Case proposes anti-Jones Act bills

Before leaving D.C., for the holidays, U.S. Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii) has introduced three bills in Congress to reform the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (Jones Act), which he claims “artificially inflates the cost of shipping goods to Hawaii.” The three bills “aim directly at one of the key drivers of our astronomically high cost of living,” he says. The Jones Act “severely limits the supply of shipping to and from (Hawaii, and) has allowed a very few companies to control our very lifeline … (resulting in) shipping rates way higher than the rest of the world." Hawaii imports more than 90 percent of food and other consumer goods by ocean cargo only. There are only two U.S. flagged domestic cargo lines for Hawaii - Matson and Pasha – and they “operate a virtual duopoly,” says Case. The Matson cargo line responded to the proposed legislation saying that blaming Hawaii’s higher cost of living on shipping is just one of many cost factors that represent a small fraction of price differences between Hawaii and the mainland. The Jones Act supports more than 650,000 jobs in the U.S., including thousands in Hawaii. (Source: Marine Link 12/23/19) https://www.marinelink.com/news/hawaii-congressman-introduces-anti-jones-474075?utm_source=MT-ENews-2019-12-24&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MT-ENews