Since 2001, everyone with a connection to waterborne commerce has made continuous observations regarding the importance of port security and the trials associated with keeping our nation safe from threats entering our country, particularly by way of the waterfront. That concern is certainly still with us today, but I would like to remind readers of the challenges that our public ports are facing on a daily basis that are just as critical to the U.S. well-being.
We must keep our ports properly maintained and navigable. Our seaports have always served as a fundamental economic link to every American as well as the primary link for access to the global market. Keeping our seaports navigable, secure and sustainable means we must make investments in our transportation infrastructure a high priority because it can play a major role in the economic recovery that we urgently need. Such investments will also pay significant dividends by making the movement of goods more efficient, with less congestion and less air pollution and delivering economic prosperity throughout the nation.
Addressing these improvements to port infrastructure will create new high-paying jobs and assist in sustaining current employment levels. Our ports provide some of the highest-paying jobs in the country. Maritime jobs provide livable wages for Americans. Part of the solution to getting the U.S. back on firm economic footing exists through the contributions that our ports represent.
The U.S. economy is clearly in a funk. Consumer spending is down. Our ports play a role in offering consumers affordable options when purchasing food, pharmaceuticals, clothing, fuel and many other articles necessary in our daily lives.
While imports are extremely important to the consumer, it should be noted that more than 40 percent of our economic growth last year was attributable to exports. The combination of balancing imports with exports will offer the much-needed impact for the current economic crises to come to an end sooner rather than later. It cannot be achieved without highly efficient and functional port infrastructure.