America’s dangerous maritime decline threatens our security as an international competition for trade, trade and military power in the Pacific.
In 2024, the United States only built five merchant ships. China has built 1,400 and three times more naval warships. China now has the largest merchant and naval fleets in the world. America no longer governs the oceans. To maintain our economic and military force, America must rebuild its maritime industry.
This is why me, alongside meaning. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., And Todd Young, R-Ind., And the representative Trent Kelly, R-Miss., Presented the Bipartite law for America. This legislation is the most ambitious and complete legislation of a generation to put America on the path of withdrawal from our maritime position.
It sets an ambitious national objective of expanding the American Flaggi international fleet of 250 ships over 10 years, to modernize and broaden the private shipyards of America to repair and build merchant ships, train and employ qualified workers, and provide federal financial support.
The law on ships offers the San Francisco Bay region the opportunity to rebuild and regain its historical position as a dominant region of naval construction and repair on the west coast. Created in 1854, the Mare Island shipyard in Vallejo was the first basis of the Navy on the west coast.
From the First World War to the Cold War, Mare Island and his neighbor Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond were industry centers, launching hundreds of ships and submarines in the Pacific and employing tens of thousands of workers, including the famous Rosie Les Riveters.
After the Second World War, the Kaiser shipyards closed. In 1996, the naval shipyard of Mare Island closed and the Navy left the island. These closures reported the broader decline in American shipbuilding and devastated regions that depended on these well -remunerated jobs.
But it was not the end of Mare Island. Today, the four dry quays and the remaining industrial infrastructure are filled with coastal caregivers and shipping ships. Women and men have trained like welders, painters and electricians teeming through the doors during the quarter changes.
The law on ships would make historical investments in the maritime labor by launching a recruitment campaign to bring new workers in the businesses, create a program to help sailors to maintain their references and invest in late infrastructure upgrades to California Maritime Academy and a new training ship.
Last month, the White House published an executive decree which closely reflects the legislation we introduced in December. At no time in recent history, we have attended such a complete alignment between executive and legislative branches as well as the mentions of industry and organized work – all unified with the common goal of restoring the American maritime force.
The law on ships is an opportunity to raise communities that we have left. We can honor the inheritance of Mare Island; Create highly qualified and well -paid jobs; And position the island as a centerpiece of the country’s efforts to recover international competitiveness in the maritime industries.
The story of Mare Island is more than a simple chapter in our naval history – this is a plan for the future. The same spirit of innovation, resilience and collective goal which has once launched fleets from the Côtes de Vallejo can again serve as an cornerstone of the American force.
Representative John Garamendi represents the counties of Solano and Contra Costa and is the main member of the American armed and transport and infrastructure committees.
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