[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 119 (Wednesday, July 12, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H3218-H3219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      SUPPORTING DOMESTIC SHIPBUILDING AND OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

  (Mr. AUCHINCLOSS asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. AUCHINCLOSS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to a provision in 
the Coast Guard reauthorization that would decimate the offshore wind 
industry and prevent the United States from reaching President Biden's 
clean energy goals.
  If passed, all offshore wind installation vessels will be required to 
be U.S.-flagged and crewed, but there aren't any existing vessels that 
meet these requirements. We must support our domestic shipbuilding and 
mariner capacity, but this provision would constrict offshore wind 
construction in the short term and would sacrifice union jobs and 
energy independence in the long term.
  We will not reach the President's goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore 
wind by 2030 if this provision passes, and halting offshore wind 
production would jeopardize the creation of up to 83,000 domestic jobs 
by 2030.
  In committee, I offered a solution that would ensure offshore wind 
can thrive in the short term and create a pathway to more American 
offshore wind jobs. A prevailing wage requirement ensures that American 
mariners are not being passed up for jobs that we have the ships and 
workforce to perform ourselves.

[[Page H3219]]

  I support the intent of the crewing requirement language and am eager 
to support the development of our domestic shipbuilding and crewing 
capacity, but I cannot support the Coast Guard reauthorization with 
this language included.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Larsen for his commitment to 
working to resolve this issue, but I urge my colleagues to oppose this 
language in any legislative vehicle.

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