As 2024 winds down, Duncan, Erika, and I want to send out a big thank you to everyone who came to our Coalition breakfast receptions in New Orleans and Seattle. It was fantastic to connect with so many passionate folks, and the energy in the room was truly inspiring. We covered ground on some really important topics, from shipyard funding to workforce development to changes coming to Congress. We left feeling even more motivated to keep pushing for a strong future for our small shipyards and manufacturers and we hope you did too.
As a recap, we want to share some of the key takeaways from our discussion.
While we covered a lot of ground, here are the top five themes we heard from our conversations:
Continuing the Fight for Funding
First and foremost, we all agree that the Small Shipyard Grant Program is vital to the preparedness and readiness of civilian, first responder, and government programs. It provides crucial support that helps our shipyards stay competitive and innovative. But here's the bottom line: we can't be complacent. We need to continue to advocate for higher funding levels for this program. It’s not enough to just keep things as they are; we need to actively work to ensure it gets the resources it deserves.
Legislation and a Bigger Vision
Beyond the grant program, we talked about the importance of other key initiatives. Specifically, we discussed the critical need for the SHIPS for America Act, introduced this week by Sen.’s Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Todd Young (R-IN) in the Senate and Rep.’s Trent Kelly (R-MS-01) and John Garamendi (D-CA-08) in the House, which will strengthen and protect our domestic maritime industry. We need to get behind this! The legislation makes a strong case for significantly increasing Small Shipyard Grant Program (SSGP) funding to $100 million per year ($1 billion over 10 years). This isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have if we want our small shipyards and their communities to thrive.
Think Big: A Federal Trust Fund
And here’s a really big idea we explored and is in the SHIPS for America Act: the need for a dedicated, ten-year funding mechanism via a new federal trust fund. This kind of dedicated funding would bring much-needed stability and predictability to the industry, allowing our shipyards to plan for the long term and invest in their futures. This is about strategic, long-term planning, not just band-aid solutions.
More Than Just Grants
While the grant program is fantastic, it's just one piece of the puzzle. We need a multi-pronged approach to truly support our shipyards. This includes addressing issues like workforce development, enforcing trade laws to ensure fair competition, and investing in emerging technologies. It's about building a strong and resilient maritime sector, not just a few successful shipyards.
Innovation is Key
Finally, one really exciting area we discussed was the growing interest from the federal government in shipyard innovation. They’re looking to support modernization and improve efficiency, particularly via the new U.S. Center for Maritime Innovation. You can check them out here: https://www.maritime.dot.gov/innovation/meta/us-center-maritime-innovation. This is a space to keep a close eye on!
Again, thank you to everyone who made time to attend the New Orleans and Seattle breakfasts, as well as your continued support. Let's keep the momentum going! We’ve got some important work ahead of us, and I’m confident that by working together, we can create a brighter future for our U.S. small shipyards.
Stay tuned for more updates, and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, thoughts, or ideas to share with us!
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