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| By MICHAEL R. McKAY | ||||
As the ranking Republican on the House Rules Committee, which determines how legislation will be considered and sets the guidelines for debate, Rep. Quillen was an early ally of U.S.-flagged vessel operators, seagoing unions, shipbuilders and shipyard labor in that important and often difficult struggle. He held a key leadership position within a strong bipartisan House majority that staked a very public position in support of the Jones Act as essential to both the U.S. economy and defense strategy, thereby discouraging the coalition and others hoping to tamper with the domestic shipping law. But the Congressman's passing also reminded me that the fight to keep the Jones Act as written and enforced for all these years never really ends. Right now, Rep. Ed Case, a freshman Democrat from Hawaii, is seeking to compromise the Jones Act with three billsone would exempt Hawaii from the law, another would exempt Hawaii, Alaska, Guam and Puerto Rico, and a third would allow foreign-flagged, manned and built ships to carry livestock and lumber between Hawaii and the United States mainland. American Maritime Officers and three other unions are on record against the Congressman's initiatives (See Page 3). In addition, statements made during a ship finance conference in New York last month hinted at a new legislative assault on the Jones Act's build-American mandatewhich, if successful, would encourage attacks on the law's other core requirements, attacks that could result in piecemeal Jones Act repeal. While few lawmakers, Congressional staffers and private sector analysts see much progress for the Case bills, the fact is that Congressional sentiment can shift in a short time. If enough known Jones Act supporters are defeated in the 2004 Congressional elections, measures like the three discussed hereand bills that are even wider in scopecould get by with little or no difficulty. In any new Jones Act round on Capitol Hill, AMO and other U.S.-flag concerns would make the caseagainfor the Jones Act in the interest of national security. We would note once more that much of the skilled licensed and unlicensed seafaring manpower needed to man government-owned or chartered strategic sealift ships would be drawn from the Jones Act fleet, and that many Jones Act vessels are suited for wartime service overseas. To illustrate that point, we would cite the Northern Lights example. The Northern Lights is a roll-on/roll-off trailership owned by Totem Ocean Trailer Express and operated under AMO contract by Interocean Ugland Management. Built and registered in the U.S., the ship usually operates exclusively in Jones Act service between Washington State and Alaska. However, the ship has been running on Military Sealift Command charter for some six months, carrying defense cargoes from U.S. ports to Kuwait and back again. The ever-emerging threat of Jones Act confrontation is one good reason for AMO members in every trade to continue their traditionally strong support of the AMO Voluntary Political Action Fund. The fund allows our union to help elect and re-elect House members and Senators who support not only the Jones Act, but all laws and programs intended to boost the American merchant fleet and sustain the jobs the fleet accounts for at sea and ashore. The support our industry already has in both chambers exists in significant part because of the AMO VPAF, which also eases our union's access to lawmakers and Congressional staffers when matters important to us arise. I ask every AMO member in every domestic and foreign trade to contribute what he or she can each year to the AMO Voluntary Political Action Fund so that we can continue to have a voice to raise. |
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