Here’s another way in which the Obama administration is obstructing the oil spill cleanup: Although the government has supposedly reconsidered its refusal to allow the Dutch to help, Obama has not waived the Jones Act. The Jones Act is an appalling piece of protectionist legislation from 1920 that requires that all ships operating between US ports be US-flagged, US-constructed, US-owned, crewed by Americans, and repaired at US shipyards. The Jones Act makes it impossible for foreign ships to assist in the spill cleanup, since there’s no practical way to assist without moving between US ports.
Why not waive the Jones Act, as the Bush administration did in the wake of Hurricane Katrina? The unions oppose it:
Members of the American shipping industry, (arguably the sole beneficiary of Jones) are open to waiving the Jones Act in dire circumstances, but insist that as of right now: “American vessels are doing the job.”
“Countless American vessels are already responding in the Gulf. In addition, we know that many other American vessels are standing by ready to help,” reads a statement released Friday by the Maritime Cabotage Task Force, a lobbying group that represents scores of both unionized and nonunionized employees and employers in the American maritime industry.
The presser goes on to say that the maritime industry “has not and will not stand in the way of the use of these well-established waiver procedures to address this crisis,” so long as the Obama administration can prove that there aren’t American vessels willing to help but waiting in the wings.
MTCF spokesman Mark Ruge confirms that his organization, which represents groups as disparate as the AFL-CIO and the Goodtime Cruise Line, has communicated its position to White House officials.
“I think the reason the administration has not waived the Jones act yet is because it’s not a situation where they need to,” Ruge said. “American vessels are doing the job. I’m assuming that we’ll see a point where there might not be any American vessels, and at that point, I’m sure they’ll waive the Jones act.”
Obviously American ships are not doing the job, whatever the unions might claim. But the unions are adamant that Jones not be waived until every available union sailor is on the gravy train. If some foreign ships would do a better job, well, that’s not really a consideration.
Robert Gibbs claims that no waiver is necessary, and that foreign ships are already assisting in the cleanup. Perhaps he’s referring to ships working in international waters. Fox News notes that the Coast Guard admits that assistance from several countries (including the Dutch) has been refused because it doesn’t meet “the operational requirements of the Unified Area Command”. If not the Jones Act, it’s difficult to imagine what those requirements might be.
UPDATE (6/18): More here.
Internet Scofflaw 