Companion Bill to Exempt Puerto Rico From Coastwise Trade Laws Introduced in the House

On October 8, we announced that Sen. John McCain introduced Senate Bill 1894 on September 28, 2017 to exempt Puerto Rico from the coastwise trade laws of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 commonly referred to as the Jones Act. Companion legislation was introduced on October 5, 2017 by Congressman Gary Palmer, R-AL with Nydia Valezguez (D-N.Y.), Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Dave Brat (R-VA) as cosponsors. A copy of the House Resolution No. 3966 is not yet available. The proposed legislation was referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure; Armed Services on the same day it was introduced in the House. Entitled the Puerto Rico Humanitarian Relief Act, according to a press release by Congressman Palmer, it would impose a moratorium on the coastwise trade laws for five years for Puerto Rico.A copy of the Press Release may be found at:https://palmer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/palmer-and-vel-zquez-introduce-puerto-rico-humanitarian-relief-actLook for the comment, “Hard to Sea: Puerto Rico’s Future Under the Jones Act,” by Marie Olga Luis Rivera, a member of the Loyola Maritime Law Journal and from Puerto Rico, on the effect of the Jones Act on Puerto Rico to be published in the Winter issue of the Journal.