Jones Act postpones Puerto Rico recovery from hurricane

 Washington Examiner:

Last week, Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Fiona. The entire island was left without power. Unfortunately, its residents continue to suffer a week later, and this time, nature alone cannot be blamed, as an archaic federal law called the Jones Act is preventing needed supplies from reaching the island territory as quickly as they could otherwise.

"There is a ship with 300,000 barrels of diesel off the southern coast of Puerto Rico, that is prepared to deliver the diesel at a time when the island needs all the diesel it can get," CBS News correspondent David Begnaud confirmed Monday morning on social media.

The problem is that this ship is foreign-flagged and its cargo comes from Texas. Therefore, the Jones Act prohibits its delivery.

"Diesel helps gas stations, hospitals, the government of Puerto Rico," Begnaud explained. "Because of the Jones Act, I am told that the foreign-flagged ship cannot move into Puerto Rico to deliver the diesel unless it obtains a Jones Act waiver."

The Jones Act, a piece of special interest legislation passed in 1920 to protect U.S. shipping companies from competition, prevents foreign vessels from carrying goods between U.S. ports. The law failed, as all protectionist laws ultimately do, to protect the Merchant Marine from its demise. The law simply incentivized greater use of railroads and trucking for interstate shipping. The fleet of merchant vessels grew to more than 2,000 during World War II but has since declined to fewer than 200.

Unfortunately, this law's consequences can be felt every day by residents of island locations such as Hawaii and Puerto Rico. In normal times, the Jones Act causes consumers to pay needlessly high prices. In times of crisis, it can have tragic consequences, which is what is happening in Puerto Rico right now.

...

The US would be better off if the law was repealed and certainly Puerto Rico and Hawaii would.  This law failed in it original intent and now harms the US. 

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