Daniel Inouye: “at my request, the conferees added a $2 million item to match a program that the House had included. This program, under…”

“at my request, the conferees added a $2 million item to match a program that the House had included. This program, under the Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Navy Appropriation, is listed under the Human Systems Technology Program as ``Maritime Fire Training/Barber's Point''. This funding is to be available to enhance the ability of the Department of Defense to meet its civilian crewing demand and assist in maintaining a cadre of qualified seafarers for times of national emergencies. The Department of Defense is facing a significantly smaller pool of Merchant Mariners than existed in the past. In recent Senate testimony, Vice Admiral Gordon Holder, Commander of the Military Sealift Command, identified the issue of Merchant Mariner availability as a key issue to his command. Admiral Holder testified that ``MSC's difficulty in recruiting and retaining a professional cadre of civil service merchant mariners also extends to the U.S. Commercial Merchant Fleet.'' Moreover, a recent study by the National Defense Transportation Association has identified potential merchant mariner shortages. The new requirements of the standards of training, certification, and watchkeeping will have an impact on our ability to maintain a qualified pool of seafarers. The Pacific Theater is the fastest growing sector for civilian U.S. Merchant Mariners, with at least 2,500 civilian seafaring jobs coming online over the next three years.”