FMC ISSUES PERFORMANCE PLAN FOR FISCAL 2003

FMC ISSUES PERFORMANCE PLAN FOR FISCAL 2003    The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission has published its annual performance plan for fiscal 2003.
   “As set forth in the Government Performance and Results Act and general guidelines published by OMB (Office of Management and Budget), the commission has prepared a single performance plan so as to present a comprehensive picture of performance across the agency,” the FMC said.
   FMC said the plan was also based on experience from nearly three years of operations under the 1998 Ocean Shipping Reform Act and its comprehensive OSRA impact study issued in September 2001.
   Under the plan, the FMC’s plan to take advantage of emerging tecnhologies to reduce operations costs and increase efficiency of its services with the industry.
   The agency said its mission is “to ensure the nation’s interests are met through an efficient, competitive, market-driven, and nondiscriminatory ocean transportation system that is free of unfair foreign maritime trade practices.”
   The FMC’s strategic goals under the plan are to provide:
   * An efficient regulatory process “to enable all segments of the industry to plan and conduct their operations more effectively and with minimal regulatory costs.”
   * Balanced enforcement to ensure reliance on the market and by administering U.S. shipping statutes in a “balanced and equitable manner” to deal with excessive anticompetitive actions and restrictive practices of foreign governments.
   * Compliance to promote the development of U.S. exports and to ensure ocean shipping entities operated within shipping statutes imposed by the FMC.
   * Internal capabilities to ensure the FMC has staff and management leadership to meet its industry assistance, enforcement and educational responsibilities.
   The proposed budgets to cover the FMC’s major programs in fiscal 2003 include about $2.1 million for formal proceedings activities, about $1.9 million for operational and administrative activities, about $1.4 million for consumer complaints and licensing, about $1.8 million for trade analysis, and about $2 million for enforcement.
   For a copy of the complete FMC fiscal 2003 annual performance plan, access https://www.fmc.gov/Dockets/PerformancePlanFY03.htm .