1 - American Memory

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Thank you very much.
Mr. DiNGELL. Thank you, Mrs. Mink. The Chair commends both you
and Mr. Matsunaga for very fine pi-esentations and for your help to
this committee.
The Chair recognizes Mr. Kuykendall.
Mr. KtTTKENDALL. If it is convenient for the two Members from
Hawaii to remain here, I would like to wait until we hear from all of
our witnesses and then question them all at once.
Mrs. MINK. I will be glad to remain.
Mr. DiNGELiv. I think that is an excellent suggestion if it meets the
approval of our colleagues from Hawaii. The Chair would observe
they have done an excellent job in assisting this committee in prepar-
ing for the hearings. It would be helpful to us if they would contmue
to assist us in the same outstanding fashion.
Then the Chair will observe we have here a communication from
Senator Hiram L. Fong, relating to legislation H.R. 7189. Sen-
ator Fong indicates he is not able to be here because of a doctor's
appointment.
Without objection, that statement will appear at this point in the
record as though read.
[Senator Fong's statement follows:]
STATEMENT OF HON. HIRAM L. FONG, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE
STATE OF HAWAII
Senator FONG. Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommitee,
thank you very much for scheduling today's hearing. We who repre-
sent areas directly aflFected by this legislation appreciate your pro-
viding time in these busy days before the October recess to hear our
plea for protection against disruptions of our ocean transportation
lifeline to and from the west coast.
My statement in support of H.R. 7189, the Hawaii and Western
Islands Surface Commerce Protection Act, supplements my remarks
at the subcommittee's June 5 hearing last year on this important
legislation.
In today's statement I wish to reemphasize the urgent need for this
bill, which would provide a 160-day exemption for Hawaii and the
other Pacific Islands under U.S. jurisdiction—Guam, American
Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands—from the effects
of longshore or maritime strikes or lockouts closing west coast ports.
I intend also to make clear the inadequacy of existing remedies, to
draw the subcommittee's attention to an important recent develop-
ment bearing on the continuity of Hawaii-west coast trade, to provide
additional information regarding the impact of shipping tieups on
Hawaii, and to rebut certain specific criticisms which have been made
with regard to legislation of this nature.
I approach this problem as one who is firmly committed to the prin-
ciple of collective bargaining. This is one of the cornerstones of our
Nation's labor-management relations. The freedom of labor and of
management to bargain across the table on wages, hours, working con-
ditions, and fringe benefits is one of the hallmarks of America's pri-
vate enterprise system and distinguishes our system from many other