Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leaders reaffirm bipartisan opposition to any effort to waive the Jones Act and jeopardize U.S. maritime jobs

The following is excerpted from a joint statement released April 2 by Chair of the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Full Committee Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO), Chair of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), and Subcommittee Ranking Member Bob Gibbs (R-OH).

"More than 9 million American workers were laid off in recent days due to a public health crisis that will likely continue for some time. The Jones Act has been and remains critical to supporting U.S. mariners' jobs and our maritime industry. Waiving the law, even temporarily, would be a mistake and weaken our domestic maritime supply chain just when we need it the most. We should not risk the jobs of those U.S. workers who move 99 percent of U.S. overseas trade and 100 percent of our coastwise trade. As the bipartisan Committee leaders, we oppose any effort to waive the Jones Act."