America UPDATE the Jones Act NOW

In case you missed it, an obscure, century-old shipping law is underlining what TEA has been saying for years. To ensure America’s energy independence, we need to tap America’s abundant, domestic energy resources. We need to refine and process that energy here in America with the most innovative techniques to produce it cleanly and reliably. And, we need to invest in and build necessary American energy infrastructure to transmit and transport those energy resources from American producers to the American communities that need them.

Seems like a common-sense proposition, no? Well, get this. In recent years, American communities from Boston to Puerto Rico have imported Russian natural gas to meet their local energy needs. And, one reason for that is because a federal law blocks shipping goods between two U.S. ports by a foreign shipping vessel.

Mind-blowing as it may be, those are the facts. There is not a single ship in existence owned by an American company that can transport American LNG between American ports. As the Wall Street Journal put it, “That means Puerto Rico effectively is barred from importing gas from LNG terminals in Georgia or Louisiana. As a result, it apparently turned to Siberia. The same happened two winters ago in New England, where gas is short due to a lack of pipeline capacity.

A tanker of Russian gas was unloaded in Boston. How is this an “America First” policy?”The Jones Act has found its way into the news recently when President Trump suspended theact for 60 days. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt tweeted: “President Trump’decision to issue a 60-day Jones Act waiver is just another step to mitigate the short-term disruptions to the oil market as the U.S. military continues meeting the objectives of Operation Epic Fury. This action will allow vital resources like oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and coal to flow freely to U.S. ports for sixty days, and the Administration remains committed to continuing to strengthen our critical supply chains.”