Garamendi bill seeks to promote export of LNG on U.S.-flag ships

   Congressman John Garamendi, D-Calif., ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure’s Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, has introduced legislation that would authorize the Secretary of the Department of Transportation to develop and implement a program to promote the export of liquefied natural gas on U.S.-flag vessels.
   The bill would also require priority processing of export applications for deepwater port terminals that would utilize U.S.-flag vessels.
   “In order for businesses to grow, they must identify new opportunities and seize them. The export market for LNG, a strategic national asset, is ready to take off. At the same time, our nation’s maritime industry has been declining for years. Our nation must take the bull by the horns. When it is deemed appropriate to export LNG, it should be on American-flagged vessels,” said Garamendi.
   Garamendi noted that before the boom in fracking and domestically produced natural gas, it was expected the U.S. would be an LNG importer, and DOT was authorized to develop similar programs for gas imported on U.S.-flag vessels or terminals using them.
   Garamendi said the bill, H.R. 5270, which is known as the Growing American Shipping Act, “would modernize these laws, ensuring that our commitment to U.S. maritime is maintained as we consider export opportunities,” the Garamendi’s office explained.
   Congressman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., the subcommittee’s chairman, joined the legislation as an original co-sponsor.