Cabotage Jones Act in Complete Jeopardy with Senator McCain's Bill

Dear All-

This Bill must be defeated in the Committee and we are in the process of preparing an Action Alert to allow you to send a letter to your state’s Senators. I will post the link to send a letter by noon on Saturday. We have seen what a foreign flagged vessel can do to the U.S. in the [I]Deepwater Horizon[/I] mess. Yes, there were U.S. seamen but one of the problems was the manning issue which was pushed by Transocean and blessed by the Marshall Islands. If it had been U.S. flagged, then this disaster may not have occurred.

The Cabotage aspects of the Jones Act is a fair and equitable law that permits U.S. Seamen to flourish on vessels in U.S. waters.

Is it protectionist? Yes; Is it necessary? Yes; Do other countries have them ? Yes.

[B]SENATOR JOHN McCAIN INTRODUCES OPEN AMERICA’S WATER ACT[/B]

   [B]June 25, 2010[/B]

“Today I am pleased to introduce legislation that would fully repeal the Jones Act, a 1920s law that hinders free trade and favors labor unions over consumers. Specifically, the Jones Act requires that all goods shipped between waterborne ports of the United States be carried by vessels built in the United States and owned and operated by Americans. This restriction only serves to raise shipping costs, thereby making U.S. farmers less competitive and increasing costs for American consumers.

“This was highlighted by a 1999 U.S. International Trade Commission economic study, which suggested that a repeal of the Jones Act would lower shipping costs by approximately 22 percent. Also, a 2002 economic study from the same Commission found that repealing the Jones Act would have an annual positive welfare effect of $656 million on the overall U.S. economy. Since these studies are the most recent statistics available, imagine the impact a repeal of the Jones Act would have today: far more than a $656 million annual positive welfare impact – maybe closer to $1 billion. These statistics demonstrate that a repeal of the Jones Act could prove to be a true stimulus to our economy in the midst of such difficult economic times.

“The Jones Act also adds a real, direct cost to consumers – particularly consumers in Hawaii and Alaska. A 1988 GAO report found that the Jones Act was costing Alaskan families between $1,921 and $4,821 annually for increased prices paid on goods shipped from the mainland. In 1997, a Hawaii government official asserted that ‘Hawaii residents pay an additional $1 billion per year in higher prices because of the Jones Act. This amounts to approximately $3,000 for every household in Hawaii.’”

“This antiquated and protectionist law has been predominantly featured in the news as of late due to the Gulf Coast oil spill. Within a week of the explosion, 13 countries, including several European nations, offered assistance from vessels and crews with experience in removing oil spill debris, and as of June 21st, the State Department has acknowledged that overall ‘it has had 21 aid offers from 17 countries
.’ However, due to the Jones Act, these vessels are not permitted in U.S. waters.

“The Administration has the ability to grant a waiver of the Jones Act to any vessel – just as the previous Administration did during Hurricane Katrina – to allow the international community to assist in recovery efforts. Unfortunately, this Administration has not done so.

“Therefore, some Senators have put forward legislation to waive the Jones Act during emergency situations, and I am proud to co-sponsor this legislation. However, the best course of action is to permanently repeal the Jones Act in order to boost the economy, saving consumers hundreds of millions of dollars. I hope my colleagues will join me in this effort to repeal this unnecessary, antiquated legislation in order to spur job creation and promote free trade.”

I personally believe one of the big reasons we have to get rid of the Jones Act is so that these foreign countries can transport their technologies to help clean up and contain the oil spill. The fact that they couldn’t help because of the Jones Act is absolutely absurd.

On top of that, half the ships you sail on these days are manned/maintained by Americans, but are built in other countries. Maybe if our country built more ship yards and contracted more shipbuilding jobs, we wouldn’t need something like the Jones Act to keep the US economy running. Right now, it is seriously impairing our economy. That is my opinion anyways…

[QUOTE=Jay;38101]I personally believe one of the big reasons we have to get rid of the Jones Act is so that these foreign countries can transport their technologies to help clean up and contain the oil spill. The fact that they couldn’t help because of the Jones Act is absolutely absurd.

On top of that, half the ships you sail on these days are manned/maintained by Americans, but are built in other countries. Maybe if our country built more ship yards and contracted more shipbuilding jobs, we wouldn’t need something like the Jones Act to keep the US economy running. Right now, it is seriously impairing our economy. That is my opinion anyways…[/QUOTE]

Keeping US mariners working on US ships in US waters does not impair the US economy. Outsourcing US jobs has destroyed the average wage earner over the last 20 years and
these republican senators who proposed this thing want to give away US jobs to foreign workers while claiming it will help the consumer? These same senators are opposed to the consumer protection bill and absolutely hate the card check idea of workers organizing so I seriously doubt they give a rat’s ass about the “consumer” or citizen.

I can’t figure out why he has such a hard on for the Jones Act. I guess since he’s form a state that doesn’t touch an open body of water he realize how important that piece of legislation is to the thousands of people that have jobs because of it.

Repel the Jones Act and there will be no American ship yards or Sailors because both can be bought overseas for next to nothing. Just in the GOM the boat companies would love to have the boats manned by guys making less then $50 a day working for months if not years at a time. Think how much less stress it would be if the office only had to worry about crew change once every 6 months.

As for the Jones Act getting in the way of oil spill clean up don’t believe it, as states there are ways around the laws during emergencies if the President feel sit is necessary.

http://media.tmmarket.com/marex/media/pdf/Large_Farmer_and_Mable.pdf

[B]Statement of Maritime Cabotage Task Force Opposing S. 3525, Legislation to Repeal Jones Act [/B]

[SIZE=2]We oppose this legislation. All the McCain bill would do is put more Americans out of work. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=2]The McCain bill proposes to eliminate the very American industry that is helping to clean up the spill - an industry that supports 500,000 U.S. jobs - and outsource that work to foreign workers and foreign companies registered in nations like Liberia and the Marshall Islands that operate outside of American law. [/SIZE]

Read the complete document issued on 28 June 2010 from The Martime Cabotage Task Force…