Sen. McCain said, “It is unacceptable to force the people of Puerto Rico to pay at least twice as much for food, clean drinking water, supplies and infrastructure due to Jones Act requirements as they work to recover from this disaster.”
The Arizona senator emphasized, “These emergency waivers have been valuable to speed up recovery efforts in the impacted regions.” He added that it is imperative to provide emergency relief urgently.
According to Sen. McCain, the economy will “retreat even further to devastation” if business owners cannot recover their assents and account their losses.
McCain renews push to repeal Jones Act
Additionally, Sen. McCain asked the DHS to assess the impact of a long-term waiver or full repeal of the Jones Act in the recovery efforts of Florida, Texas, and Puerto Rico.
He said now is the time to realize the devastating effect of the Jones Act. It is time to “implement a full repeal if this archaic and burdensome Act,” said Sen. McCain.
Furthermore, the Arizona senator said repealing the law will speed up recovery efforts in areas that need it most. A quick repeal of the Jones Act is critical because of the urgent needs of the hurricane-ravaged coastal communities.
