President Bush authorizes second Jones Act waiver after ?Rita?

President Bush authorizes second Jones Act waiver after æRitaÆ    In the aftermath of Hurricane Rita, President George W. Bush has directed the Department of Homeland Security, to again temporarily waive restrictions blocking foreign-flag vessels from transport fuel from one U.S. port to another.
   The leeway given foreign vessels will 'be important for expediting supply to deal with bottlenecks,' Bush said Monday.
   The 1920 Merchant Marine Act, better known as the Jones Act, restricts domestic waterborne trades to U.S.-flag vessels. Waivers to the Jones Act are rarely granted.
   The Bush administration, however, had previously granted a Jones Act waiver on Sept. 1, a week after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and neighboring ports. That waiver, intended to help transport gasoline to the U.S. East Coast and petroleum released from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, expired midnight Sept. 19.
   Jones Act carriers, represented largely by the Washington-based Maritime Cabotage Task Force (MCTF), supported Bush's first waiver. The MCTF has not yet commented on the latest waiver announcement.
   'MCTF has the matter under review and will withhold further comment until a review is completed,' Glen G. Nekvasil, a spokesman for the task force, told Shippers' NewsWire.
   In other hurricane relief matters, the Internal Revenue Service has said it will allow the use of 'dyed diesel fuel' for on-road use without a tax penalty, thereby increasing supplies of diesel fuel. Dyed diesel fuel is ordinarily not subject to federal excise taxes because it is intended for off-road use in farm equipment, or in certain government vehicles such as school buses.