Rep. Hunter calls Jones Act opposition ‘stupid’

Chairman of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., expressed strong support for the Jones Act Wednesday during a Capitol Hill hearing.    Chairman of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., gave impassioned remarks in support of the Jones Act Wednesday morning during a Capitol Hill hearing held to examine the state of the U.S.-flag maritime industry.
   The Jones Act, also known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, requires that all goods shipped between American ports travel on U.S.-flagged ships with American crews.
   Among those who gave testimony during the hearing, some in support of the Jones Act, included: Rear Admiral John Nadeau, assistant commandant for prevention policy, U.S. Coast Guard; Mark H. Buzby, administrator, Maritime Administration; Capt. Andrew McGovern, president, The United New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Association; Matt Woodruff, president, American Maritime Partnership; James Henry, chairman, USA Maritime; Aaron Smith, president and CEO, Offshore Marine Service Association; Matthew Paxton, president, Shipbuilders Council of America; and Bill Van Loo, secretary treasurer, Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association.
   However, it was Hunter who gave perhaps the more forceful remarks, calling opposition to the Jones Act “stupid,” among other things.
   “In order for us to maintain the way of life as we know it, as a nation that’s secure and able to project power – be it Navy power or commercial power – the Jones Act is intrinsic to that. It is the cornerstone of all of it,” he said at one point.
   “The absurdities of some of those in this Congress and in government, to think that you want Korean or Chinese or name your country-made ships, and taking the entire American workforce of making ships and driving them, and getting something from point A to point B in America, it’s stupid, it’s absurd, and I hope that we just keep educating and educating, ‘cause that’s what it’s going to take so that people understand what this is and how this is one of the cornerstones of our country’s entire national security apparatus,” he said. “It is the Jones Act, and it is what allows us to project power and be the greatest country in the world,” Duncan concluded.
   Woodruff, of the American Maritime Partnership, the domestic shipping industry’s primary trade organization, also chimed in on the issue, saying that opposition to the Jones Act is basically foolish. “I think they’re misguided. I think that they have people who are trying to get an undue advantage over a situation, who are trying to tell them things that aren’t necessarily true and there are a lot of people out there who are trying to make a buck, and they think they can do so by promoting the false narrative about cost association,” Woodruff remarked.
   Although waivers of the Jones Act are rare, they aren’t unprecedented. In September 2017, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) approved a temporary waiver of the Jones Act to expand the options for delivering fuel to states and territories impacted by the recent hurricanes. Later that month, DHS approved a temporary Jones Act waiver for Puerto Rico due to hurricane damage. A waiver was also issued in December 2012 in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy to help facilitate the rapid delivery of petroleum products.