Since Hurricane Maria swept across Puerto Rico, wiping out most of the island’s infrastructure and causing immense human suffering, many have cited the Jones Act as an impediment to getting needed supplies to the island. For some, criticism of the Act is based on misinformation; for others it is based on the misguided view that the U.S. government should not play a role in ensuring that U.S. crews and ships are always available for military and humanitarian missions. On behalf of the AFL-CIO, I am writing to set the record straight.
Since 1789, the federal government has regulated coastal trade and, like many other maritime nations, has enacted laws to maintain a domestic maritime industry to ensure that we would not be dependent on foreign nations in times of war or natural disasters. The Jones Act, passed in 1920, accomplishes this goal by requiring that vessels carrying passengers and merchandise between U.S. ports must be U.S.-owned, U.S.-crewed and U.S.-built. Repealing the Jones Act would mean that neither U.S. ships nor crews would be available in national emergencies.
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