Posted:
May 9, 2019
By Paul Doell
National President
As is often the case, our front-page feature this month focuses on recent developments centered on the Jones Act, including President Trump's May 1 decision not to waive the venerable domestic shipping law to allow foreign-flagged ships to bring liquefied natural gas from the U.S. mainland to Puerto Rico.
This encouraging turn followed the President's White House huddle with a delegation of Republican lawmakers already on record in strong support of the Jones Act - Senators Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy of Louisiana. Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the minority whip, represented the House in the meeting.
After the meeting, Sen. Cassidy told a Reuters reporter that the President stands opposed to "any changes to the Jones Act and any waivers," a position reflecting the Jones Act's snug fit with the administration's "Buy American, Hire American" canon.
While no Congressional Democrats participated in this high-level defense of the Jones Act, it must be noted for the record that the law has for many years enjoyed broad bipartisan support in both Congressional chambers. If there is one point federal lawmakers have agreed upon easily across the aisles, it is the value of the Jones Act as a timeless asset to the national economy and to defense and homeland security strategy, all at no cost to American taxpayers.
As national president of American Maritime Officers, and as our union's legislative director in Washington for eight years, I know from direct practical experience that the AMO Voluntary Political Action Fund has helped sustain this Congressional Jones Act support base in significant ways for generations - credit goes straight to the generous deep-sea, Great Lakes and inland waters members who see the fund correctly as an investment in job security.
The stakes for American Maritime Officers in the Jones Act debate are substantial - coastal tanker and dry cargo services, trades between the U.S. mainland and the remote states and territories, the entire Great Lakes bulk fleet and a sizable fleet of harbor and inland tugs.
But the Jones Act is only one issue that triggers disbursements from the fund. The law's hardened critics - in snooty Washington think tanks, in powerful industrial sectors in the U.S. and abroad, and in some foreign governments - are relentless in pursuit of Jones Act waivers, amendments or outright repeal.
At this writing, Congress was gearing up for fiscal 2020 budget deliberations, and one AMO focus here is on the Maritime Security Program - MSP reauthorization beyond its statutory 2025 expiration, appropriate funding and potential expansion of the 60-ship MSP fleet.
The PL-480 food-aid export program is also critical to AMO employment. Our union has been instrumental in keeping this humanitarian program afloat, despite eight years of proposed alternatives that made little or no practical sense, and which raised real risk - "Local and Regional Purchase" as a substitute for the purchase of U.S.-grown grain and soybeans, and "Cash Transfer," which called for direct delivery of U.S. funds to overseas interests in the naive belief that the money would be put to its intended good use. Our union will also work with other interests to restore the U.S.-flag cargo preference share of food-aid exports to 75 percent, the level in place since a maritime-agriculture compromise in 1985, which was cut in a midnight maneuver that reduced it to 50 percent as part of a transportation appropriations bill in 2012.
Cargo preference across the board is also on the screen. A 1904 law sets aside all defense cargoes for U.S.-flagged ships, while a 1954 statute holds 50 percent of all other government-financed cargoes for American bottoms. There is a movement to set 100 percent as the cargo preference floor for all government goods, possibly through an executive order from the President.
Increasing the budget for maintenance of the Maritime Administration's Ready Reserve Force and Military Sealift Command's surge fleet through the National Defense Sealift Fund is another important project. As the principal source of licensed labor for these sealift ships, AMO has had some success in pushing the numbers up, but there is much more to do on this front.
Meanwhile, AMO will promote new initiatives, including legislation from Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) to set a gradual U.S.-flag share of LNG exports.
All of the necessary hearings and meetings in Congressional offices will occur between House and Senate campaign fundraisers, which are in fact every bit as important as the legislative legwork. Because every single job for every single American merchant mariner depends upon what Congress does or does not do, we cannot afford to lose one supporter in either chamber - and we cannot afford to let the non-partisan, non-ideological AMO Voluntary Political Action Fund lapse.
As always, I welcome comments and questions from AMO members. Please feel free to contact me on the headquarters office line at 954-921-2221 (Ext. 1001) or on my cell at 954-881-5651.
AMO VPAF promotes maritime policy, protects membership's jobs
By Paul Doell
National President
As is often the case, our front-page feature this month focuses on recent developments centered on the Jones Act, including President Trump's May 1 decision not to waive the venerable domestic shipping law to allow foreign-flagged ships to bring liquefied natural gas from the U.S. mainland to Puerto Rico.
This encouraging turn followed the President's White House huddle with a delegation of Republican lawmakers already on record in strong support of the Jones Act - Senators Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy of Louisiana. Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the minority whip, represented the House in the meeting.
After the meeting, Sen. Cassidy told a Reuters reporter that the President stands opposed to "any changes to the Jones Act and any waivers," a position reflecting the Jones Act's snug fit with the administration's "Buy American, Hire American" canon.
While no Congressional Democrats participated in this high-level defense of the Jones Act, it must be noted for the record that the law has for many years enjoyed broad bipartisan support in both Congressional chambers. If there is one point federal lawmakers have agreed upon easily across the aisles, it is the value of the Jones Act as a timeless asset to the national economy and to defense and homeland security strategy, all at no cost to American taxpayers.
As national president of American Maritime Officers, and as our union's legislative director in Washington for eight years, I know from direct practical experience that the AMO Voluntary Political Action Fund has helped sustain this Congressional Jones Act support base in significant ways for generations - credit goes straight to the generous deep-sea, Great Lakes and inland waters members who see the fund correctly as an investment in job security.
The stakes for American Maritime Officers in the Jones Act debate are substantial - coastal tanker and dry cargo services, trades between the U.S. mainland and the remote states and territories, the entire Great Lakes bulk fleet and a sizable fleet of harbor and inland tugs.
But the Jones Act is only one issue that triggers disbursements from the fund. The law's hardened critics - in snooty Washington think tanks, in powerful industrial sectors in the U.S. and abroad, and in some foreign governments - are relentless in pursuit of Jones Act waivers, amendments or outright repeal.
At this writing, Congress was gearing up for fiscal 2020 budget deliberations, and one AMO focus here is on the Maritime Security Program - MSP reauthorization beyond its statutory 2025 expiration, appropriate funding and potential expansion of the 60-ship MSP fleet.
The PL-480 food-aid export program is also critical to AMO employment. Our union has been instrumental in keeping this humanitarian program afloat, despite eight years of proposed alternatives that made little or no practical sense, and which raised real risk - "Local and Regional Purchase" as a substitute for the purchase of U.S.-grown grain and soybeans, and "Cash Transfer," which called for direct delivery of U.S. funds to overseas interests in the naive belief that the money would be put to its intended good use. Our union will also work with other interests to restore the U.S.-flag cargo preference share of food-aid exports to 75 percent, the level in place since a maritime-agriculture compromise in 1985, which was cut in a midnight maneuver that reduced it to 50 percent as part of a transportation appropriations bill in 2012.
Cargo preference across the board is also on the screen. A 1904 law sets aside all defense cargoes for U.S.-flagged ships, while a 1954 statute holds 50 percent of all other government-financed cargoes for American bottoms. There is a movement to set 100 percent as the cargo preference floor for all government goods, possibly through an executive order from the President.
Increasing the budget for maintenance of the Maritime Administration's Ready Reserve Force and Military Sealift Command's surge fleet through the National Defense Sealift Fund is another important project. As the principal source of licensed labor for these sealift ships, AMO has had some success in pushing the numbers up, but there is much more to do on this front.
Meanwhile, AMO will promote new initiatives, including legislation from Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) to set a gradual U.S.-flag share of LNG exports.
All of the necessary hearings and meetings in Congressional offices will occur between House and Senate campaign fundraisers, which are in fact every bit as important as the legislative legwork. Because every single job for every single American merchant mariner depends upon what Congress does or does not do, we cannot afford to lose one supporter in either chamber - and we cannot afford to let the non-partisan, non-ideological AMO Voluntary Political Action Fund lapse.
As always, I welcome comments and questions from AMO members. Please feel free to contact me on the headquarters office line at 954-921-2221 (Ext. 1001) or on my cell at 954-881-5651.