U S Senators Young, Kelly statement on commerce subcommittee Shipbuilding Revitalization Hearing

Tuesday, U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), lead sponsors of the SHIPS for America Act, released the following statement after the Senate Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries held a hearing on the importance of revitalizing America shipbuilding: 

“Today’s hearing made clear that there is growing, bipartisan momentum to rebuild American shipbuilding, which will be good for our economy and national security. This hearing is an important step in getting the SHIPS for America Act passed to revitalize our maritime and shipbuilding industries.  

“We'll keep working in Congress and with maritime leaders to pass our bill that will create good-paying jobs and counter China’s dominance over the oceans.” 

The hearing – titled “Sea Change: Reviving Commercial Shipbuilding” – examined how to modernize and accelerate U.S. commercial shipbuilding while strengthening America’s broader maritime industrial base. The hearing also focused on issues likely to be addressed in the Trump Administration’s upcoming Maritime Action Plan, expected to be released in early November.

Senators Young and Kelly introduced the bipartisan, bicameral legislation to revitalize the United States shipbuilding and commercial maritime industries earlier this year.

The SHIPS for America Act would: 

• Coordinate U.S. maritime policy by establishing the position of Maritime Security Advisor within the White House, who would lead an interagency Maritime Security Board tasked with making whole-of-government strategic decisions for how to implement a National Maritime Strategy. 
• Establish a Maritime Security Trust Fund that would reinvest duties and fees paid by the maritime industry into maritime security programs and infrastructure supporting maritime commerce to provide long-lasting and stable funding.   
• Establish a national goal of expanding the U.S.-flagged international fleet by 250 ships in 10 years by creating the Strategic Commercial Fleet, which would facilitate the development of a fleet of commercially operated, U.S.-flagged, American-crewed, and domestically built merchant vessels that can operate competitively in international commerce. 
• Enhance the competitiveness of U.S.-flagged vessels in international commerce by cutting through red tape, modifying duties to make cargo on U.S.-flagged vessels more competitive, requiring that government-funded cargo move aboard U.S.-flagged vessels, and requiring a portion of commercial goods imported from China to move aboard U.S.-flagged vessels starting in 2030.  
• Expand the U.S. shipyard industrial base, for both military and commercial oceangoing vessels, by establishing a 25 percent investment tax credit for shipyard investments, transforming the Title XI Federal Ship Financing Program into a revolving fund, and establishing a Shipbuilding Financial Incentives program to support innovative approaches to domestic ship building and ship repair.
• Accelerate U.S. leadership in next-generation ship design, manufacturing processes, and ship energy systems by establishing the U.S. Center for Maritime Innovation.
• Create regional hubs for maritime innovation across the country by establishing a Maritime Prosperity Zone program to unlock private capital and spur investment in industrial capacity and job creation.   
• Make historic investments in the maritime workforce, allowing mariners to retain their credentials, investing in long-overdue infrastructure needs for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and supporting State Maritime Academies and Centers for Excellence for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education. The bill also makes long-overdue changes to streamline and modernize the U.S. Coast Guard’s Merchant Mariner Credentialing system.   

See a section by section of the bill here. See text of the bill here.