Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 2056 - Shipbuilding Trade Reform Act of 1991

(House Rules)
(Gibbons (D) Florida and 30 others)

If H.R. 2056 is presented to the President in its current form, his senior advisers would recommend a veto.

First and foremost, the scorekeeping language in section 107 is unacceptable. This section contains the CBO scoring language required by House Rule XXI. In a letter of December 21, 1990, the President stated that he would veto any bill containing such language. The effect of this provision is to overturn a key element of the Federal spending control mechanisms enacted pursuant to the 1990 Budget Agreement.

Second, this bill requires a listing of subsidized foreign shipyards and a construction certificate (verifying construction in a non-listed shipyard or payback of any subsidy received) for all vessels entering a U.S. port. The bill also amends the antidumping and countervailing duty laws to authorize the imposition of duties on dumped or subsidized sales of commercial vessels. The Administration opposes enactment of these provisions of H.R. 2056 because they:

— could violate U.S. obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT);

— would harm U.S. exporters and importers upon whom the increased cost of shipping will be assessed, and could result in retaliation against U.S. exports; and

— would present administrative and legal difficulties to enforce.

Third, title II of H.R. 2056 provides for a phased repeal of the Coast Guard recreational boating fees, establishment of a new user fee for remote computer access to the Automated Tariff Filing and Information (ATFI) system of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), and establishment of a Strategic Sealift Fund. The Administration strongly objects to repeal of recreational boating user fees. We believe it is unfair for general taxpayers to bear the entire cost of Coast Guard services, such as search and rescue, boating safety, and aids to navigation, that provide substantial benefits to recreational boaters.

Fourth, the Administration also opposes charging fees for access to ATFI services in the manner provided for in H.R. 2056. This provision would place the FMC in unfair competition with private sector information providers. In addition, by requiring fees to be paid for the resale of government information, this provision is inconsistent with the intent of the Copyright Act. Any person who wishes to provide enhanced information services using ATFI should be able to do so without restriction.

Finally, the Administration strongly opposes the establishment of the Strategic Sealift Fund and the earmarked uses of ATFI revenues deposited in the Fund. These provisions are both unnecessary and inappropriate. Instead, the Administration supports enactment of the recently proposed National Defense Sealift fund that would provide for needed acquisition and operation programs for defense sealift.

SCORING FOR THE PURPOSE OF PAYGO AND DISCRETIONARY CAPS

H.R. 2056 would affect receipts; therefore it is subject to the pay-as-you-go requirement of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation ACT (OBRA) of 1990. OMB's preliminary scoring estimates of this bill are presented in the table below. Final scoring of this proposal may deviate from this estimate. If H.R. 2056 is enacted, final OMB scoring estimates would be published within five days of enactment, as required by OBRA. The cumulative effects of all legislation on direct spending and revenue will be issued in monthly reports transmitted to Congress.

ESTIMATES FOR PAY-AS-YOU-GO
(in millions of $)