"The Jones Act" of 1920 - We don't have Dutch skimmers because of the Jones Act?????????????????????

The Jones Act, enacted in 1920, places restrictions on certain shipborne activities in U.S. waters to boats built in the U.S. and operated by American workers. Foreign Policy magazine noted last month that a number of nations had offered to help contain the spill by sending over skimmer ships, but US officials turned the offers down, saying thanks, but they could handle the spill on their own. It was unclear what was going on at the time, but politicians and commentators on both sides of the partisan divide are now wondering whether the Jones Act is behind the refusal.
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/06/11/gulf-oil-spill-update-whats-all-this-business-about-the-jones/

From a transcript released by the White House of the daily press briefing with Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, we learn that some of the best dredgers and skimmers from countries like Belgium, The Netherlands and Norway are being kept away from clean-up efforts in the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico because of the Jones Act—a protectionist law that requires vessels working in US waters be built in the US and be crewed by US workers.

Waivers to the Jones Act were granted by the administration of George W. Bush in the days following hurricane Katrina. And today, the Obama White House said waivers might again be considered. “If there is the need for any type of waiver, that would obviously be granted,” said White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs. “But, we’ve not had that problem thus far.”
<snip>
When asked about this by Fox News, Admiral Allen said, “If it gets to the point where a Jones Act waiver is required, we’re willing to do that too. Nobody has come to me with a request for a Jones Act waiver.”

After fifty-plus days of oil flowing freely into the gulf, the question could be asked: Why do effective and proven foreign clean up ships remain on the sidelines? Joseph Carafano, of the Heritage Foundation, believes it may have something to do with the Obama administration’s close relationship with labor unions.
http://potluckbloggers.wordpress.com/2010/06/11/breaking-wh-energy-czar-browner-unaware-adm-allen-willing-to-waive-jones-act-that-is-slowing-oil-spill-disaster-clean-up/

Close relationship with unions - bwahahahahahahaha!!

They are enforcing the Jones Act to keep out the skimmers???????????????????????????????????????????

Why don't we build them here? Obviously, clean up at this point is a must, but why is our domestic shipbuilding industry lagging in this?

Maybe we need to call Brownie and ask him if we need some help.

Who the hell are you listening to?

This is mind-boggling.

The Heritage Foundation wants to scuttle the Jones Act and is using the spill as an excuse.

There's only one thing those creeps hate more than working Americans and that is working Americans who make a good living.

Gibbs admitted that they were using the Jones Act and would grant waivers if need be.

The labor crap is BS.

:dem:

-Laelth

Obama was doing a good job at.

That nothing more could feasibly be done to improve the effort!


Now Im confused. And when that happens......









Wait for it....








LEAVE OBAMA ALONE!

Dutch Press, CSMonitor and a couple other links- posted here about a week ago:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8474818#top

I haven't seen an update, but they were supposed to be shipping the weekend of May 28.
Then there was going to be some more time involved with help from a Dutch team after they arrived here.

the other part is from a press conference with Gibbs. The Heritage Foundation is an aside.

The Dutch asked us if we needed their help a lot earlier. We said no then.

about whether we WOULD actually use them, *after* USCG reportedly finally requested them themselves-- on May 18, which seems a bit bizarre.

Seems like a long, crazy story. One of the links alludes to the Dutch going through the State Dept with their offer when they got no response from the BPUSCG apparatus. Much more at the thread/links.

because the Unions would not like this.

I have no idea, but I wish the Union or someone from the WH
would speak up.

Just found this:



http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/steffy/7043272.html

:wow:


Interesting quote here:

Many in the U.S., including the president, have expressed frustration with the handling of the cleanup. In the Netherlands, the response would have been different, Visser said.

There, the government owns the cleanup equipment, including the skimmers now being deployed in the Gulf.

“If there's a spill in the Netherlands, we give the oil companies 12 hours to react,” he said.

If the response is inadequate or the companies are unprepared, the government takes over and sends the companies the bill.

Jeez!

6 Billion dollars profit in first quarter 2010.

I think they could afford their own damn AMERICAN boats.

Bush waived the Jones act for Katrina.

they are gonna kick our ass over that fact

of empty flooded school buses sitting in New Orleans, I just saw. Today is the first I heard about this issue-- I thought it was supposedly the EPA and the issue of returning water less than oil free back to the sea.

Not unless there is a specific provision of some kind.

Or maybe now we are OK with a President ignoring the law?

Isn't that what Transocean argued in court to limit its liability, that it was a VESSEL under the maritime act, that it was not anchored, it could move around? A vessel registered in the Marshall Islands, exempt from inspection because it was a foreign vessel.
Can't have it both ways.

Yet another hit piece on unions and legislation designed to protect American labor.

:dem:

-Laelth

However, Thad Allen and Gibbs admitted that it was being used. If they had just said that it wasn't even a factor, I wouldn't have bothered to post this.

The people tying it to labor are full of it. This from WH briefing and a press conference. Why they would even attempt to use such a law or act like they are is beyond me.

I appreciate your having brought this to my attention.

:dem:

-Laelth

:hi:

this is to preserve the jobs for Americans - don't we always see that extolled?

If this is the law, then it's the law - this is a nation of laws. The laws are not suspended due to emergencies - we said this after 911 when Bushco wanted around the law to "protect" us from terra.