Make American Ships Again

For too long, our country has ignored the importance of ships to our economic and national security. Today, the American shipbuilding sector has eroded, our shipyards are few and far between, and the vessels built in the United States are often ill-equipped to cross oceans.

The result is Chinese dominance of the world’s sea lanes. China now possesses the world’s largest commercial fleet — 5,500 vessels strong, with over a thousand more built annually. And the United States? Our fleet currently numbers 80 with, at most, five ships added a year. Only a fraction of the tankers and cargo ships carrying goods to and from our country fly the American flag — by some estimates less than 0.4%. This convergence — the rise of China’s commercial shipping sector and the decline of ours — endangers our economy and weakens our Navy.

I introduced the SHIPS for America Act with Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) to close this gap and revitalize the United States shipbuilding and commercial maritime industries. Our bill would provide the necessary congressional authorizations to build and man a new fleet of commercial ships. The SHIPS Act also would establish a trust fund to support an expansion of the U.S.-flagged international fleet to 250 ships by 2035. It would make U.S.-flagged vessels commercially competitive in international commerce by cutting red tape, rebuilding the shipyard industrial base, and expanding and strengthening mariner and shipyard worker recruitment. The SHIPS Act would help train a pipeline of new workers, encourage domestic and foreign investment in maritime infrastructure, and provide the permitting reform and deregulation that is essential for timely construction of new shipyards.

While building more American ships is good for our national security, it also will provide new opportunities for American workers, including in Indiana. Shipbuilding is a national security priority and a stopgap against foreign threats and coercion. It’s time to make American ships again.

A section by section of the bill can be found here.