Comment on Puerto Rico Desperately Needs Disaster Aid. This Century-Old Law Is Getting in the Way.

Puerto Rico Desperately Needs Disaster Aid. This Century-Old Law Is Getting in the Way.

The Department of Homeland Security and the White House are currently under immense pressure to provide quick disaster relief to Puerto Rico, but many people—including a number of members of Congress—are arguing that one of the biggest obstacles to doing so is a nearly century-old law known as the Jones Act. The Department of Homeland Security is currently keeping the law—which requires all goods shipped between two US ports to travel on US-built ships that are manned by US crews—in place, arguing there simply isn’t a reason to lift it. “Things could change, but our current assessment is that a waiver is not needed,” DHS spokesman David Lapan said in an email to Mother Jones Wednesday afternoon. The Jones Act was written after World War I and is designed to protect the American shipping industry and to provide the military with shipping and crew backup in times of national defense.

 

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