Posted on 09/28/2017 3:40:18 PM PDT by EveningStar
Republican Sens. John McCain and Mike Lee introduced legislation Thursday to permanently exempt Puerto Rico from the Jones Act shipping law.
The senators say the Trump administration's decision Thursday to grant a 10-day waiver of the Jones Act for Puerto Rico does not go far enough to help rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Maria and encourage long-term economic growth on the bankrupt island.
"While I welcome the Trump administration's Jones Act waiver for Puerto Rico, this short-term, 10-day exemption is insufficient to help the people of Puerto Rico recover and rebuild from Hurricane Maria," said McCain, R-Ariz. "Our legislation would permanently exempt Puerto Rico from the Jones Act, an antiquated, protectionist law that has driven up costs and crippled Puerto Rico's economy. For years, I have fought to fully repeal the Jones Act, which has long outlived its purpose to the benefit of special interests. It's time for Congress to take action, end this injustice, and help our fellow citizens in this time of need."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
Is there any fad or leftist cause that McCain won’t glom on to?
If John McCain is in favor of it, it’s probably the wrong thing to do.
Six months maybe, one year tops, not forever, unless the Jones Act is to be repealed in its entirety.
President would still need to sign it and I predict he won’t if it even makes it through both houses.
“Is there any fad or leftist cause that McCain won’t glom on to?”
John McCain should have the title of Senatorial $hit Disturber, because he seeks out any issue where he can be at odds with everyone. Can’t wait to read his obit.
“...but he’s not always wrong.”
In this case I think he is. There aren’t enough piers in condition to accept freight from those vessels of Jones category as it is after the hurricane much less a bunch of vessels on top of those from various other sources. The ten days is probably enough, and probably too much.
If you can’t imagine the chaos of a harbor full of ships waiting to unload at limited facilities that will also have to be continuously cleared to accept freight from more incoming vessels I can.
Does anyone believe that McCain has been fighting to get rid of the Jones Act for years? If you do, why was he not successful? The truth, he lied today.
What about the idiotic rule that a foreign ship cannot unload at Seattle, then unload at Portland, then unload at LA? Instead the ship has to choose one? We shouldn’t outright ban foreign vessels from being contracted to do work in US waters, having a tax for companies that do this might be okay, but an outright ban is dumb.
The Jones Act applies to coastwide trade.
mainland>PR
PR>PR
PR>mainland
I can see where a temporary suspension would be needed if PR ships were ruined, but in the long-term I would think it would be say comparing:
Haiti>mainland on say Chinese ship
PR>mainland only on US ship
The US ship would have customs & DEA time saving I would think.
The PPACA gives foreign workers a cost advantage of up to about $10,000/year/worker.
No tax cut is going to dent that much on average.
If the PPACA is to be retained, the Jones Act type protections for American workers need to grow.
Be more interested in what Lee has to say about it.
May be a good idea, may not be.
I’m not a fan of Chinese-made ships and crews taking over from the US maritime ships and crews needed to back our armed forces.
McCain has been agitating against the Jones Act for a long time. The Jones Act does raise costs for shipping between US ports, but without it there would be no US Merchant Marine. International shipping is manned by dollar-a-day Third World sailors, a large number of whom have their passports confiscated once on board and are basically slaves. They get abandoned in distant ports or become personae non gratae, trapped in port or on rusting hulks with no means to get home.
McCain is in someone’s pocket in the international shipping industry. US merchant shipping is already at levels insufficient to sustain any significant tempo of military operations or losses against a sophisticated enemy. To damage it further is hardly the position of a patriot.
Good grief...
These are American citizens...
Its not their fault their politicians cooked the books...
Repealing it won’t make one iota of difference in Puerto Rico.
The Jones Act, otherwise known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, requires goods shipped between American ports to be carried out exclusively by ships built and sailed primarily in the United Signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson two years after World War I ended.
The Jones Act was passed as a protective measure against foreign competition and to have U.S. citizens as shipping vessels’ owners and crews. The law has since found backers in the American maritime industry, which says it supports American jobs. Recent presidents from both parties, including George W. Bush and Barack Obama, have touted it as crucial to national security because it reduces America’s dependency on foreign-owned vessels.
President Trump waived the ACT for 10 days so there could be a much larger opportunity for Puerto Rico to get the immediate goods and supplies to get back on their feet.
McCain and Lee are trying to overturn legislation that has been successful for almost 100 years and is currently been productive for our fleets. I’m sure if it was required, Trump would consider extending the waiver for longer as needed. But to permanently remove it is ridiculous when according to a statement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that indicated that it had concluded there was a “sufficient capacity” of U.S.-flagged ships to move commodities to Puerto Rico, it appears not to be needed anyway. Doesn’t McCain or Lee ask anyone anything?
rwood
Of course these tools can do this but not they can’t repeal Obamacare.
Nothing is permanent
Not even John McCain
While they are at it how about some relief for Hawaii?
Interstate Commerce laws won’t allow goods from US to Hawaii via the Panama Canal (Thank you Peanut President)
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