Posted on 06/12/2010 7:15:30 PM PDT by NoLibZone
Recent attention has been focused on the Jones Act—a 1920 maritime protectionist provision—as it relates to the possible involvement of international ships and equipment being brought in to clean up the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Jones Act was introduced to protect the merchant marine, at the time, by stipulating that only American-owned and flagged ships with primarily American crews could transport goods between U.S. ports.
A dispute has arisen among politicians regarding interpretation of the Jones Act and whether it means that the U.S. is not accepting offers to help with the cleanup.
An article published by Brian Wilson from FOX News, on Friday, gave the impression that international ships with oil skimming technology are not being used in the Gulf of Mexico because the Jones Act restricts access for foreign ships to U.S. water.
White House staffer Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, recently addressed the issue in a question and answer forum—the video is posted on the White House blog.
Browner said that foreign vessels are helping with the cleanup.
“There are a number of foreign offers that we have taken advantage of, and the Coast Guard analyzes them. I think we have … Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada and there is one other country,” she said.
While she did not specify in what way the Jones Act may be restricting cleanup efforts, she did indicate there was flexibility in applying it.
“If it’s necessary to waive the Jones Act, then that will be taken care of. At this point it hasn’t been necessary,” said Browner.
The Jones Act was waived to assist with the response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
(Excerpt) Read more at theepochtimes.com ...
yeah, 50 plus days after the spill, the obmanation finally is giving permission to other countries who have been trying SINCE THE BEGINNING to help us. All he wanted to do was take enough time to ruin a few of our southern beaches..... not being a big fan of them and all.... I just hope the people who live there remember this when it is time to vote.
Actually, Beatrice, of the Netherlands, owns the largest share of BP stock, so I know she was offering all the help possible from the beginning.
President Bush may have waived “The Jones Act”, but what makes you think that 0bama the union stooge will.
President Bush may have waived “The Jones Act”, but what makes you think that 0bama the union stooge will.
0bama showing his true feelings for the South plus payback to them for not voting for him ! I bet if this was NY/MA/CT/RI, this would have been over a few days afterward !
Obama may be a union stooge but not waivering the Jones Act for this spill will only harm the unions and the Jones Act.
But then, I think Obama wants to harm.
I believe the Dutch royal family owns half of Royal Dutch-Shell, not BP (whose major stockholder is the British royal family).
The Jones Act is why we don’t have weekend cruises out of San Francisco to Monterey or Santa Barbara. It is why most Alaskan cruises go out of Vancouver. It is why we don’t have direct cruises to Hawaii from the west coast.
Actually, if you are in the shipping business or a freight forwarder, you can have it waived by meeting certain criteria and filing the paperwork
This eye opener was posted early this morning.
Obama Blocking Oil Skimmers!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2533106/posts
So the truth comes out! President Obama is once again putting the interests of the unions that support him above the interests of our nation! He has not signed granted a waiver of the Jones Act to allow more oil skimming boats into our waters to clean up this mess.
The Merchant Marine Act of 1920 is a United States Federal statute that regulates maritime commerce in U.S. waters and between U.S. ports. Section 27, also known as the Jones Act, deals with coastal shipping and requires that all goods transported by water between U.S. ports be carried in U.S.-flag ships, constructed in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents.
During times of national emergency, the President can grant a waiver of the Jones Act. As this video shows, we have been offered help from foreign countries with ships capable of skimming more oil off the water, but have so far refused this help because Obama would rather protect his union buddies.
(Excerpt) Read more at scottfactor.com ...
So I guess those big Dutch sea skimming ships are now being used elsewhere...And not available now to help us out...
Way to go Zero...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.