4 JUNE 2019 • FOGHORN Six Teams of PVA Members Meet with Congressional Leaders at PVA’s Annual Congressional Fly-In On Tuesday April 30, I had the pleasure of joining 30 of our fellow PVA Vessel and Associate members, along with six members of the PVAstaff for our annual PVA Congressional Fly-In in Washington, DC. The Fly-In is a chance for our private operators, public ferries, shipyards, marine consultants, and many other vendors who rely on the passenger vessel industry, to gain access to our legislators on Capitol Hill. With a demanding schedule of back-to-back meetings arranged by PVA’s Legislative Director Ed Welch and supported by PVA’s staff of Jen Wilk, Eric Christensen, Zack Reed, Pete Lauridsen, and our Executive Director John Groundwater, six teams of PVA members set out starting at 8 A.M. with a stack of briefing materials and a tight schedule to take the Hill by storm. With one voice, we come together to speak about the issues impacting the industry on a national level and we are given the chance to discuss local issues that may only be of concern to our specific representatives. As always, one of the first items we discussed was the incredible relationship between the PVA and the United States Coast Guard. We made it clear that the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Mission was a priority for our members, and we stressed how important it is to ensure the Coast Guard receives ample funding to continue to provide sufficient resources to the Maritime Safety Program in order to cover the costs of new and existing responsibilities. We also briefed our representatives on the important work that the USCG is doing to combat illegal charters. Many were unaware that this was even an issue. However, when we explained the risks of illegal charters, the recent deaths in Florida that were caused by these types of activities and the unfair advantage that illegal operators have over our members who are operating fully certified and inspected vessels, their eyes were opened. The next three topics that we presented were all financial in nature. We lobbied for the continuation and increase in funding of the Small Shipyard Grant Program. PVAasked Congress to fund the program to a level of $35 million for fiscal year 2020. This program authorizes the Maritime Administration to provide grants to make capital improvements in small shipyards and to provide training for workers in com- munities whose economies are related to the maritime industry. I was fortunate enough to have Erik Grimnes from Arcadia Alliance/ Front Street Shipyard and Tim McAuliffe from Gladding-Hearn Shipyard in my Fly-In group. Erik and Tim were able to articulate just how important these funds have been for the industry and our maritime communities. We also asked Congress to amend the tax code to allow all (not just some) operators of domestic passenger vessels to take advantage of the tax deferral and capital appreciation benefits of the Capital Construction Fund. Currently those tax benefits are only available to new vessels that will be operated in international service, on the Great Lakes, in service to/from/in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico; or as a vehicle-car- rying ferry engaged in domestic “short-sea transportation.” The third financial topic we spoke about was extremely timely. During our visit, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer were meeting with President Trump at the White House laying the groundwork for a $2 trillion infrastruc- ture plan. Simultaneously, our PVA Fly-In groups were meeting with senators and congressmen, asking them to include capital aid for ferries in the upcoming infrastruc- ture proposal. This is an important topic to our member- ship. In a recent PVA survey of its members, U.S. ferry operators identified over $500 million in capital needs over the next few years for new and improved vessels and shoreside facilities. PVA’s continues to strongly support our ferry operators who annually carry more than 119 million passengers and over 25 million vehicles annually. Lastly, PVA continues to recognize the increased congestion on America’s waterways. More and more commercial passenger vessels, towing vessels, barges and oceangoing ships are sharing the waters with recre- ational power vessels, sailing vessels and with increasing frequency, human-powered craft such as paddleboards, kayaks and canoes. Knowing that there is wide disparity among states regarding requirements for operating motorized rec- reational vessels and the lack of knowledge by many recreational mariners as to the “rules of the road” on our waterways, PVA advocated for Congress to enact H.R.1669 from Congressman Peter King of New York. This bill directs the Coast Guard to: review and report on LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Bob Lawler PRESIDENT, CONTINUED ON PAGE 42 In a recent PVA survey of its members, U.S. ferry operators identified over $500 million in capital needs over the next few years for new and improved vessels and shoreside facilities.