STUDY: TITLE XI PROGRAM GENERATED $83 MILLION TO U.S. TREASURY

STUDY: TITLE XI PROGRAM GENERATED $83 MILLION TO U.S. TREASURY    The U.S. Maritime Administration’s Title XI shipbuilding loan guarantee program — a target of the Bush administration’s budget axe — has generated $83 million for the U.S. Treasury over the past eight years, a study commissioned by an industry coalition said.
   The Title XI coalition, comprising shipyards, financiers, vessel operators, labor and other maritime organizations, said the bulk of federal funds generated by the program come from user fees paid by companies using Title XI.
   “When was the last time you heard of a federal program that was a net revenue raiser?” asked Allen Walker, president of the Shipbuilders Council of America. “The program is a win-win for the nation — $80-plus billion in direct revenues to the federal Treasury and literally billions of dollars in economic activity generated along the way.”
   The coalition said private sector officials and Congressional leaders have thrown their support behind the program, which was not funded in Bush’s proposed fiscal year 2002 budget.