Bill Introduced in House, Senate to End Jones Act
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., introduced a bill last week to end the Jones Act, which requires that U.S.-built and -crewed ships serve intra-U.S. shipments, including to Puerto Rico.
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Lee has tried to repeal the law at least since 2019. Even a more limited waiver, which would allow domestic natural gas to travel by ship from the Gulf to the Northeast, failed in 2022, with only Lee and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, supporting it in committee.
Lee noted that Massachusetts and Puerto Rico import LNG from Russia, rather than using gas produced in the U.S., because no domestic LNG carriers exist.
"The Jones Act is outdated in a global economy. It enriches a very small special interest at the expense of every consumer in America," McClintock said in a press release.