Murkowski Introduces Bill For Permanent PVSA Exemption For Alaska Cruises

Posted and edited by MARY KAUFFMAN

September 24, 2021
Friday morning

(SitNews) – US Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) on Wednesday introduced new legislation, the Alaska Labor Law Cruise, to provide a permanent exemption from the Passenger Ship Services Act (PVSA) for cruises carrying passengers to Alaska from the United States. more than 1,000 passengers.

Senator Murkowski previously introduced the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act (ATRA), enacted on May 24, 2021, which provided for a temporary exemption from the PVSA for cruises traveling between Washington State and Alaska in order to circumvent the restrictions of the Canada preventing cruises to the United States. to dock in their ports.

“A few months ago, we successfully crossed the finish line to the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act, providing a temporary legislative solution to the PVSA to help bring tourism back to a number of communities in the world. ‘Alaska that depend on the hundreds of thousands of visitors who come to the state through cruise ships. While the PVSA still fulfills its purpose in the Lower 48, it unwittingly put many Alaskan businesses at the mercy of the Canadian government when Canada closed its borders, including ports. The inability of cruises to reach Alaska has nearly wiped out our economies in the Southeast – communities like Skagway, for example, have seen their commercial revenues drop by 80%, ”said Senator Murkowski.

“While the PVSA is well-intentioned to protect American jobs and businesses, it has had the unintended consequence of placing Alaskan businesses at the mercy of the Canadian government. It nearly wiped out the economies of Southeast Alaska as we saw business after business ready to welcome visitors, but unable to do so because Canadians would not respond to our requests to allow foreign stopovers in their homes. ports to meet PVSA requirements. We cannot let this happen again, ”said Senator Murkowski.

Murkowski said, “I am proud to introduce new legislation to provide a permanent exemption for cruises between any US port and Alaska from the PVSA. My new bill ensures that the PVSA will not encroach on Alaska’s tourism economy, while ensuring that foreign-built ships won’t compete with US-built ships. This legislation is good news for all Alaskans whose livelihoods depend on tourism. ”

This new legislation will permanently exempt from the PVSA cruises in Alaska carrying more than 1000 passengers. This legislation will create jobs for U.S. merchant seamen in the cruise industry, and to ensure that overseas-built cruise ships do not compete with U.S.-built ships, this exemption will end once it there will be a US-built cruise ship that carries over 1,000 passengers. . We don’t want to compete with US shipbuilders – that’s why this legislation ends once there is a US market. Ultimately, we must reform the PVSA so that the ability of Alaskans to engage in trade is not compromised by the government of another country.

In 2019, Alaska welcomed more than 1.3 million visitors via cruise ships. That number came to a halt in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated mandates, decimating small businesses in Alaska and the economy of Alaska as a whole. For example, according to a Southeastern Conference report from June 2020, Skagway’s business revenues are down 80% from the same period in 2019. The tourism industry in Alaska typically generates over $ 214 million. dollars in municipal and state revenues, more than $ 1.4 billion in payroll. , and $ 2.2 billion in visitor spending, all of which saw significant declines during the coronavirus pandemic.

Recently, Alaska Congressman Don Young (R-AK) published an op-ed in the Vancouver Sun detailing his recently introduced legislation (Tribal Tourism Sovereignty Act) to allow ports or land owned by tribes or Alaska Native corporations meet the requirements of the Passenger Ship Services Act. (PVSA) overseas stop requirement. Under the PVSA, large foreign-flagged passenger ships are not permitted to make consecutive calls at U.S. ports without a foreign stopover in between.

This year, Alaska’s 2021 cruise season was threatened by Canada’s decision to close its ports, effectively crushing a major component of Alaska’s economy. The Alaska Congressional delegation successfully passed HR 1318, the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act, to save part of the cruise season.

Following the enactment by President Biden, this year’s cruises have been exempted from stopping in Canada while traveling between Seattle and Alaska. In his editorial, Young wrote: “My proposition is simple but powerful: large foreign-flagged passenger ships that call at ports or places in the United States owned by Native Alaskan tribes or corporations. would comply with the PVSA overseas stopover requirement. . ”

“In Alaska, that would mean that travel would no longer have to stop over at or from Canada. Cruises could start and end in Alaska, thus maximizing their time in our state and opening up new economic development opportunities for Alaskans. My bill also benefits tribal communities. in the lower 48 states by creating port development opportunities for tribes in Washington, Oregon, Great Lakes, and the Northeast, ”Young wrote.

Further, he wrote: “There are many potential places for this arrangement to flourish: the Aleutians on Adak, Metlakatla or even Port Clarence in the Bering Sea. In addition, my bill includes strict provisions to protect Indigenous sovereignty and places Indigenous communities in agreements with cruise lines. “

“When the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act expires, Canada will once again have a de facto veto over the Alaska cruise industry. As a result, we must reform the PVSA to protect the sovereignty of our tourism economy, ”Young wrote.

In his editorial, Congressman Young details his Tribal Tourism Sovereignty Act, which implements a permanent solution to allow large foreign-flagged vessels to bypass Canada entirely. Click here to read his full editorial.

The Canadian government rejected a U.S. request for a technical stop along the coast to avoid temporary Alaska Tourism Restoration Act (ATRA) legislation, which was finally passed on May 24, 2021.

According to the Agassiz-Harrison Observer, Ian Robertson, CEO of the Greater Victoria Port Authority, said he believes the province takes the threat of economic impact more seriously than it did in the past. spring when a bill was quickly introduced and passed in the US House of Representatives aimed at adjusting the same law.

These two US bills now proposed by Congressman Young and US Senator Lisa Murkowski to allow cruise ships bound for Alaska to bypass Canadian ports would have a “devastating” effect on the economy of the United States. British Columbia, said Robertson.

British Columbia Tourism Minister Rob Fleming said that “the cruise ship industry is vital for tourism in British Columbia and for the thousands of people whose livelihoods depend on regular arrival. of ships’

News source:

Office of US Senator Lisa Murkowski
www.murkowski.senate.gov

Vancouver Sun Editorial

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