John B. Breaux: “this legislation reflects an effort to reach a compromise within the international ocean shipping industry. It reflects…”

“this legislation reflects an effort to reach a compromise within the international ocean shipping industry. It reflects a middle ground among the somewhat dissimilar interests of the ocean carriers and shippers and shipping intermediaries, as well as the interests of U.S. ports and post-related labor interests such as longshoremen and truckers. I have worked with Senators Hutchison, Lott, and Gorton to craft a compromise allowing us to move forward with legislation. I had hoped to be able to move forward with floor consideration before we adjourn, but it appears now that we ran out of time on this bill. I look forward to taking this bill up early in the next session of Congress. It has been very difficult to balance the competing considerations affected by this bill. In fact, I would liken it to squeezing Jell-O, you push in one direction and objections would ooze out in the other direction. However, I feel certain that we are close to achieving a workable agreement that all parties can support. It is safe to say that our ocean shipping industry affects all of us in the United States since 96 percent of our international trade is carried by ships, but very few of us fully understand the ocean shipping industry. International ocean shipping is a half-a-trillion-dollar annual industry that is inextricably linked to our fortunes in international trade.”