(WASHINGTON) — The decline in Defense Department cargo due to the withdrawal of most U.S. forces from Afghanistan and Iraq is hurting the U.S. merchant fleet, MarAd's Paul Jaenichen told a House panel on Wednesday, CQ Roll Call reported. The head of the Maritime Administration spoke at a hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. Panel Chairman Duncan Hunter, R- Calif., was critical of the Obama administration’s proposal to pay merchant ship operators $25 million in fiscal 2016 as compensation for its plan to reduce food aid shipped to needy countries.
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