|
 Printer-Friendly Version
Remarks Delivered by
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Alumni Foundation Dinner
New York, New York
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Thank you, Gene [McCormick, President and CEO, Alumni Foundation] for that introduction.
What a pleasure it is to be here this evening, among friends and familiar faces! I want to thank AMO Vice President Ed Kelly for inviting me once again this year. I am sorry that he could not be with us tonight. Ed and I have known each other since I was Deputy Maritime Administrator. I have really enjoyed working with Ed over the years. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Ed's graduation from Kings Point. I know his alma mater must be very proud of him, as are we!
I also want to recognize President Mike Sacco of the Seafarers. Mike and the Seafarers recently hosted President Bush at their training school in Piney Point on Labor Day. The President went around and met each person in attendance and said he really enjoyed the experience on the simulator. He is the first President to have visited Piney Point and I hope you can see his concerns and interest in the issues of the maritime community.
Vice President Don Keefe of MEBA is also here tonight. Good to see you.
Sean Cannaughton, the new Maritime Administrator, is with us tonight. Congratulations on your recent confirmation!
Admiral Joseph Stewart, Superintendent at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, is with us this evening. I think the Admiral had quite a surprise this past June when President George W. Bush came to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. As most of you may know, that was the first time that any Commander-in-Chief delivered the commencement address at Kings Point. And, as President Bush said then, it had been "a long time in coming."
Just as President Bush was at Kings Point in June to honor the Class of 2006, tonight we honor America's Merchant Mariners, past and present. Most of us in this room are steeped in the traditions and activities of the Merchant Marine community. But to most Americans, the U.S. Merchant Marine, and its importance to our nation, is not as familiar.
Many good-paying jobs depend upon shipping. Our nation's energy, goods, and food are transported economically and efficiently by ship. And there are many challenges and, yes, dangers, that face the men and women of the U.S. Merchant Marine. But that is part of the tremendous heritage of the Merchant Marine.
This is why I am very pleased that this dinner will benefit the American Merchant Marine Museum. With its records, paintings, and extensive collection of Maritime artifacts, it tells the story of the U.S. Merchant Marine's service to this nation during both war and peace. Visitors can learn that during World War II, the U.S. Merchant Marine transported the troops, weapons and supplies that made victory possible. And they can discover that Merchant Mariners did this at great cost. The U.S. Merchant Marine suffered a higher casualty rate than any armed service but the Marines.
Tonight we are honoring the American fleet's deep sea domestic carriers that carry on this tremendous tradition. These carriers ply the seas between Hawaii and the Mainland, Puerto Rico and the Mainland, and from Alaska to points south. They carry passengers, freight, and petroleum, creating jobs and helping to make America's economy stronger.
This contribution is just one of the reasons why President George W. Bush is committed to strengthening our nation's domestic fleet and why he strongly supports the Jones Act. At Piney Point on Labor Day, he said that "it's important for Presidents to embrace the Jones Act" and pledged to continue supporting the Jones Act.
The President signed the expansion of the Maritime Security Program. This program helps to maintain a U.S.-flag Merchant Marine crewed by American workers. Under this program, 13 new U.S.-flag ships have been added to the fleet.
The tankers that are part of this fleet help improve America's energy security. MARAD's latest annual figures show that the domestic tanker fleet transported 48 million metric tons of petroleum products, and 43.2 million metric tons of crude oil. The decline in Alaskan oil production has had an impact on this trade. But if the President succeeds in opening up more domestic oil production, especially in Alaska, this trend can be reversed.
The President has also worked to revitalize the U.S.-flag cruise ship industry through legislation that led to the introduction of three large new cruise ships in Hawaii. This alone created more than 20,000 new jobs, including 4,000 seafaring jobs. And it helped to reverse a three-decade decline in U.S. seagoing employment.
I was so pleased to have the opportunity to help christen the new Pride of America, the first newly-built cruise ship to join the U.S. register in half a century. I am now Godmother to a one-year-old girl that weighs over 70,000 tons! You will be glad to know that her crew is getting rave reviews!
This Administration also supports other policies designed to strengthen the Maritime community, especially better tax policies. The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 repealed rules that were discriminatory against American operators involved in international shipping. This has helped improve the competitiveness of U.S. shipping.
The President has invested in better seafarer training at union training facilities and federal and state Maritime academies. This has strengthened our nation's base of skilled Merchant Mariners. This is essential as Merchant Mariners have supported every recent military conflict and are vital to winning the War on Terrorism.
On the horizon, we can see challenges as well as opportunities that face the Maritime community. Experts anticipate that cargo and passenger traffic will double in the next two decades. So our country will continue to need a strong base of skilled Merchant Mariners as we head into the 21st century.
The U.S. Merchant Marine serves our nation in war, and its role is not as greatly appreciated as it should be. Merchant Mariners serve alongside our soldiers as an auxiliary of the U.S. Navy. Graduates of Kings Point receive reserve commissions in the U.S. Navy, as well as their ratings in the Merchant Marine. And today, more than 8,000 brave Merchant Mariners crew auxiliary vessels for the United States Navy to support our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. They have delivered more than 92 percent of the equipment and supplies needed by our men and women in uniform.
When the history of this era is written, the U.S. Merchant Marine will be remembered as a key part of the effort to defend our homeland and liberties and spread freedom and democracy around the world.
The U.S. Merchant Marine has stood tall for America in her times of need. It began during the American Revolution, when Merchant Mariners crewed the Hannah, the first ship commissioned by the Continental Congress to fight the mighty British Navy.
And it reached a peak during World War II, when Merchant Mariners braved submarines, mines, enemy destroyers and aircraft and the unpredictable weather of the North Atlantic Ocean. During that war, America lost more than 5,000 Merchant Mariners aboard 733 ships sunk by enemy submarines.
In fact, exactly 65 years ago, on September 27, 1942, off the coast of South Africa, an American liberty ship, the Stephen Hopkins, was making her maiden voyage. Armed with only 4-inch deck guns to fend off submarines, she was attacked by two armed German commerce raiders.
Outgunned and outmanned, she was sunk. But not before she inflicted so much damage on her attacker, that the German warship sank, as well. The survivors of the Stephen Hopkins crowded into a small lifeboat with few supplies and little water. 31 days and 2,200 miles later, they made it to Brazil.
That is one of many stories of heroism and patriotism that America's Merchant Mariners have given to our nation. It is the kind of story more Americans will hear when they visit this great museum. It explains the character of the men and women in the American Maritime community, and why it is such an honor to be here with you today.
May God bless you, and may God bless America.
# # #
| 
