[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 72 (Friday, May 18, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E855]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2013

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                               speech of

                        HON. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 17, 2012

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4310) to 
     authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2013 for military 
     activities of the Department of Defense, to prescribe 
     military personnel strengths for fiscal year 2013, and for 
     other purposes:

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chair, I offer this bi-partisan amendment with 
Congressman Jeff Landry to increase transparency surrounding the 
issuance of waivers allowing foreign vessels to carry cargo between 
points in the United States. I thank Congressman Landry for his 
leadership on this issue.
  A report recently released by PriceWaterhouseCoopers found that in 
2006, the most recent year for which data were available, the Jones Act 
fleet supported nearly 74,000 direct jobs in the U.S. shipbuilding and 
domestic waterborne transportation industries.
  These jobs, in turn, supported more than $36 billion in economic 
output in 2009 and provided $6.5 billion in labor compensation.
  Among other provisions, the Jones Act requires that a vessel cannot 
carry cargo between two U.S. points unless the vessel has been built in 
the United States, and is owned and crewed by Americans.
  The Jones Act can be waived in the interest of national defense. 
However, the Maritime Administration (MARAD) must first assess whether 
Jones Act-qualified vessels are available to carry the cargo under 
consideration.
  Following the release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 
2011, the Department of Homeland Security waived the Jones Act dozens 
of times despite the availability of Jones Act-qualified vessels.
  According to documents provided by the Department of Transportation, 
waivers were issued at the request of firms such as Shell Oil Company, 
ConocoPhillips Company, and BP Products North America.
  As a result, the American oil released from the American Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve was then carried by vessels flagged in such countries 
as Liberia, the Marshall Islands, Singapore, the Bahamas, and Panama.
  The amendment I offer with Congressman Landry is a simple one. Let me 
be clear: though I think waivers should be issued only in the rarest of 
circumstances, this amendment does not prohibit the issuance of any 
waivers.
  Instead, it would require the Maritime Administration (MARAD) to 
include in its assessments of the availability of Jones Act-compliant 
vessels information on the actions that could be taken to enable Jones 
Act-qualified vessels to carry the cargo for which a waiver is sought.
  MARAD would also be required to publish its assessments on its 
website and provide notification to Congress when a waiver is requested 
or issued.
  Adoption of these provisions will significantly enhance the 
transparency surrounding the issuance of Jones Act waivers so that we 
can assess whether every possible opportunity to utilize Jones Act-
compliant vessels in the coastwise trade has been utilized.
  I urge Members on both sides of the aisle to support our bi-partisan 
amendment to ensure that every available step is taken to utilize 
American mariners to carry American cargoes on American ships between 
American ports.

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