Free Republic

Three Republican senators from states on the Gulf of Mexico have introduced a bill they say will make it easier for the United States to accept foreign ships to help the BP oil spill clean-up effort. Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison joined with Florida Senator George LeMieux and John Cornyn of Texas to draft a bill that would temporarily suspend the Jones Act in the Gulf region, which they say is keeping foreign ships from offering aid. The 90-year-old law, which already includes a provision that allows waivers for foreign ships on a case-by-case basis, mandates that vessels may only...