La. lawmaker chides Jones Act waiver

The Trump Administration waived the Jones Act in order to let foreign ships deliver relief to Puerto Rico. Now, he's facing pushback from Baton Rouge Republican, U.S. Rep. Garret Graves. “This is a solution in search of a problem,” Graves said Sept. 28. Graves doesn’t see the Jones Act as a problem. The issue, according to the lawmaker, is that the hurricane destroyed the island’s logistical systems to get supplies from ports to inland locations. Anybody that thinks the Jones waiver “just solved the problem is confused,” he said. He argues it did “more harm than good.” The Gulf Coast shipping industry needs the jobs. “You just took American jobs and sent them overseas." Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States. Graves got $22,585 from regional transportation unions and $20,200 from the sea-transport industry in the current election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The transportation unions are his fifth most generous industry and sea transport ninth. Puerto Rico’s Gov. Ricardo Rossello also came under criticism from Graves: He “needs to focus on real recovery for the island and stop asking for unicorns." (Source: NOLA.com 09/28/17)