| Print | Close Window | AMO Currents - Posted: January 13, 2017 |
Nominee for U.S. secretary of transportation voices support for Jones Act, U.S. merchant marine
Responding to Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), who described the Jones Act as "a vitally important part of our maritime industry," Chao voiced her support for enforcement of the Jones Act as "the law of the land."
Referring to the recent announcement by Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx that Sea Year aboard commercial vessels for U.S. Merchant Marine Academy midshipmen would be phased back in on a company-by-company basis under certain conditions, Senator Wicker, a member of the Board of Visitors at the USMMA, said: "On January 6, I was pleased to learn that Secretary Foxx has lifted the suspension of the Sea Year on commercial vessels for students, for midshipmen, at the Merchant Marine Academy. I want to encourage you to continue efforts to ensure the integrity of this critical training program for our future merchant marine mariners."
Senator Wicker continued: "The Merchant Marine Academy is operating also under a warning with regard to accreditation ... my question to you is will you make it a priority, madam secretary, to ensure that the academy will stay on track to address the cited deficiencies prior to the April 2018 deadline, and will you agree with me that the alumni of this fine institution have a lot of knowledge and wisdom that they can impart to us as government policy makers in this regard?"
Chao - who has previously served in several leadership positions in the federal government, including U.S. secretary of labor, chair of the Federal Maritime Commission, and deputy administrator at the Maritime Administration - responded: "I have been to Kings Point when I was deputy maritime administrator. I know the facility very well. This is a huge issue, and I can assure you that, if confirmed, this will be the first issue that I take up at MARAD."
Later in the hearing, Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) said: "Following up on Senator Wicker's question regarding the Jones Act, it is a bipartisan consensus, as you know - it's the foundation of the domestic U.S.-flag maritime industry, and it is also essential to our national security. U.S.-flag vessels and the American merchant marine support our warfighters, transporting medical supplies, food and other cargo to troops in combat. The military's confidence in a fleet of U.S.-flag ships to move cargo to troops deployed in places like Iraq and Afghanistan allows the Navy to save limited cargo space for weapons, fuel and other essential goods, and that's why every secretary of defense, every secretary of the Navy for generations, has supported the Jones Act."
He asked: "Can you talk about the importance of the Jones Act from both a national security stand point and from an economic security stand point?"
Chao replied: "The Jones Act is a very important program that secures national security. We have seen two wars now in the last 25 years ... If we did not have the merchant marine assets to assist the gray hulls on these campaigns, military naval campaigns, our country would not have been able to supply our troops, bring the necessary equipment - all of that is not done on the gray bottoms, gray-hull bottoms, but rather merchant marine bottoms."
She continued: "This is an area that I'm very familiar with - I have great interest in, as well - and the national security of the merchant marine fleet of this country is part of the way that we are able to be effective overseas and protect this country. So I am a great proponent of the U.S.-flag merchant marine fleet."
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