[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 111 (Friday, August 7, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1589]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              DOMESTIC KAOLIN COMPETITIVENESS ACT OF 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. CHARLIE NORWOOD

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 6, 1998

  Mr. NORWOOD. Mr. Speaker, today it is my pleasure to introduce the 
``Domestic Kaolin Competitiveness Act of 1998.'' This legislation will 
revise the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (The Jones Act) to ensure that 
laws meant to protect U.S. shipbuilding jobs will not hurt U.S. kaolin 
jobs.
  Currently, the Jones Act requires all shipping between U.S. ports to 
be conducted exclusively by American built, owned, and crewed vessels. 
However, it does not apply to import/export shipments.
  My legislation specifically targets the domestic shipping of kaolin, 
a fine clay found primarily in middle Georgia. Kaolin is used in a 
variety of industrial applications, such as producing the glossy finish 
on magazines, as well as the manufacture of porcelain products.
  Currently, there are no American barges available that are suitable 
for shipping kaolin. Accordingly, Georgia clay producers are forced to 
use more expensive truck and rail transportation to supply American 
manufacturing customers, giving Brazilian kaolin producers a price edge 
in delivered costs. Mr. Speaker, when it is less expensive to transport 
kaolin from Brazil to Maine than it is from Georgia to Maine, something 
is not right.
  This legislation would allow kaolin producers to request a waiver of 
the Jones Act, but only if there are no available American barges to 
transport the clay. In other words, if there are American barges 
available, clay producers would still be required to use them in order 
to ship by water, regardless of the price.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a prime example of allowing federal regulations 
to strangle domestic industries, while granting de factor waivers to 
foreign competitors. It is also a case in point of the need for 
Congress to review past legislation to determine if it is still 
accomplishing the goals it was originally intended to accomplish.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure 
that the kaolin industry is put on equal footing and can compete fairly 
with its foreign competitors.

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