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HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Illinois' pivotal role as a hub between maritime
3transportation on the Great Lakes and inland river system,
4including 1,100 miles of navigable waterways on the Illinois,
5Ohio, and Mississippi River systems, make it central to the
6nation's transportation system; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The recent global pandemic and hostilities in
8Europe have demonstrated the critical importance of
9maintaining resilient domestic industries and transportation
10services for the citizens and workforce of Illinois; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, known as the
12Jones Act and codified in Title 46 of the United States Code,
13requires that vessels carrying cargo between locations in the
14United States be owned by American companies, crewed by
15American mariners, and built in American shipyards; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Illinois is home to 19,500 maritime jobs
17supported by the Jones Act, the ninth highest among all
18states, that generate more than $1.3 billion in worker income;
19and
 
20    WHEREAS, Maritime industry jobs create ladders of
21opportunity through high-paying, family-wage careers that

 

 

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1offer significant advancement opportunities without requiring
2advanced formal education; and
 
3    WHEREAS, The more than 40,000 vessel strong Jones Act
4fleet supports nearly 650,000 family-wage jobs and over $154
5billion in economic output nationally and $4.87 billion to the
6Illinois economy; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Mariners aboard Jones Act vessels strengthen
8America's homeland security as added eyes and ears monitoring
9the nation's 95,000 miles of shoreline and 25,000 miles of
10navigable inland waterways; and
 
11    WHEREAS, America's ability to project and deploy forces
12globally and supply and maintain military installations
13domestically depends on the civilian fleet of Jones Act
14vessels and mariners; therefore, be it
 
15    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
16HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
17we affirm our resolute support for the Jones Act and celebrate
18the more than 100-year history of the Jones Act in fostering a
19strong domestic maritime industry that is critical to Illinois
20workers and families and to the nation's economic prosperity
21and national security; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
2delivered to each member of the Illinois Congressional
3Delegation.