Posted: January 11, 2017

Early indications spark optimism on U.S. maritime policy


By Paul Doell
National President


With a new President who brings an unprecedented, unorthodox style to governing, there are more questions than answers about what the U.S. maritime industry can expect from the White House in the next four years.

But there is one strong, specific and favorable portent: President Trump's selection of Elaine Chao to serve as Secretary of Transportation, which counts the Maritime Administration among its agencies. Chao, who served as Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush, is a former deputy transportation secretary, a former chair of the Federal Maritime Commission and a former deputy administrator at MARAD. She knows and supports our industry, and she understands our issues.

In a much wider sense, optimism arises from the President's prevailing thematic pledge of "America First" in business and jobs. A strong privately owned and operated U.S. merchant fleet and a skilled, reliable American merchant mariner workforce fit snugly into the new administration's overarching policy vision as economic and national security assets.

Maritime policy inclinations on Capitol Hill are at this point easier to sense in specific ways. U.S. maritime interests still have many influential supporters in key positions in both parties and in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. One rare point of broad bipartisan agreement on the Hill is that the U.S. needs a large and diverse private sector U.S. merchant fleet and a skilled, reliable American merchant mariner workforce to serve the U.S. in domestic and international trade and to provide effective and efficient defense shipping services the federal government is incapable of.

The agenda this year is familiar: sustaining the Maritime Security Program; enforcing the body of U.S.-flag cargo preference laws; allowing the Export-Import Bank of the United States to function as intended; defending the Jones Act, the domestic shipping law that is a perennial target of misguided or misinformed criticism; boosting the U.S. Great Lakes bulk fleet by countering unfair trade in iron ore and promoting necessary nationwide infrastructure projects.

Congress and the White House may also consider American-flag tanker participation in new U.S. oil and natural gas export trades.

The Maritime Administration's long-awaited National Maritime Transportation Strategy will come into focus as well. In an email announcing his January 6 departure from the agency, former administrator Paul "Chip" Jaenichen said release of the NMTS was imminent.

VPAF: a reliable resource

American Maritime Officers is prepared to navigate the new legislative seascape in Washington, and seagoing AMO members can do their part by supporting a most reliable resource - the AMO Voluntary Political Action Fund.

Contributions to VPAF are used exclusively to support lawmakers who support the U.S. merchant marine. This is the only criterion governing use of the money. Party affiliation and political ideology are not considered. Nor are candidates' positions on gun control, abortion or other social issues. The AMO Voluntary Political Action Fund covers no travel, meal, lodging or entertainment expenses.

To put it bluntly, the AMO VPAF reflects one most important reality - every job held by every deep-sea, Great Lakes and inland waters AMO member depends directly on what Congress does or doesn't do.

Moreover, the fund works as intended. For example - and some of our allies in maritime advocacy will bristle at this - our union held the lead in authorizing, renewing, expanding and extending the Maritime Security Program. The effort to increase MSP funding to $5 million per ship per year began with AMO and American Maritime Officers Service in private conversation at the highest level in the House of Representatives.

AMO also triggered the recent renewal of the Ex-Im Bank charter, and we were out front in successful support of the Jones Act in connection with the economic crisis in Puerto Rico.

On behalf of the National Executive Board of AMO, I thank AMO members who contribute to the AMO Voluntary Political Action Fund routinely. I ask members who don't participate in the fund to reconsider - contribute in amounts you can be comfortable with, and consider the modest expense an investment in job and benefit security.

As always, I welcome AMO members' questions, comments and suggestions on any topic. I can be reached toll-free at 800-362-0513, on the headquarters line at 954-921-2221 (ext. 1001) or on my cell at 954-881-5651.