Ships
assigned
to
the
George
Washington
Carrier
Strike
group
sail
in
formation
during
a
strike
group
photo
exercise.
(U.S.
Navy
photo
by
Photographer’s
Mate
3rd
Class
Christopher
Stephens)
WASHINGTON
—
A
bipartisan
and
bicameral
duo
of
lawmakers
say
they
plan
to
introduce
legislation
aimed
at
boosting
the
United
States’
civilian
and
defense
maritime
industries
following
the
upcoming
election.
Sen.
Mark
Kelly,
D-Ariz.
and
Rep.
Mike
Waltz,
R-Fla.
plan
to
introduce
their
“Ships
For
America
Act”
following
the
November
election,
which
they
said
today
at
an
event
hosted
by
the
Center
for
Strategic
and
International
Studies
has
garnered
support
among
shipbuilding
executives.
“We
need
to
make
it
more
cost
effective
to
operate
US-flagged
vessels
with
some
cargo
preference,”
said
Kelly.
“We
need
regulatory
reform
and
some
financial
support
to
the
industry,
like
tax
credits,
and
then
building
up
our
shipbuilding
capacity
to
make
sure
that
we’re
going
to
be
able
to
have
more
US-flagged
ships
here
at
home,
and
then
the
workforce
[shortage]
issue.
“This
legislation
addresses
all
[of]
those
areas
extensively,”
he
continued.
Kelly
and
Waltz
have
spent
the
past
year
publicly
floating
a
handful
of
ideas
that,
in
their
view,
would
bolster
the
country’s
maritime
industrial
base,
both
the
commercial
shipping
side
as
well
as
military
shipbuilding.
During
the
event
at
CSIS,
the
duo
said
they
supported
a
maritime
czar
of
sorts
—
a
single
individual
inside
the
executive
branch
whose
authorities
span
across
maritime
issues
related
to
both
the
Defense
and
Transportation
Departments.
Waltz’s
Florida
district
encompasses
the
city
of
Jacksonville,
also
home
to
a
Naval
Air
Station
Jacksonville.
While
Kelly’s
state
of
Arizona
is
less
invested
in
shipbuilding
directly,
the
senator
is
a
graduate
of
the
Merchant
Marine
Academy
and
has
been
vocal
about
urging
lawmakers
to
take
action
to
address
a
national
shortage
in
merchant
mariners.
Earlier
this
year,
Waltz
and
Kelly,
along
with
signatures
from
more
than
a
dozen
other
lawmakers,
sent
a
letter
to
the
White
House
calling
on
the
administration
to
“prioritize
U.S.
maritime
defense.”
“The
group
[of
lawmakers]
called
on
the
president
to
establish
an
interagency
maritime
policy
director,
designate
maritime
infrastructure
as
‘critical
infrastructure,’
invoke
the
Defense
Production
Act
(DPA)
for
shipbuilding,
and
develop
a
whole-of-government
maritime
‘de-risking’
strategy
to
reduce
dependency
on
Chinese
maritime
infrastructure
and
industry,”
according
to
a
statement
from
the
lawmakers’
offices
released
alongside
the
letter.