Puerto Rico will remain subject to a law that requires most shipping within the United States to be carried out by Americans, despite concerns that the law increases shipping costs for the ailing island economy.
“Relief from the Jones Act would allow the cost of living in Puerto Rico to decline, allowing residents to stretch their wages further than before,” said Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., who proposed adding an exemption from the law to a larger bill addressing the Puerto Rico debt crisis that House Natural Resources Committee lawmakers have negotiated over the past few months.
“If Congress wants to help Puerto Rico, we must provide them with opportunities to better their economy and lower their cost of living, not bail them out without any forward thinking solutions,” he said.
House Natural Resources Committee chairman Rob Bishop opposed Palmer’s amendment, among others, which had the potential to undermine support for the overall Puerto Rico bill.
“For the sake of Puerto Rico … moving judiciously is significant, and that’s why I think we did the background work so we could move expeditiously,” Bishop told the Rules Committee on Wednesday.
The Jones Act is deeply unpopular among conservatives, who deride it as a counterproductive protectionist policy. The law “requires that vessels used for domestic shipping must be built in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens and at least 75 percent crewed by U.S. citizens,” and “costs the U.S. economy $200 million per year,” according to the Heritage Foundation.
But the law also enjoys bipartisan support, as many Republicans and Democrats who represent districts or states that rely on shipping defend the proposal. “There’s a reason Puerto Rico buys its orange juice from China rather than Florida,” a senior House Republican staffer told the Washington Examiner.
