Full Text of HR0480 101st General Assembly
HR0480 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are supportive of federal statutes that ensure
| 4 | | that vessels engaged in the coastwise and inland trades are | 5 | | built and crewed by
American workers; the Jones Act, the
| 6 | | Maritime Security Program, the Passenger Vessel Services Act, | 7 | | and U.S. cargo
preference laws are critical in maintaining a | 8 | | viable American Merchant Marine; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Without the Jones Act, the American Merchant | 10 | | Marine and its well-paying jobs would
be destroyed, and the | 11 | | domestic waterborne commerce of the U.S. would be controlled
by | 12 | | foreign interests; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The Maritime Security Program ensures that 60 | 14 | | American vessels are engaged in the foreign commerce of the | 15 | | U.S.; the program requires that the
vessels, crews, and | 16 | | participating companies' intermodal assets are immediately
| 17 | | available to the Department of Defense in times of crisis; | 18 | | military experts have said it
would literally cost tens of | 19 | | billions of dollars to replicate the program's assets, which
| 20 | | currently are delivered for a few hundred million dollars per | 21 | | year; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, The Passenger Vessel Services Act provides the |
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| 1 | | same requirement
for passenger vessels, for example, ferry | 2 | | boats, that the Jones Act stipulates for
cargo vessels; like | 3 | | the Jones Act, it is considered vital to homeland security; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, A key element of U.S. cargo preference laws is the | 5 | | Food for Peace
Program, whose purpose is to promote the food | 6 | | security of developing
countries; food aid is grown by American | 7 | | farmers, processed by American workers,
and transported on | 8 | | board U.S. vessels to countries in need; since the program's
| 9 | | inception in 1954, more than three billion people in 150 | 10 | | countries have benefited directly
from U.S. food aid that was | 11 | | delivered by the U.S. Merchant Marine; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, The development and expansion of America's
marine | 13 | | highway system is an ongoing, joint government-private | 14 | | industry effort; the
resultant increase in the coastwise | 15 | | waterborne transportation of cargo will help to
significantly | 16 | | alleviate congestion on our nation's highways and rails, | 17 | | achieve a greater
measure of energy efficiency in the | 18 | | transportation of domestic cargo, and create jobs
for American | 19 | | workers in the maritime industry and its related service and | 20 | | supply
industries; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, The so-called "flag of convenience" system
in | 22 | | which avaricious shipowners around the world register their | 23 | | vessels in phony flag
states to evade labor, safety, |
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| 1 | | environmental, and tax laws deserves condemnation; this system | 2 | | has
resulted in the global exploitation of seagoing maritime | 3 | | labor and the reduction of
international commercial cargo | 4 | | carried by U.S. vessels to less than 2 percent; therefore, be | 5 | | it | 6 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 7 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 8 | | we support the U.S. Merchant Marine as America's fourth arm of | 9 | | defense and recognize that the American maritime industry is | 10 | | critical for U.S. national, economic, and homeland security and | 11 | | that our mariners and our maritime industry deserve our full | 12 | | support.
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