During the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee’s markup of H.R. 4005, the Coast Guard
Reauthorization Bill, Subcommittee Ranking Member Congressman John
Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA) spoke up for American jobs, a revival of the
maritime industry, and a Cruise Ship Passenger Bill of Rights.
Ranking Member offered an amendment that
would phase in a requirement that all export of LNG from the U.S. would
be on U.S. built and U.S. flagged ships with American crews.
“Natural gas is a strategic national asset
that has helped spur a revival of American manufacturing. When done
thoughtfully, limited exports provide an excellent opportunity for
creating American jobs in building and manning LNG ships,” said
Garamendi. “What is needed is a law that requires that LNG is exported
on U.S. built ships, flagged in America and crewed by American sailors.”
Because the Coast Guard Reauthorization
Bill modernizes maritime policy, provides budget stability, and adds
needed resources to support Coast Guard operations, Garamendi voted in
favor of the legislation. The bill was unanimously reported out of
Committee.
“The Coast Guard and Merchant Marine are
indispensible for America’s economic and national security,” said
Garamendi. “This Coast Guard Reauthorization bill provides our mariners
with the tools they need to get the job done. The bill reverses
sequestration budget cuts that have undermined our coastal security and
provides greater budget stability through a two-year authorization. The
bill also provides multi-year procurement authority for the new Offshore
Patrol Cutter to expedite the construction of this new class of cutter
once production begins, and it reauthorizes the Small Shipyard Grant
Program to stimulate job creation in local shipyards, such as the Bay
Ship and Yacht Company in Alameda which received a grant in 2011.”
Amendments
In addition to his LNG “Make It In America” amendment, Garamendi offered two other amendments to improve the legislation.
He offered an amendment that would
authorize a Cruise Ship Passenger Bill of Rights to ensure that the
well-being of U.S. cruise vessel passengers is not left to chance.
“Several recent stomach-churning incidents
show that when cruise ships take a turn for the worse, passengers are
completely at the whim of the industry. This is patently unfair and
consumers are losing confidence in this business. For that reason, we
need a Cruise Ship Passenger Bill of Rights,” said Garamendi.
He also offered an amendment would strike
Sections 307 and 308 of the bill that seek to weaken longstanding
seafarer protections. Section 307 would restrict foreign seafarers from
filing claims seeking “maintenance and cure” for damages or expenses
related to personal injury, illness, or even death – in violation of
centuries old maritime law principle and an international convention
ratified by the U.S. in 1939. Section 308 would arbitrarily cap the
amount that cruise ships would have to pay in penalty wages when they
demonstrably withhold seafarers’ wages. The industry has not provided
any evidence that penalty wage claims are an imminent financial threat
to any cruise line, much less the industry.
“These two sections are an affront to
seafarers everywhere, both here in the U.S. and abroad. By denying
established legal rights to foreign seafarers, Section 307 would
encourage ships to hire these workers,” said Garamendi. “Section 308
would remove a basic protection for American mariners: a guarantee that
they will be paid for their work.”
While the Committee failed to adopt these
commonsense measures, Ranking Member Garamendi will continue to advocate
for them as the bill advances.
Bipartisan Legislation
Congressman Garamendi said, “I thank
Chairman Duncan Hunter for working with me to develop bipartisan
legislation that will bolster our maritime sector. In addition to smart
measures to update policy, the bill advances a National Maritime
Strategy to reinvigorate our Merchant Marine.”
Video of Hearing at link
Post to be found at:
http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/US-LNG-Exports-by-US-Flag-Ships-Only-2014-02-11/
U.S. Approves Exports From Sempra's Cameron LNG Terminal
From Maritime Executive - By Ayesha Rascoe and Timothy Gardner (C) Reuters 2014.
The U.S. Energy Department on Tuesday
approved exports from Sempra Energy's Cameron liquefied natural gas
(LNG) project in Louisiana as the Obama administration moves forward
with its goal of expanding the global market for the fuel.
The conditional approval of exports from
the terminal to countries with which the United States does not have
free trade agreements, such as India and Japan, was the sixth approval
by the department since 2011, and the first since mid-November.
Cameron's application to export up to 1.7
billion cubic feet per day brings total U.S. authorized LNG exports to
almost 8.5 bcf feet per day, once the terminals are constructed and
working at full capacity.
Sempra shares jumped on news the approval was expected, and in early afternoon trading were up 1.2 percent at $93.74.
The latest export approval confirms that
the review process is becoming "largely depoliticized," said Leslie
Palti-Guzman, a gas analyst for the Eurasia Group. The consulting firm
predicted that permitting would "continue unabated through 2014."
But some analysts cautioned that a pause in
approvals could still be near as licensed export volumes near the
threshold of 12 bcf a day considered in DOE-commissioned studies by
the Energy Information Administration and NERA Economic Consulting.
"We think a cautious agency may be unlikely
to exceed the upper-bound of the range of studied outcomes," ClearView
Energy Partners said in a research note.
TOO FAST OR TOO SLOW?
U.S. natural gas production has soared to
record levels in recent years because of advanced drilling techniques,
including hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The surge in output
unleashed a flood of applications to ship excess U.S. gas overseas,
where it can fetch higher prices.
After a nearly two-year pause in its review
while studying the potential impact of exports on the domestic market,
the administration resumed the permitting process in 2013.
Since then the gap between decisions on
applications has been as much as three months or as little as five
weeks. That uneven pace of approvals has frustrated both supporters and
opponents of the LNG export push.
Republican lawmakers, along with Democrats
representing oil and gas producing states, have pressed for much quicker
processing of the more than 20 applications that remain in the
government's queue.
Republicans in the House of
Representatives said last week that if significant progress is not made
this year, they would look at crafting legislation to speed up review.
An Energy Department official on Tuesday defended the agency's approach to LNG exports.
"We are doing the best we can to address
these in a timely fashion," Paula Gant, deputy assistant secretary of
energy for oil and natural gas, said at a conference for utility
officials in Washington D.C.
Calling the Cameron approval "long
overdue," incoming Senate Energy Committee chairwoman Mary Landrieu said
the terminal would allow her state of Louisiana to "compete with
foreign companies in the battle for the huge international LNG market."
Landrieu's support for LNG exports differs
from her predecessor at the helm of the energy committee, Ron
Wyden of Oregon, who has been much more cautious on the export issue.
Wyden, who this week will become chairman
of the Senate Finance Committee, has been concerned that unfettered gas
exports could increase fuel prices for Americans.
A group of industrial companies, led by Dow
Chemical, has also called for the administration to slow down on export
approvals to ensure that manufacturers who have benefited from cheap
gas are not hurt by possible price spikes.
America's Energy Advantage, the industry
coalition formed by Dow and its allies, has pointed to propane shortages
this winter as an example of what could happen with natural gas
supplies if unlimited exports are allowed.
U.S. law allows mostly unrestricted international trade propane and refined oil products, such as gasoline.
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