Murkowski introduces bill providing permanant exemption from PVSA for Alaska cruisesPosted & Edited By MARY KAUFFMAN
September 24, 2021
Senator Murkowski previously introduced the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act (ATRA), signed into law on May 24, 2021, which provided a temporary exemption from the PVSA for cruises traveling between the State of Washington and Alaska in order to get around Canada’s restrictions preventing U.S. cruises from docking at their ports.
“A few months ago, we were able to move the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act over the finish line, providing a temporary legislative fix to the PVSA to help bring tourism back to a number of Alaskan communities that rely on the hundreds of thousands of visitors who come to the state by way of cruise ships. While the PVSA still serves its purpose in the Lower 48, it unintentionally put many Alaskan businesses at the mercy of the Canadian government when Canada closed its borders, including ports. The inability for cruises to travel to Alaska nearly wiped out our economies in Southeast - communities like Skagway for example saw an 80 percent drop in business revenues,” said Senator Murkowski. Murkowski said, “I’m proud to introduce new legislation to provide a permanent exemption for cruises between any U.S. port and Alaska from the PVSA. My new bill guarantees the PVSA will not intrude on Alaska’s tourism economy, while also ensuring foreign-built ships do not compete with U.S.-built ships. This legislation is good news for every Alaskan whose livelihood relies on tourism.” In 2019, Alaska hosted over 1.3 million visitors by way of cruise ships. That number came to a halt in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated mandates, decimating Alaskan small businesses and Alaska’s economy overall. For example, according to a Southeast Conference June 2020 report, Skagway business revenue was down 80 percent compared to the same period in 2019. The tourism industry in Alaska typically generates more than $214 million in state and municipal revenue, more than $1.4 billion in payroll, and $2.2 billion in visitor spending—all of which saw a significant decline during the coronavirus pandemic. Recently, Alaska Congressman Don Young (R-AK) published an op-ed in the Vancouver Sun detailing his recently introduced legislation (Tribal Tourism Sovereignty Act) to allow ports or land owned by Tribes or Alaska Native Corporations to satisfy the Passenger Vessel Services Act’s (PVSA) foreign stop requirement. Under the PVSA, large foreign-flagged passenger vessels are not permitted to make consecutive U.S. port stops without a foreign stop in between. This year, Alaska’s 2021 cruse season was put at risk by Canada’s decision to close its ports, effectively crushing a major component of Alaska’s economy. The Alaska Congressional Delegation successfully passed H.R. 1318, the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act, to save a portion of the cruise season. Following enactment by President Biden, cruises this year were exempted from stopping in Canada on voyages between Seattle and Alaska. In his op-ed, Young wrote, "My proposal is simple yet powerful: Large foreign-flagged passenger vessels that call on ports or places in the United States owned by Tribes or Alaska Native Corporations would be compliant with the PVSA’s foreign-stop requirement." "In Alaska, this would mean that voyages would no longer have to stop in or originate in Canada. Cruises could start and end in Alaska, maximizing their time in our state and opening new economic development opportunity for Alaskans. My bill also benefits tribal communities in the lower 48 states by creating port development opportunities for tribes in Washington State, Oregon, the Great Lakes, and the Northeast," wrote Young. Further he wrote, "There are many potential locations for this arrangement to flourish: the Aleutians on Adak, Metlakatla, or even Port Clarence in the Bering Sea. Additionally, my bill includes strong provisions to protect native sovereignty and puts native communities in control of agreements with cruise lines." “Upon the expiration of the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act, Canada will once again have de facto veto authority over Alaska’s cruise industry. As a result, we must reform the PVSA to protect the sovereignty of our tourism economy,” Young wrote. In his op-ed, Congressman Young details his Tribal Tourism Sovereignty Act, which implements a permanent fix to allow large foreign-flagged ships to bypass Canada entirely. Click here to read his full op-ed. The Canadian government rejected a request from the United States for a technical stop along the coast to avoid the temporary legislation the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act (ATRA), that was eventually passed on May 24, 2021. According to the Agassiz-Harrison Observer, Ian Robertson, the CEO of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, sid he believes the province is taking the threat of an economic impact more seriously than it did in the spring when a bill was quickly introduced and passed in the U.S. House of Representatives aimed at adjusting the same law. These two U.S. bills now proposed by Congressman Young and U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski aimed at allowing Alaska-bound cruise ships to bypass Canadian ports would have a “devastating” effect on British Columbia’s economy, Robertson said. B.C. Tourism Minister Rob Fleming said “The cruise ship industry is vital to B.C. tourism, and to thousands of people whose livelihoods rely on the regular arrival of ships,”
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