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Senate Subcommittee Hearing Pushes ‘Ships for America’ Strategy to Rebuild U.S. Commercial Shipbuilding
Summary
At a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing, witnesses and senators urged passage of the Ships for America Act, stronger procurement practices, targeted financing and workforce investments to restore U.S. commercial shipbuilding capacity and reduce reliance on foreign yards, especially China.
A Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation subcommittee on Maritime and Fisheries heard bipartisan calls on the need for a national maritime strategy and new policy tools to revive U.S. commercial shipbuilding.
"State of America's commercial shipbuilding industry is not just a economic concern. It is a national security imperative that we have let slide for way too long," said Senator Dan Sullivan, the subcommittee chairman, as he opened the hearing and warned that "the United States builds less than 1% of the world's commercial ships." He said White House leadership, appropriated dollars and bipartisan legislation are essential to restore capacity.
Witnesses urged a package of measures centered on the Ships for America Act and the administration's maritime action plan. "The Jones Act is foundational to our maritime, industrial, and national security," Matthew Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders Council of America, told the panel. Paxton said the Ships for…
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