Laura Sanicola and Timothy Gardner of Reuters report on the U.S. defense bill which will strengthen the Jones Act.
- The Senate-passed defense bill will make it harder and more expensive to transport fuel and deliver emergency relief.
- The bill makes it harder for non-American ships to obtain a Jones Act waiver and requires a presidential determination that the waiver is needed for national defense.
- The outdated Jones Act has driven up costs, hurt American energy security, and failed to protect America’s shipping industry.
- Lawmakers should modernize or ultimately repeal the Jones Act.
“The annual must-pass National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, amends the Jones Act waiver process to require the request be made public, establishes a 48 hour holding period after publication, prohibits any ship with goods on waterways from obtaining the waiver and requires a presidential determination that the waiver is needed for national defense.”
Read the full article here.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.
