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T&I Maritime Transportation Ranking Member Garamendi Succeeds in Supporting Ready Reserve Fleet in FY 2014 NDAA

June 14, 2013

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA), a Member of the House Armed Services Committee and the Ranking Member of the House Transportation Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, today voted for the FY 2014 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The NDAA includes an amendment authored by Garamendi that recognizes the crucial role of the U.S. Merchant Marine in our national security. The amendment expresses the sense of Congress that American shipbuilding is a critical component of our national defense and that the Department of Transportation, in consultation with the Navy, should pursue the most cost-effective means of recapitalizing the Ready Reserve Fleet. Text of the amendment is available here (pdf). With an average vessel age of 36 years, recapitalization of the Ready Reserve Fleet is needed now to maintain a reliable, modern national defense sealift capacity in the future. Moreover, this effort will stimulate thousands of good paying, shipbuilding jobs right here at home in the U.S.

“When I was a Boy Scout, they taught us to always ‘be prepared.’ That’s why our Ready Reserve Fleet is a critical expenditure, comparable to our Strategic Petroleum Reserve or the Global Small Pox Vaccine Reserve. We’d prefer not to use it, but we’d be fools not to have it,” said Ranking Member Garamendi. “The Ready Reserve Fleet is there as a safeguard should we need the quick mobilization of a maritime fleet in the case of catastrophic natural disaster or national security crisis. I’m glad the House of Representatives agreed, and it’s an honor to work with the maritime community to keep America safe and resilient.”