Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) released the following statement after the Trump administration announced it would not extend the temporary Jones Act waiver for Puerto Rico, which expired yesterday:
“Now that the temporary Jones Act waiver for Puerto Rico has expired, it is more important than ever for Congress to pass my bill to permanently exempt Puerto Rico from this archaic and burdensome law. Until we provide Puerto Rico with long-term relief, the Jones Act will continue to hinder much-needed efforts to help the people of Puerto Rico recover and rebuild from Hurricane Maria.”
On September 28, 2017, Senators McCain and Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced legislation to permanently exempt Puerto Rico from the Jones Act.
A strong supporter of free trade, Senator McCain has been working for years to reform and repeal the archaic and burdensome Jones Act. In 1998, Senator McCain sponsored legislation that was signed into law to provide an administrative process for obtaining a Jones Act waiver for certain foreign vessels to trade between U.S. ports, eliminating the previous requirement for Congress to pass legislation for every waiver.
In 2010, Senator McCain introduced legislation to fully repeal the Jones Act. He reintroduced the same piece of legislation in 2015 and again this July.
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