$2,000,000,000,000.00 for infrastructure but not a penny for more merchant ships!
“An infrastructure package with a robust maritime component" MY ASS! A robust maritime component would include more deepsea ships in the fleet and should be a doubling of the funding for the MSP. Ships are also infrastructure that creates jobs for American mariners as well as stregthens our national defence!
AND WHY DON’T WE HAVE A NEW MARITIME ADMINISTRATOR YET? Just like Barack Obama, Biden appears to not know what the US flagged merchant marine even is and the critical role it plays for the nation!
It’s all a game. Every politician, every party. Not a huge fan of DJT, but he did get traction and progress on a new lock at the Soo that had languished in the budget of the government for decades.
Most were hopeful that the stimulus program (hack, cough) in '09 would push through a new lock as it was/is needed and how much more “shovel ready” is building a big spendy piece of waterway…nope. It is happening now, though. Too bad we aren’t seeing a share of that new money for deep sea, coastwise, and Lake vessels, though.
All a game. (Insert bad 4 letter word) sad, just sad.
A larger number of American ships, even if they are foreign built, are needed to support an adequate US commercial ship equipment and repair industrial base. Lots of jobs there too. Not to mention export sales.
Biden’s version of the Green New Deal (it should be called the Green New Fraud) does not include building or buying US flag wind installation vessels either. Apparently those American jobs are not anymore important than all the pipeline and oil patch jobs Biden has killed.
The only thing Biden (I mean the people pulling his strings) is interested in is creating more democratic voters. As usual they are buying votes with free stuff that us worker bees have to pay for.
Drumpft likewise didn’t do FUCK ALL nor did ex President Cheney and please don’t delude yourself that because I am a lifetime Democrat that I won’t call BULLSHIT when that is what I am being served and this monster infrastructure bill is quite a dumpster load of it.
I asked a few sources about this today and have been told that the administration has made very little progress in this so far and it remains a low priority for the . That’s the bad news, the good news is that at least two candidates being considered are licensed captains.
I’m on OUR side here when I say this. Does anyone (besides we seamen) want this? What I mean by this, is there any lobby/big money pushing for an American shipping boost?
From the multiple articles I have read about Uncle Joe’s “infrastructure bill” it’s more about the GND, pork, entitlements, and less about actual infrastructure.
He’s too busy opening up border gates to flood the country with dirt cheap labor that drives wages down, and printing more money that drives inflation up to be very concerned with us boat trash. And yes, I’ll be happy to call out republicans like Mike Lee who want to allow more H1B types and the business owners that hire illegals.
Biden only cares about flooding the Country with illegals that can be bought cheap with handouts of free stuff and can eventually be turned into Democratic voters, especially in purple states like Arizona, Texas, and Florida.
whatever lobbying organization exists for the US merchant marine as a whole it has got to be the weakest and most ineffectual one in Washingtoon. One would think with with dozens and dozens of reports and studies conducted by the Congress and DoD saying how inadequate the manpower base is to support a surge sealift, that there would be enough in the goobermint to recognize that we need more US flagged ships employing more US citizen mariners but whoever these people are, their voices are barely audible anywhere within the confines of the beltway. Right now, I am blaming Buttigeig and Biden for completely failing to recognize the need to rebuild and increase the size our merchant fleet. I was very skeptical when Buttigeig was nominated to be SecTrans and suddenly my doubts are all proven correct!
What can be so difficult??? It is easy to get some US built WFIVs quickly.
Just stick some legs and an old dragline crane on any surplus vessels in the GoM,
BINGO, WFIV for you.
Wants SOVs? A few portacamps and 4-point mooring system on any ol’ mudboat will do.
I think back in the 70’s: the NRA was the largest lobbying organization in DC; MEBA was second. Congressmen lined up at their doors to do their bidding in exchange for campaign contributions.
Now the NRA has filed for bankruptcy and is being sued by the State of New York demanding it’s permanent dissolution.
Now MEBA has shrunk to the point that most Congressmen have never even heard of it.
I don’t know what the biggest lobbies in Washington are now, perhaps it’s Black Lives Matter, or Save the Transgender Whales for Jesus.
While there are lobbyists who speak for the flag of convenience operators, like the Connecticut Maritime Association, no one speaks for American Mariners.
MMP and MEBA whole heartedly endorsed the sitting President and encouraged their members to support his ticket Surely they wouldn’t have done so unless something was set aside for them, otherwise why bother? If nothing but the status quo is the result, perhaps the rank and file need to be more assertive with their leadership to get better results lest the vote be taken for granted.
Maybe the rank and file is content, or maybe complacent, or maybe coerced.
There doesn’t have to be a reason and sometimes you get what you get. I remember a letter from AMO endorsing Obama, which is why I promptly quit paying dues and haven’t been a Union member since.
While McCain was a huge anti-Jones act activist, Obama got into office and promptly shut down the GOM because “environment”.
Most unions and their members are just liberal tools.
