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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The Texas A&M Maritime Academy in Galveston plays an |
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important role in the education of U.S. Coast Guard maritime |
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professionals and in disaster relief, but it lacks a ship of |
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sufficient size to support U.S. waterborne commerce and national |
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security; and |
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WHEREAS, One of only six federally supported schools for |
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aspiring mariners, TAMMA trains future merchant marine officers |
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pursuing a college degree and a Coast Guard license; cadets require |
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six months at sea to earn certification as a third mate or third |
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engineer, but the academy's current training vessel, provided by |
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the Maritime Administration, holds only 50 students; consequently, |
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it has had to turn many applicants away; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the past dozen years, TAMMA has been obliged to |
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send some of its Sea Aggies to other academies for their oceangoing |
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experience; these cadets are placed at a disadvantage for |
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leadership roles, and in summer 2018, none of the other academies |
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were able to accommodate additional students; TAMMA was forced to |
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lease a ship at the cost of $4 million, of which approximately $1 |
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million was neither covered by student fees nor reimbursed by the |
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federal government; and |
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WHEREAS, Following disasters, marine academy ships are used |
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to provide clinics for victims, generate clean water and |
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electricity, and bring supplies into affected areas; the small ship |
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presently owned by TAMMA was activated to provide humanitarian aid |
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in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, but it could only hold 35 workers |
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from the Federal Emergency Management Agency; Texans impacted by |
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the catastrophe had to wait two weeks for the arrival of other |
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training ships from the East Coast, which were capable of housing |
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600 FEMA employees each; this delay severely affected both civilian |
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lives and the economy of the Houston area, which is home to the |
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nation's second-busiest port; the Gulf Coast is vulnerable to |
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extreme weather, and speedy recovery is essential in a region that |
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generates over $230 billion annually and encompasses more than 90 |
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percent of the nation's oil and gas production; and |
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WHEREAS, The ability to send and receive goods over the water |
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is critical to our economy and national security, but there is |
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already a shortage of trained seafarers; by providing TAMMA with a |
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national security multimission training vessel, the Maritime |
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Administration can ensure that the academy is able to help address |
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the maritime industry's workforce needs, while also improving |
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disaster response readiness in the Gulf Coast region; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the Texas delegation to the United States |
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Congress to express to the U.S. Maritime Administration and the |
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jurisdictional congressional committees the critical need to |
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provide a national security multimission training vessel to the |
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Texas A&M Maritime Academy; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the members of the Texas delegation to |
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Congress. |