Rep. John Garamendi speaks outside the U.S. Capitol during a press conference with lawmakers, labor leaders and maritime industry representatives urging passage of the SHIPS for America Act, legislation aimed at revitalizing U.S. shipbuilding and the maritime industrial base.<\/p>\n
\u2018We Need to Get This Done\u2019: Lawmakers, Labor and Industry Renew Push for SHIPS for America Act<\/p>\n
Backers of the SHIPS for America Act mounted a renewed push Wednesday to move sweeping maritime legislation through Congress, with lawmakers, labor leaders and shipbuilding executives portraying the bill as the centerpiece of a growing bipartisan effort to rebuild America\u2019s commercial maritime capacity and industrial base.<\/p>\n
At a Capitol Hill press conference following a joint House hearing on revitalizing shipbuilding and the maritime industrial base, Reps.\u00a0John Garamendi\u00a0and\u00a0Trent Kelly\u00a0urged Congress to capitalize on what they described as rare political momentum behind maritime policy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to take decisive steps and get this done,\u201d Kelly said, pressing for passage of the SHIPS Act, legislation designed to expand the U.S.-flag fleet, rebuild shipyard capacity, strengthen maritime supply chains, and grow the nation\u2019s mariner workforce.<\/p>\n
Garamendi, ranking member of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee and a co-author of the bill, said support for maritime revitalization has broadened significantly over the past year as concerns mount over U.S. shipbuilding decline and China\u2019s industrial dominance.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) for America Act\u00a0is a sweeping maritime industrial policy bill designed to rebuild U.S. commercial shipping and shipbuilding capacity, which sponsors describe as the most ambitious maritime legislation in decades. First introduced in\u00a0December 2024\u00a0by Sens.\u00a0Mark Kellyand\u00a0Todd Young, alongside Reps.\u00a0John Garamendi\u00a0and\u00a0Trent Kelly, and reintroduced in the 119th Congress in April 2025, the bill aims to reverse decades of decline in the U.S. maritime industrial base.<\/p>\n
Supporters repeatedly pointed to a stark imbalance often cited by sponsors of the legislation: fewer than 100 U.S.-flagged ships engaged in international commerce compared with roughly 5,500 tied to China.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is about economic security and national security,\u201d Garamendi said, framing the bill as part of a larger effort to restore U.S. maritime power.<\/p>\n
The event underscored growing support well beyond Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n
Maritime advocates used this week\u2019s event to spotlight the recently launched\u00a0USA Shipbuilding Coalition, a new labor-management alliance pressing Congress for investment in shipbuilding, repair capacity, workforce development and domestic supply chains.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the broadest coalition we\u2019ve seen in decades around maritime industrial policy,\u201d said Michael Wessel, president of the coalition, which has cast shipbuilding revitalization as a strategic response to Chinese industrial competition.<\/p>\n
Support also continues to build from organized labor. The 600,000-member\u00a0International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers\u00a0this week reaffirmed support for the SHIPS Act, joining the\u00a0AFL-CIO,\u00a0United Steelworkers\u00a0and other unions in urging Congress to move the bill without delay.<\/p>\n
IAM President\u00a0Brian Bryant\u00a0called the legislation critical to rebuilding domestic shipbuilding and repair capacity, while labor groups linked the push to stronger trade enforcement and long-term industrial investment.<\/p>\n
Industry leaders argued the legislation is unusual in scope, tying commercial shipbuilding, sealift readiness, mariner development and port competitiveness into a broader national maritime strategy.<\/p>\n
Matt Paxton, president of the\u00a0Shipbuilders Council of America, called the legislation \u201cthe catalyst\u201d needed to restore American shipbuilding capacity, while Brian Schoeneman, chair of\u00a0USA Maritime, described it as potentially the most consequential maritime legislation in half a century.<\/p>\n
The renewed push comes as maritime policy has gained traction in Washington following U.S. findings on China\u2019s shipbuilding practices, the Trump administration\u2019s initiatives to \u201crestore American maritime dominance\u201d, and growing warnings from military and industry leaders that decades of underinvestment have weakened the industrial base underpinning both commercial shipping and sealift readiness.<\/p>\n
For supporters, Wednesday\u2019s message was clear: maritime revival has moved from aspiration to legislative campaign.<\/p>\n
Whether Congress acts soon remains uncertain, but advocates say the coalition behind the SHIPS Act is broader \u2014 and louder \u2014 than at any point since the legislation was introduced.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t afford to wait any longer,\u201d Schoeneman said. \u201cIt\u2019s time to get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n