[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 18, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H3401]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      ENSURING U.S. MARITIME JOBS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Larsen) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to express my 
continued support of American maritime jobs through enforcement of the 
Jones Act.
  The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, more commonly known as the Jones 
Act, was named for its primary sponsor at the time, Senator Wesley 
Jones, of my home State, Washington State.
  The Jones Act exists for good reason. It sustains and protects a 
strong domestic maritime and shipbuilding industry. It creates jobs for 
U.S. mariners, many of whom are veterans. It underpins U.S. maritime 
defense policy and is essential to preserving national security 
interests at home and abroad. The Jones Act requires the use of 
American-owned and -operated vessels to move all waterborne cargo 
between points in the U.S.
  I have long maintained that the Jones Act ensures that domestic 
industries can remain vibrant contributors in the global shipping 
industry.
  At its core, the Jones Act is a critical labor standard that helps 
put U.S. seafarers to work and maintains important workplace rights. In 
Washington State, approximately 60 percent of the State's ferries 
employees working on vessels are Jones Act compliant.
  In 2012, I called on the then-administration to protect American jobs 
by adhering to the Jones Act in response to rising gas prices and the 
proposed release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
  Last year, I spoke up to support the Jones Act fleet in its heroic 
response to the natural disaster that hit Puerto Rico and the U.S. 
Virgin Islands.
  As a member of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation 
Subcommittee, I am committed to working with my colleagues to uphold 
the longstanding tenets of the Jones Act to safeguard the important 
role maritime industries play in our economy.
  The Jones Act exists for good reason. We should use it to good 
effect.

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