Forward!

“It’s a shot in the head,” claims Gallagher. “The Obama Administration, not unlike prior administrations, has enjoyed the foreign-flag cruise lobby largesse and largely ignored the fact that this US-passenger-dependent industry competes with US hotels, resorts, casinos, and other hospitality organizations without having to pay taxes or hire Americans.”

“It’s amazing to me,” said Gallagher, “that the President bragged just last week that he ‘walks the talk’ when it comes to a level playing field and giving Americans a fair shot in the global economy.”

“In reality,” said Gallagher, “American passengers support a $40 billion-a-year industry that found a way to beat the system — to avoid hiring Americans or paying taxes on their multi-billion-dollar revenues.”

“Our organization,” says Gallagher, “found a way to compete by designing a superior product that Royal Caribbean has, in many respects, emulated with their 5,400-passenger Oasis-class ships. But we went further and found an internationally competitive way to build the ship here in America, to fly the Stars & Stripes, to pay taxes, to hire Americans, and to play by the rules.”

“Having demonstrated that our plan would be economically sound, would not cost the taxpayers anything, would not increase the debt but would improve the deficit, the only way to push us off the cliff was to enact policy that preempted the nation’s ship financing program from being used to build cruise ships. That’s what the Obama Administration did,” claims Gallagher.

Technically, I guess it doesn’t count as “outsourcing jobs” if you preemptively ban them being offered in the first place.

So.  At least that Obama talking point is saved!