McClatchy: GOP's false talking point: Jones Act blocks Gulf help

FINALLY McClatchy figured this out!


GOP's false talking point: Jones Act blocks Gulf help

By William Douglas | McClatchy Newspapers


WASHINGTON — From former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to Arizona Sen. John McCain to junior members of the House of Representatives, conservative Republicans have accused President Barack Obama of failing to do all he can to help clean up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill because he hasn't waived a U.S. maritime law called the Jones Act.

That statute, established in 1920, requires that all goods transported between U.S. ports be carried on U.S.-flagged, U.S.-built and U.S.-owned ships crewed by U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Critics say that's needlessly excluded foreign-flagged vessels that could have helped.

"It's a little shocking to me that a president that has such a multinational orientation as this president didn't immediately see the benefits of waiving the Jones Act and allowing all of these resources to come in," former House Majority Leader Richard Armey, R-Texas, said in remarks to Newsmax.com, a conservative website.

Armey and the other Republican critics are wrong. Maritime law experts, government officials and independent researchers say that the claim is false. The Jones Act isn't an impediment at all, they say, and it hasn't blocked anything.

"Totally not true," said Mark Ruge, counsel to the Maritime Cabotage Task Force, a coalition of U.S. shipbuilders, operators and labor unions. "It is simply an urban myth that the Jones Act is the problem."

In a news briefing last week, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said he'd received "no requests for Jones Act waivers" from foreign vessels or countries. "If the vessels are operating outside state waters, which is three miles and beyond, they don't require a waiver," he said.

On Tuesday the State Department announced that new offers of aid would be accepted from 12 foreign countries and international organizations, but spokesman P.J. Crowley noted that booms donated by Mexico, Norway and Brazil had been in use since May 11,and that 24 foreign vessels from nine foreign countries already have been helping with the cleanup.

more...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/06/30/96831/gops-false-talking-point-jones.html

doesn't leave much room for what is happening today.

significant revisions since then. The cabotage provisions don't seem to have changed much, though-- that's the part that requires US built, crewed, and owned vessels for trade between US ports. The three mile thing seems like an odd technicality in the definition of trade between ports.

As far as I know, however, there is a provision in the law for foreign flag skimmers and other vessels to work US waters cleaning up oil spills WITHOUT the need for a waiver as long as we have a reciprocal relationship for cleanup with that country.

out a timeline for what went down and why.

Here, I'll help you.


Myth: Obama waited weeks before responding to the oil spill

http://mediamatters.org/research/201006240025


And here's a timeline of what went down.

http://mediamatters.org/research/201004300053

Oh, and read post #4 and stop listening to faux if you do. I hear it's bad for your health! :hi:

Imagine my surprise to hear ABC news say yesterday that because of the hurricane THOUSANDS of skimmers and other craft had to be taken out of use. So, THOUSANDS have been out there, eh?

But HANNITY and LIMBOsevic keep stamping their feet and the networks just LUERVE to have the Billy NUNGESSER dude filling up the screen with his ranting.

:thumbsup:

and people can look at the facts since April and judge for themselves how they've done.

What started as a convenient excuse has now come back to bite... funny how that happens, eh?

The White House has a media dept, does it not? They need to jump on this shit as soon as they hear it. During the campaign Obama did a much better job of controlling the message than he is doing as president. That's inexcusable.