President Trump Temporarily Suspends A 1920 Law To Help Puerto Rico — Here's What's Going On
Update, September 28: On Thursday morning, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced on Twitter that the Trump administration was suspending the Jones Act for Puerto Rico, effective immediately.
It was later reported that the waiver will be in effect for only 10 days — not nearly long enough to ease long-term rebuilding efforts.
Previously: As Puerto Rico continues to feel the devastating effects of last week's Hurricane Maria — with 44 percent of the island lacking safe drinking water — political pressure is mounting on the Trump Administration to suspend a nearly century-old piece of legislation that restricts which ships can deliver goods to the US territory. Here's what you need to know about the Jones Act.
The Jones Act Is A 1920 Law That Says Only American Ships Can Move Goods Between American Ports
The Jones Act, also known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, bars foreign ships from transporting goods between American ports — which means that Puerto Rico can only receive shipments from American ports.
It requires that ships going from American coast to American coast be American — built, owned, flagged and crewed. That means goods going from the mainland to Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Alaska and Guam, or even from Texas to New England, have to travel on U.S. ships, even if they're not the most economical transport or readily available.
The Act Was Intended To Protect America's Shipbuilding Industry And Shore Up Wartime Preparedness
After World War I, beefing up America's maritime strength seemed like a wise thing to do. But today the original rationale for the Jones Act seems anachronistic.
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, particularly Germany. By restricting domestic trade to US-flagged vessels with US crews, America would always have a robust fleet of boats and sailors on hand in the event German submarines attacked the US.
[NBC News]
The Jones Act Was Temporarily Waived After Hurricanes Harvey And Irma
The executive branch temporarily waived the Jones Act after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma damaged Texas and Florida respectively. Past presidents have also suspended the law in response to Hurricane Katrina and Sandy, among others.
In the wake of past natural disasters, the US has temporarily lifted the rule, known as the Jones Act after its sponsor, Senator Wesley Jones. The Department of Homeland Security did that earlier this month in response to hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which hammered the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts.
[Quartz]
Several Members Of Congress Have Asked The Department Of Homeland Security To Suspend The Act
Earlier this week, eight House Democrats wrote a letter to Department of Homeland Security acting secretary Elaine Duke — who holds the authority to suspend the Jones Act — to waive the law for one year to help Puerto Rico get the supplies it desperately needs.
On Monday, a group of eight House Democrats asked that DHS waive the law for one year for Puerto Rico.
"Temporarily loosening these requirements — for the express purpose of disaster recovery — will allow Puerto Rico to have more access to the oil needed for its power plants, food, medicines, clothing and building supplies," said a letter, spearheaded by Reps. Nydia Velazquez of New York, Luis Gutierrez of Illinois and Jose Serrano of New York.
[CBS News]
Senator John McCain (R-AZ), a longtime opponent of the Jones Act, also wrote a letter to Duke asking that she waive the act for Puerto Rico, saying, "It is unacceptable to force the people of Puerto Rico to pay at least twice as much for food, clean drinking water, supplies and infrastructure due to Jones Act requirements as they work to recover from this disaster."
Puerto Rico's Governor Says He Expects The Act Will Be Waived
Puerto Rico governor Ricardo Rosselló told CNN he expected DHS to waive the Jones Act for his territory.
He said he has been speaking with members of Congress from both parties who have supported an emergency waiver.
"We expect them to waive it," Rossello said in an interview with CNN. He noted there was a seven-day waiver after Hurricane Irma, which was much less devastating to the island.
[Reuters]
But DHS Says Suspending The Act Won't Help Puerto Rico Right Now
On Tuesday, the DHS released a statement asserting that a suspension of the Jones Act wouldn't help Puerto Rico now, since Puerto Rico has already received plenty of food, medicine and water from American ships. Unfortunately, these goods are largely stuck at Puerto Rican ports, since infrastructure damage and a lack of fuel are making it difficult to distribute them throughout the island.
Gregory Moore, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection, an office of Homeland Security, said in a statement that an assessment by the agency showed there was "sufficient capacity" of U.S.-flagged vessels to move commodities to Puerto Rico.
"The limitation is going to be port capacity to offload and transit, not vessel availability," Moore said.
[Reuters]
DHS Says It's Legally Constrained And Can't Suspend The Act For Any Reason
DHS says it can suspend the Jones Act only if it determines that American ships aren't up to the task of responding to Puerto Rico's needs, or if the Department of Defense asks it to.
A senior DHS official said Wednesday the Jones Act doesn't permit the department to grant waivers simply to push down costs. Waivers instead must be based on whether enough US ships are available to accommodate shipping needs. Only the Department of Defense may obtain a Jones Act waiver automatically, which it did to move petroleum products from Texas after Hurricane Harvey.
President Trump Also Seems Concerned About The Effects On The Shipping Industry
President Donald Trump hasn't helped matters by suggesting that his real concern is "people that work in the shipping industry," who of course profit from the Jones Act.
"We're thinking about that, but we have a lot of shippers and a lot of people that work in the shipping industry that don't want the Jones Act lifted," Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday afternoon when asked if his administration would waive the Jones Act.
[The Hill]
Suspending The Jones Act Will Have Longterm Benefits For Puerto Rico As It Rebuilds
Regardless of whether there are currently enough American vessels to serve Puerto Rico's short-term needs, suspending or repealing the Jones Act will lower prices in Puerto Rico, making it easier for economically devastated citizens to rebuild and recover over the coming months and year.
Thanks to the law, the price of goods from the United States mainland is at least double that in neighboring islands, including the United States Virgin Islands, which are not covered by the Jones Act. Moreover, the cost of living in Puerto Rico is 13 percent higher than in 325 urban areas elsewhere in the United States, even though per capita income in Puerto Rico is about $18,000, close to half that of Mississippi, the poorest of all 50 states…
Recovering from the disaster will be difficult no matter what, but the Jones Act will make it that much harder.
