is on American built ships with American sailors. If it was good enough for the North Slope 50 years ago, it's good enough for America today."
If domestically produced LNG were required to be carried on U.S. ships, a whole new world would be opened up for all in the maritime industry, Rep. Garamendi said. Shipyards would produce new tankers and LNG facilities would sprout up around the nation, producing countless more jobs for Americans, he said.
In order for that vision to become a reality, it would require all facets of the industry to rally together for one cause as one voice.
"We must decide we are going to get together shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm and we are going to write those laws and get it on the President's desk. It can be done if we work together to make it happen," Rep. Garamendi said. "We need to use our power to bring it home, to bring the jobs back to America.
"I want to see our shipyards become the dominant shipbuilding place in the world again. It will take government involvement. The Jones Act is absolutely essential for this nation's mariners, the shipbuilding industry, and for all who are involved on the oceans. It is critical in every way."
Rep. Garamendi also took aim at those attempting to change PL-480 Food for Peace Title II from a food-aid delivery service for those who need it most around the world to a cash voucher system that cuts American farmers and the U.S. merchant marine out of the equation.
The congressman's wife, Patricia, was the U.S. government's national food security coordinator for three years and the couple has a first-person account of how well the current Food for Peace program works when U.S. food aid is delivered directly to people in need.
"I have been to the famine camps in Ethiopia and know the chaos that exists and the desperation that exists. If you bring cash into that, you cannot account for that money. You don't know where it's going," Rep. Garamendi said. "You bring cash into chaos and you cannot guarantee that it will be turned into food. It doesn't work in our own super markets, how do you expect it to work in those kinds of situations? It's foolish."