Let's take stock of our industry's political position before the 2nd Session of the 106th Congress begins Jan. 24:
A Senate bill to amend the Jones Act by allowing foreign-built bulk carriers and tankers to operate directly between or among U.S. ports on the ocean and Gulf coasts and the Great Lakes is expected to lapse with little support and virtually no official attention.
A Senate bill to open domestic deep-sea cruise routes to foreign-built, flagged, and crewed ships is not expected to find room on a legislative calendar cut short by this year's Congressional election cycle. While supporters have promised to revise the bill in ways they believe will make it more appealing, continued media coverage of fires, breakdowns, sexual assaults and other crimes, and inadequate medical care aboard foreign-flag cruise ships make the legislation an even harder sell.
A House bill to permit foreign-flag cruises in U.S. waters is stuck in the hopper, and no one--not even its sponsor--appears eager to jar it free.
The President, Senate leaders of both parties, and a broad bipartisan House majority remain firmly on the record in support of the Jones Act.
The Maritime Administration in the Department of Transportation now counts ocean-going tugs and barges, as well as self-propelled vessels, in its official tally of the Jones Act merchant fleet.
The Jones Act Reform Coalition, which failed to earn any significant support for Jones Act repeal despite more than four year of trying, is apparently dormant.
The controversial Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development international shipbuilding subsidy accord is not likely to be ratified because of strong Congressional opposition. The flawed OECD agreement would subject Jones Act construction projects to approval by foreign governments.
There is little chance that the Jones Act, the Maritime Security Program, the U.S.-flag cargo preference laws, or the law giving U.S.-flag tankers exclusive access to Alaskan North Slope crude oil exports will end up on the agenda in the forthcoming maritime service trade negotiations among the U.S. and 135 other countries under the supervision of the World Trade Organization, despite pressure from Japan, the European Union, and others.
Funding for sealift ship construction--the ongoing LMSR program--is intact.
Fiscal year 2000 funding is in place for MSP, the merchant ship construction loan and mortgage guarantee program authorized in Title XI of the 1936 Merchant Marine Act, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y., and state-operated maritime academies in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, California, and Michigan.
Plans are underway to replace the aging U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Mackinaw, which helps the U.S.-flag Great Lakes bulk fleet remain in late-season service, and funding has been secured for the dredging of Vidal Shoals on Lake Superior.
Lawmakers are increasingly aware of the threat posed to the U.S. lakes fleet by unfairly priced foreign steel "dumped" in U.S. markets.
Long-term leasing of U.S. Navy support ships by the private sector has at last been authorized.
House and Senate members are promoting tax incentives to spur U.S. merchant fleet construction in U.S. shipyards and to encourage U.S.-flag services in cruise markets.
The result is a conspicuous climate of confidence, especially in domestic markets--recent evidence includes the Totem Ocean Trailer Express roll-on/roll-off new construction order and the U.S. cruise fleet expansion plans well underway at American Classic Voyages and a new company called SeaAmerica.
However, the situation can change at the drop of a ballot lever in November, when voters elect a President, all 435 members of the House and Senate, and one-third of the Senate.
One top Presidential candidate actively opposes the Jones Act and its passenger vessel equivalent, and another once advocated Jones Act repeal. Thus, cabotage critics could find a friend in the Oval Office next year, leaving Congress as the only line of defense against foreign-flag seizure of coastal cargo and cruise routes.
But at least 26 House Republicans and Democrats will not seek re-election in 2000 because they are retiring or running for other offices, and many more face difficult, competitive campaigns. In the Senate, three Democrats and one Republican will retire at the close of the 106th Congress.
Under the circumstances, and given the possibilities and the stakes, AMO--already the most politically visible and effective U.S. merchant marine officers' union--will have to be more active than ever in 2000, not only to help re-elect the American merchant fleet's known supporters in Congress, but to educate newcomers on maritime policy issues and to help the fleet's friends retire their campaign debts once the elections are over.
And that's where the AMO Voluntary Political Action Fund comes in.
While a final figure was not available Jan. 1, it appeared that the 1999 AMO VPAF membership participation rate was consistent with the traditionally high level that caused both The 'Wall Street Journal' and 'Congressional Quarterly' to identify the AMO Voluntary Political Action Fund as one of the most influential resources of its kind. Now, having set the standard, we--each of us--must maintain it by keeping the AMO Voluntary Political Action Fund in its historically strong state in the interest of long-term job and benefit security.
Contributions from the AMO Voluntary Political Action Fund are remembered by lawmakers and their aides, and that makes it easier for our Washington staff to schedule meetings and make our case where it counts. As the late AMO President Ray McKay put it in 1992: "Access is everything in the capital, and doors open when the VPAF checkbook does."
I appreciate your continued strong support of the AMO Voluntary Political Action Fund. I, for one, intend to keep on contributing, and I urge all of you to do the same.
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