Captains' Union Blasts McCain’s Keystone Amendment
? S.1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Act, has been described as a “jobs bill” by the pipeline’s proponents since Keystone XL was first proposed, but according to the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots, a new amendment introduced by Arizona Sen. John McCain would turn S.1 into a “’job killer’ of epic and irreversible proportions.” The Sea Captains’ Union claims the amendment would gut a significant part of the Jones Act, a set of laws dating back to the 1920s that has helped build and maintain a domestic shipbuilding
W&O Opposes McCain Amendment
W&O announced its opposition to the McCain Amendment (amendment #2) to S.1, which it said would cripple the U.S. shipbuilding industry by striking the U.S. build requirement provisions of the Jones Act. “The amendment Senator John McCain has put forth would devastate W&O’s business and others operating in the maritime industry. The ripple effect of this legislation would also impact companies and individuals outside our industry, significantly affecting the 480,000 jobs tied to maritime operations,” said Michael Hume, president and CEO of W&O. “We employ
OMSA Opposes McCain Amendment
The Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) issued a statement regarding Senator John McCain’s proposal allowing foreign-built vessels to take over marine transportation in the United States, stating the amendment would gut U.S. shipbuilding while outsourcing jobs and security. “Senator McCain has proposed an amendment to eliminate a cornerstone of U.S. maritime policy that dates back to the founding of our nation. The reservation of domestic transportation to U.S.-built vessels ensures the existence and viability of America’s shipbuilding industrial base. America’s
Lakes Defend US Build Requirement of Jones Act
;s Fourth Sea Coast. The Task Force said it sees no benefit to allowing foreign-built vessels to carry cargo between U.S. ports, but warns that nearly 60,000 jobs in the Great Lakes states will be sacrificed for no good reason if the amendment to the Keystone pipeline bill offered by Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) is accepted. “There is no reason to even consider this amendment,” said John D. Baker, President of GLMTF and President Emeritus of the ILA’s Great Lakes District Council “The vessels built in Great Lakes shipyards are so efficient that year in, year
Navy Cuts One Littoral Combat Ship in 2015
warships after 32 ships, and to study ways to better protect the ships and give them more firepower. A high-level Navy task force is to deliver recommendations on the issue by July 31, in time to inform the Navy's fiscal 2016 budget deliberations, Stackley told the committee. Senator John McCain, a senior Republican on the committee who has urged the Navy to halt the LCS program after 24 ships, renewed his criticism of the program at the hearing on Thursday. Stackley acknowledged the program encountered sharp cost increases shortly after it began in 2005 but said that was largely
