[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 93 (Tuesday, July 18, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1263]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


           AMERICAN SHIPBUILDERS CRUISE INTO A NEW MILLENNIUM

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. NEIL ABERCROMBIE

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 17, 2000

  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker. On June 30, 2000, Litton Ingalls 
Shipbuilding cut steel on the first cruise ship to be built in the 
United States in nearly 45 years. This historic event marks another 
milestone in the U.S.-flag Cruise Ship Pilot Project, enacted as part 
of the MARITECH program in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act 
of 1998, and represents America's re-entry into the burgeoning cruise 
travel market.
  People have been saying for years that America cannot build ships 
competitively on the world market. The construction of the two cruise 
ships for American Classic Voyages Co. at Litton Ingalls Shipbuilding 
demonstrates that America can build ships competitively on the world 
market. At a fixed price of $440 million a piece, the ships are only 
slightly above the price being charged for cruise ship construction in 
European yards, where nearly all new cruise ships are built. The price 
of the America ships would be even more competitive in the world market 
if the worldwide ship construction subsidies were eliminated.
  The cruise industry is one of the fastest growing segments of the 
travel and leisure industry, growing at a pace of about nine percent 
annually. Loopholes in U.S. laws and regulations have essentially ceded 
this burgeoning vacation business to companies operating cruise ships 
under flags-of-convenience. With the exception of the single U.S.-flag 
oceangoing cruise ship operating in my State of Hawaii, there are no 
U.S.-flag oceangoing passenger liners. The U.S.-flag Cruise Ship Pilot 
Project, enacted to help jumpstart the U.S.-flag cruise industry, will 
change that and will give Americans a foothold in a cruise industry now 
dominated by foreign cruise lines.
  The revitalization of the American cruise business is vital to our 
economic and national security. The Department of Defense has stated 
that the Pilot Project alone could save it ``tens to hundreds of 
millions of dollars'' in shipyard overhead costs. It also helps to 
sustain the shipbuilding industrial base of the U.S., which is vital to 
national security. The thousands of jobs created will help maintain the 
manpower necessary for building and crewing ships in times of national 
emergencies. The Department of Defense has also expressed an interest 
in utilizing the hull designs for cruise ships for command and control 
vessels in the future.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see a resurgence of interest in the 
U.S.-flag cruise business. At least three companies have publicly 
expressed a desire to build U.S.-flag cruise ships in a U.S. shipyard 
for the American cruise market. Future construction in this area will 
improve the worldwide competitiveness of U.S. shipyards, and Litton 
Ingalls Shipbuilding is leading the way for America's re-entry into 
this growing marketplace. These efforts are important to the future of 
the U.S. shipbuilding industry, a U.S.-flag maritime industry, and our 
national security.
  I am looking forward to the day when American Classic begins 
operating these new ships in Hawaii, bringing with it thousands of 
seagoing and shoreside jobs. Projects such as this will help renew 
America's leadership in commercial ship construction and in the cruise 
industry. I hope that Congress will do all it can to help revitalize 
this vital American industry.