2007 Ushers in New Level of Activity for MM&P, MIRAID

The first session of the 110th Congress was a year of unprecedented activity and progress on a number of legislative priorities for the Masters, Mates & Pilots and the Maritime Institute for Research and Industrial Development (MIRAID).  From enactment of the first major short sea shipping/marine highway initiative, to full funding of the Maritime Security Program (MSP), to a new focus on maritime security, to advocating for our members’ rights in the context of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) and the Coast Guard’s Administrative Law Judge system, 2007 was one of our most productive years. 

Of course, the progress that we made on a number of legislative issues is due largely to the aggressive leadership by a number of new committee and subcommittee chairmen, including (but certainly not limited to): Congressman James Oberstar (D-Minn.), chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), chairman of the House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee; Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee; Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), chairman of the Senate Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security Subcommittee. Here is an overview of our activities in Congress during the course of 2007.

Short Sea Shipping

MM&P and MIRAID, working with the leadership of the House Transportation Committee, led by Congressmen Jim Oberstar and Elijah Cummings, successfully pushed the development of a short sea shipping marine highway system as a means to protect the environment and reduce America’s energy dependence. As a result of these efforts, the omnibus energy legislation passed by Congress and signed by President Bush on Dec. 19 contains unprecedented incentives for the development of a short sea shipping/marine highway system.  The short sea shipping provisions contained in the new statute would direct the Secretary of Transportation to “establish a short sea transportation program and designate short sea transportation projects to be conducted under the program to mitigate landside congestion.” As part of this program, the statute directs the Secretary to “designate short sea transportation routes as extensions of surface transportation systems to focus public and private efforts to use the waterways to relieve landside congestion along coastal corridors.” 

Under this initiative, a project may be designated as a “short sea transportation project if the Secretary determines that the project may offer a waterborne alternative to landside transportation services using documented vessels and provide transportation services for passengers or freight (or both) that may reduce congestion on landside infrastructure using documented vessels.” In addition, the Secretary is authorized to “encourage State departments of transportation to develop strategies, where appropriate, to incorporate short sea transportation, ferries, and other marine transportation solutions for regional and interstate transport of freight and passengers in their transportation planning [and] to enter into memorandums of understanding with the heads of other Federal entities to transport federally owned or generated cargo using a short sea transportation project… when practical or available.”

Finally and most significantly, the statute gives American companies the opportunity to use the money they had deposited into a Capital Construction Fund (CCF) to build and rebuild vessels in the United States for short sea shipping operations. Prior to enactment of this bill, CCF money could only be used to build vessels for the foreign trades, not the domestic trades. The change further demonstrates the federal government’s commitment to short sea shipping and, more importantly, gives American shipping companies that have Capital Construction Funds, such as Horizon Lines, the opportunity to use these funds to build vessels for short sea shipping projects. It continues to be our position that only vessels owned, built and operated in the United States in full compliance with the Jones Act should be eligible to operate in short sea shipping projects.

More work needs to be done in Congress to make development of a short sea shipping industry a reality. Specifically, it is essential that Congress act as soon as possible in 2008 to exempt short sea shipping operations from the Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT).  Under the current system, cargo moving by water between American ports is taxed under the HMT at each port. In contrast, cargo moving by rail or truck in domestic commerce is taxed once. This system creates a significant economic disincentive for cargo shippers to use commercial vessels. MM&P and MIRAID will continue to work closely with Congressman Elijah Cummings in support of his legislation (HR 1499) to rectify this situation and place waterborne cargo on the same tax footing as cargo moving by rail and truck.

Maritime Security Program Funding

The omnibus legislation to fund federal programs in fiscal year 2008 that was passed by Congress and signed by the President immediately prior to the Congressional Christmas recess contains full funding for the Maritime Security Program (MSP). As authorized by Congress, the program requires $156 million to fully support the 60-ship MSP fleet in fiscal year 2008. This is the amount contained in the funding bill and ensures that each vessel participating in the Maritime Security Program will be eligible to receive the $2.6 million that is necessary to help offset the cost of doing business under the U.S.-flag resulting from U.S.-government imposed rules, regulations and tax obligations.

The effort to secure full funding for the Maritime Security Program for fiscal year 2008 was spearheaded by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Congressman John Olver (D-Mass.), chairpersons of the respective appropriations subcommittees with jurisdiction over the Maritime Administration and the Maritime Security Program. Working with us and others in our industry, they made sure their colleagues knew that the U.S.-flag, U.S.-crewed maritime security fleet has played a critical role in support of America’s military and defense-related operations throughout the world, including in Operation Iraqi Freedom and the War on Terror. “It has become increasingly apparent that fully funding and implementing the Maritime Security Program is one of the best ways our nation has to truly support our troops overseas,” said MM&P International President Tim Brown in response to the action by Congress. “Without this program, and without the U.S.-flag vessels and their U.S.-citizen crews, American troops would be totally dependent on foreign-flag vessels and foreign crews to bring them the supplies, equipment and material they need, putting American troops at risk and threatening their ability to protect and advance America’s interests.”

When Congress returns in early 2008, the effort to secure full funding for the Maritime Security Program for fiscal year 2009 will begin. As in the past, MM&P and MIRAID will work closely with others in our industry and with the supporters of the MSP in Congress to make sure that this critically important commercial sealift program receives the funds necessary to guarantee operation of the maritime security fleet.

Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)

Before last year, many of the concerns voiced by MM&P and the rest of maritime labor regarding implementation of the TWIC program had fallen largely on deaf ears. But when Congressman Elijah Cummings took over the House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, the situation changed. Cummings made clear from the beginning of the 110th Congress that he and Ranking Member Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio) and their colleagues on the subcommittee were all concerned about the impact of the TWIC program on recruitment and retention of mariners, as well as on the efficient flow of commerce.

MM&P, the International Longshoremen’s Association, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department and the other seafaring unions have consistently advocated that the TWIC program be amended to preempt all other state, local and private identification card requirements, and to make clear that once an individual has been issued a TWIC, no other maritime-related access control requirements apply. If instead the program is allowed to go forward as it is now structured, state, local and private entities will be able to demand that America’s maritime workforce obtain multiple maritime port and vessel access credentials and force our nation’s U.S.-citizen maritime workforce to file numerous applications, undergo repetitive, time-consuming background checks, and pay all the fees associated with possibly dozens of identification credentials. If this situation is not corrected, the system as a whole will become a burdensome and costly administrative impediment to the efficient flow of commerce.

When Congress returns in 2008, it is expected that one of the first items to be considered will be the so-called Coast Guard Authorizations bill. This legislation can serve as a vehicle for an amendment to mandate that the federal TWIC program preempts all others. We will be working closely with our allies in Congress and our colleagues in the maritime industry to achieve this goal.

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There are, of course, a number of other legislative issues that we will continue to pursue when Congress returns. We are, for example, supporting a proposal to have Congress transfer the Coast Guard’s Administrative Law Judge system to the National Transportation Safety Board. The ALJ system, as it is now organized, does not present the appearance of fairness and impartiality. We are working to have legislation to require this transfer considered by the House of Representatives and the Senate in 2008.

We are also continuing our fight to enact the so-called Belated Thank-You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007. Significantly, the House of Representatives passed its version of this legislation (HR 23) in July 2007 and the Senate bill, S 961, has attracted 57 cosponsors. We will continue to work with Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), sponsor of the Senate legislation, to ensure this bill is considered in 2008.

C. James Patti is president of MIRAID, the Washington, D.C.-based organization that represents U.S.-flag shipping companies engaged in all aspects of our nation's foreign and domestic shipping trades and which have collective bargaining relationships with the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots (MM&P). MM&P International President Timothy Brown is chairman of MIRAID's Executive Committee.