Posted on 06/26/2010 4:54:24 AM PDT by rabscuttle385
U.S. Sen. John McCain has introduced legislation to repeal a 90-year-old maritime law that requires vessels transporting goods between states to have been built in the United States, be crewed and owned by U.S. citizens and fly the U.S. flag.
The law, known as the Jones Act, has been criticized recently for allegedly hampering foreign ships offering assistance in the cleanup of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
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I’m not defending Obama, as I agree on the know-nothing mooselimb puke part, but I worry about the unintended consequences of waving or repealing the Jones Act.
It would open up our ports to even further invasions from vessels built, owned and manned by muslims, illegal aliens and the rest of Americas enemies.
Good point. Doing away with the Jones Act is just something the Liberal Globalists will love...who see nothing wrong with dangerous foreign nations and nationals running our shipping.
Would not surprise me that Obama, McCain, and all the Liberal Globalists wanted to use this oil disaster as a way to repeal Jones, and sell out our shipping to foreign nations.
In fact, the Jones Act should have never been applied to the Gulf oil rig blowout...as the rig was in International waters.
So who owns and mans all the ships bringing in oil and goods now?
As I understand it the Jones Act deals with transport between US ports not incoming or leaving between US and overseas ports.
See wiki
Obama is messing with the southern states because they are Repubs...His atitude...."I won"
It's early. When I read that I thought “Fairy on the Lake” and though what's Rahm up to today?
The Jones Act seems like the shipping equivalent of laws that (in the past)prevented foreign owned trucking lines from operating within the USA. Of course, provisions of NAFTA that would allow Mexican trucks to operate within the US have been controversial in recent years.
Do we really want foreign owned trucking or shipping companies to operate on routes between US states and cities? Unions probably support the Jones Act, but I don’t think it can be said that only unions support it.
And can foreign airlines operate between US cities? And what do other nations allow US companies to do within their borders?
But, of course, the act should be waived in emergency situations such as the Gulf oil leak.
This one might well turn out like Juan's bill he introduced to regulate food supplements, simply because he heard testimony that some athletes had abused food supplements and steroids. He withdrew that one and slinked away after the, what should have been, predictable blowback.
This bill to repeal the Jones Act sounds like another McCain knee-jerk reaction that has not been very well thought out.
A day late and a dollar short, McCain.
Obambi SHOULD waive the act temporarily, but repeal would hurt national security.
It’s also about national security. If you waive the Jones Act, America’s merchant marine will disappear. In peacetime that’s not an issue for most of us - and would mean lower prices because wed be able to use cheaper foreing vessels. But in wartime we’d be up a creek because our armed forces would have to rely on foreign vessels and crews.
Let me add that Juan is clumsily riding the crest of "Jones Act" now being a buzz phrase.....he's being stupidly impulsive, opportunistic and a drama queen.
(.....if you can ever envision that colorless drone, McCain, ever being a drama queen, that is).
He's actually just trying to punctuate through a dumb move that he's relevant in the oil spill crisis....even though nobody thinks he is except himself.
There is no rational reason for voting for the re-election of the irrational senator from Arizona.
Leni
I was thinking more along the lines of using this crisis to destroy any remaining protective trade barriers we may have.
Obama is messing with the southern states because they are Repubs...His atitude....”I won”
He’s making a big mistake messing with the south. We’re tired of being pushed around by this sorry bastard.
Good GRIEF!! Why wasn’t this done on day 2????
If the Jones act is repealed it would shut down every commercial shipbuilding yard in the US. We have few enough anyway, but it would also put all of our seaman out of a job..few of them anyway. Union or not. Every commercial fishing boat would be built overseas and manned by foreigners. It is a protectionest act, but it has been the only thing that has preserved the tattered remnants of our commercial shipping and fishing industry.
I spent part of my career as a supplier to the US and Foreign shipbuilding industry..so I know the issue and what has been done over the years to by pass it(like the big trawler processors “converted” in Europe).
In spite of being a freetrader..I would not vote to repeal the Jones Act, or vote for anyone who did.
It’s Bob Dole all over again.
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